The NGHBRS – Better Off (2021)
There are many people who feel that dating a friend is the solution to a happy relationship. The problem comes when you feel those niggling thoughts that maybe you were better off as friends. These moments have been picked up by The NGHBRS and crafted into the feel-good, sad song ‘Better Off’.
This one-man band dips into the bittersweet emotions of knowing a relationship isn’t working and wanting to remain friends. Drawing on personal experience, he masterfully moulds synths and electronic pop stylings into a natural and authentic flow. While emotive, the single is also a showing of his growing maturity in his sound and how he has evolved from being a producer to a complete musician.
The opening tones of ‘Better Off’ are soft and carry a tinge of melancholy. This perfectly sets the tone for the single as you are drawn into the thoughts of the lyrics. As the synths make their way into the soundscape, they rise beautifully off the roll of the piano. There is a strange lightness and good vibe to the music, that seems to lift your spirits like you have come to a conclusion about something that has bothered you for a long time. At times the music drops completely, emphasising the vocals for a heavier hit of emotions. Later in the track, the pulse of the tones has you bopping from side to side, while filling the soundscape with softness.
The vocals bring a thoughtfulness to the single as they relay bittersweet feelings. There is a touch of conversational tones to the vocal performance, but this is tempered by the feeling that you are looking at his thoughts. The good vibes that float through the melody are washed with a light coating of sadness through the vocals, as the knowledge that things aren’t working comes to light. The chorus is quite catchy as they state that the people might have been better off as friends. This is something that a lot of people are able to relate to and adds a powerful connection to the single.
‘Better Off’ fills you with good vibes that have a light wash of bittersweet emotion as The NGHBRS work through being better off as friends. The music is soft and gently fills you with the good vibes of the single. It is the vocals that bring the bittersweet emotion through lyrics that acknowledge the problem one person has with the relationship, and the thought that everything would be better if they went back to being friends.
Find out more about The NGHBRS on his Instagram and Spotify.
