How can fathers not love their sons?
It’s the question posed by Glasgow-based Luchi in his most recent release, “Things He Handed Down”, an emotional pop-rock ballad.
From the moment the delicate piano strings are struck by the hammers accompanied by long-bowed violins welcoming us into a similarly somber headspace, we can feel Luchi’s sentimental reflection as it fades impassionately into view.
While the vocal effects processing at times can be mildly distracting, pulling away from the natural timbre of Luchi’s otherwise intrinsic vocals particularly in the opening scenes of the track, they do lend themselves well to the production; It builds slowly into a much more upbeat and driven rhythm with full bodied harmonies, drums and claps, nodding to popular 80’s pop and r&b ballads while maintaining the unique character brought on by the much more recent popularity of heavier vocal processing.
As much of the instrumentation makes way during the bridge we are able to get a better sense of the source of Luchi’s inspiration for the track as he comes to the dispiriting realization that he was never going to please his father, a hard pill to swallow for any son or daughter no matter the age they are when they reflect on their own relationships with their parents (or lack thereof).
The builds and breaks in “Things He Handed Down” are masterfully crafted; While the arrangements are not terribly out of the ordinary in that they don’t aim to break any real new ground in the ballad-space, each sound uniquely encapsulates the emotional strife expressed by Luchi’s raw and pointed lyrics and it makes not only for a very moving composition, but one you want to return to again and again and allow yourself to get carried away in.
Stripping away to return to a simple piano progression and Luchi’s calm, full-toned voice and ending much the way it begins, it feels like we’ve just had an emotional conversation with an old friend than anything else and perhaps it’s this surge of familiar vulnerability that leaves us feeling so connected to Luchi’s story as we reflect on similar relationships.
Listen to “Things He Handed Down” where you stream here: https://tr.ee/wHxnQcwpEJ and keep up with Luchi on his social media channels:
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