Carson Aday – She Took Your Heart and Ran (2021)
For many years, even before Alicia Keys hit us with her pop/classical piano flavour, classically trained musicians merged their skills with alternative genres creating some amazing sounds; Carson Aday is among these musicians. Following seven years of playing the guitar and two years of competing in classical piano competitions, Aday embraced a rock-influenced solo project. Inspired by the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hippo Campus and The Strokes, the US-based artist nods to late-90s/early-2000 rock bands while retaining an edgy contemporary attitude. One of the latest additions to his well-received discography is ‘She Took Your Heart and Ran’.
One of the tracks from his album Midnight on a Flower Moon, ‘She Took Your Heart and Ran’ is reminiscent of The Strokes but with a richer, bolder and more intriguing sound. Yes, the melody has a strong indie-rock design; however, the complexity of the rock guitars and pounding drums brings new life to a typical indie-rock sound. It is really difficult to describe the melodic side of the song and, truth be told, it wouldn’t do any favours for the established or emerging acts. Yet, while the sound throws you into a kaleidoscopic sonic bubble, it is the lyricism that showcases Aday’s depth as an artist.
Unlike the single ‘My Small Handful of Gold’ (read our review here), ‘She Took Your Heart and Ran’ is more upbeat from the first chord but there is a common thread as each single touches on the issue of relationships. While ‘My Small Handful of Gold’ has an optimistic, empowering message where a break-up can be seen as the better option, ‘She Took Your Heart and Ran’ is a tapestry of angst, anxiety and frustration triggered by toxic relationships. Aday shares that the track was “…written to my high school best friend who fell into a life of drug and alcohol addiction after he started dating a girl who was a bad influence on him. After a big fight leading to him telling me that he didn’t want me in his life anymore, I decided to write a song instead of responding.”
Filled with passion and sincerity, the reflective track is insightful with a sentimentality that comes from “watching a loved one drift away.” Carson Aday turned my head with his piano performances (check out his YouTube channel), but it is his indie-rock pieces that elegantly expose human fragility in a polished, sophisticated way. I love all he has to offer and cannot wait to see what he does in 2022.
For more from Carson Aday check out his official website, Instagram and Spotify.
