Riot Of Me - “By the Stars”
USA-based Riot Of Me has just released the dynamically enchanting “By the Stars,” one of your new favorite ethereal folk songs.
After an otherworldly fade-in, the arrangement parts its seas for the arrival of some exquisitely finger-plucked acoustic guitar, slightly melancholic as it sets this sweet-sounding scene. Vocals roll into the soundscape, at first a delicate solitary layer, providing lyrics that traverse a complicated story: “Loving love, but feeling less deserving of it.”
All of this changes upon the arrival of the rhythm section, when glorious vocal swells rise and fall around the soundscape. “By the Stars” suddenly becomes a monster of a cinematic folk song and fans of Bon Iver or Novo Amor will feel right at home amidst its epic production. A resplendent piano soon ushers in, adding a great deal of melodic weight to the entire performance.
The ebb and flow generated by the juxtaposition between verse and chorus has brought us back to “By the Stars,” over and over again. Riot Of Me has nailed the formula for adding and removing elements in order to create a magnificent dramatic effect, primarily in the vocal department, which is topnotch for the song’s duration.
If you have not yet pressed the play button, we almost feel guilty for spoiling the arrival of the string arrangement, which only adds to the richly dynamic fluctuation of the recording. If a deep dive into the ocean of introspection is what you crave, you’re going to be elated once “By the Stars” pulls you beneath the surface.
-HD