Riley Pearce - “Habit” (ft. Maddy May)
Photo by Patrick Pearce
If this is your first time reading our blog, you should know that we simply cannot resist a good male + female vocal harmony. So when Riley Pearce sent us his new track, “Habit,” featuring Maddy May, we immediately said yes.
“Habit” begins with some peacefully strummed acoustic guitar, faintly accompanied by the keys of a piano. It doesn’t take long before May’s vocal arrives, setting the gentle vibe as she narrates the need for being yourself and following your own path. The lyrics evoke the idea of how easy it can be for one to get lost on life’s journey and how ”there’s always a lot of things going on in our lives that don’t let us be our true selves…” (Pearce).
During the first verse, Pearce’s voice occasionally joins May’s, and if you have the luxury of listening through headphones, you are in for quite the intimate experience. Their voices then combine to bring weight to the refrain and there is absolutely no denying the magic that harmonies bring to a song’s production– even when so sparsely recorded, the right vocals will spread the sound enough that, at this point, there is simply no need to add any additional instruments.
Pearce takes the reins for the second verse, with May’s voice coupling his at the end of each line. There is a beat that swells in the background, providing a fantastic and natural crescendo before May sings us a subdued bridge over a dynamic break. The final chorus then expands the song to twice its size before gently and acoustically sending us on our way. As we’ve said many times before, we will forever choose the songs that encourage introspection and if you’re anything like us, you need to add this one to your playlist immediately.
About “Habit,” Pearce adds: “This was one of the first tracks I recorded in my new shed/studio conversion, and I really enjoyed the challenge of working in a new space. The song has a vulnerable message, and it took a few different paths before we found a way to really enhance that aspect of the song from a production standpoint.”
-TM