Bar Dog ft Rosa Tu – Don’t Follow Me (2022)
We all deal with grief and the concept of life after death differently. With the third single off his album River, Bar Dog explores the grief and pain after the death of a loved one. ‘Don’t Follow Me’ is a touching duet with Rosa Tu that centres on a conversation between a man and his deceased wife.
The lively dialogue of the single will make you think you are listening in on an actual conversation. The central themes of the single lead up to the album as a whole perfectly and tells the story of friendship, love, death, hope and faith. The complementary movement from Tu’s warm vocals to Bar Dog’s baritone allows the emotions of the single to shine through.
‘Don’t Follow Me’ has a tender and gentle tone that has you floating in the soundscape. The soft feeling of the guitar is carried on light clouds of almost ambient sounds. It is a very delicate melody that carefully draws you down the single, without taking anything away from the vocals. As the single progresses, there is an interesting depth that comes through the soundscape. It is like you are looking down a well, unable to see the bottom, but only feel a strange sort of comfort from this. The gentle caress of the music stirs your emotions, but does so gently, to ensure you are not overwhelmed.
As the music gently stirs emotions, it is the vocals that really make the single. The single is a captivating duet that brings a conversation to life, while reaching into your chest and tugging at your heart. Rosa Tu’s performance has a comforting warmth to it that fills you with calm. This is contrasted by Bar Dog’s baritone which brings the sadness and despair of grief. As you listen to the conversation of the lyrics, Tu encourages Bar Dog to move on and accept the pain that comes with grief. The interplay is so powerful and beautifully brings the overwhelming pain and anger of grief to the fore, only to soothe the rough edges it creates, and move on. At times, the emotions of the vocals weigh on you and bring a well of sadness, only to lighten and wash you with a wonderful feeling of peace.
Using conversational vocals and delicate melodic flows, Bar Dog and Rosa Tu work through grief, pain, sadness and acceptance in ‘Don’t Follow Me’. The music is a delicate layer of sound that carefully draws you into the single and softly stirs emotions. It is the vocals that are the real star of the show as they move through pain, anger, acceptance, peace and grief.
Find out more about Bar Dog on his website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
