Illeeria – “My Story In Chords”

Illeeria – “My Story In Chords” – Single Review

With tens of thousands of hits pouring in online within mere days of the release of Illeeria’s new single, I can’t imagine she needs further confirmation from me.  Clearly people all around the globe are already paying attention & I’m sure that counts for a whole lot more than my little ol’ opinion ever could – and rightly so!  I’m just another voice on the internet and I’ve never claimed to be anything more than that.

Anyhow.  What are my thoughts on “My Story In Chords,” the latest track from Illeeria’s new album called Liberation?  I suppose they are a bit on the mixed side of things if I’m being as objective as I normally am.  It’s hard to say – I’ve been tuning into this song via her new video on YouTube and she’s got like, the world’s cutest dog with her…so I dunno…maybe I’m not as able to be objective as I usually am this time around.  Yes, yes – I know, I know – Illeeria is stunningly beautiful too, and she’s got a stellar voice…these things all matter in the long run of a music career – but that dog of hers is really trying to steal the show in the vid for “My Story In Chords.”  He looks so freakin’ happy to be a part of it!

Okay.  Right.  The music…what I’m actually here to comment on…not the French bulldog.  Focus…

So look…I think there are a couple of things that can be true when it comes to Illeeria.  The first is, she can definitely sing – so let me be as clear about that as I can be from the get-go here.  I think she’s got a solid & strong voice, and while I might not be as confident in my opinion about this particular song of hers, I can still hear the potential she has to go on and carve out a solid career with her music if that’s what she chooses to do.  Like – I had a listen to a different song called “I Won’t Let You Take My Soul” and felt like that quickly confirmed her greatness…she could really end up doing some incredible stuff with the talent she has.  When it comes to “My Story In Chords,” I think we hear a bit more of the newness of her in some ways…which is ultimately fair – from what I can see online, this is her first year releasing music as a professional artist and there are bound to be ups and downs in the course of any career as someone learns what does and doesn’t work best for them.  I think the majority of what I like in “My Story In Chords” revolves around her vocals…that might seem obvious when we’re talkin’ about a singer/songwriter, but I’ll explain this in more detail.  When I’m talkin’ about newness as an artist, I’m talking more about things like how a singer can hug the melody of the music too closely when they first start to create songs, and I feel like that’s the case a bit with “My Story In Chords.”  It’s not an inherently wrong approach – heck, it can even be quite effective at times – but the reality in either of those scenarios is that you end up with music and vocals that are a very close match to each other and songs that are generally less dynamic as they could be as a result.  Newness could also be something like not really yet knowing where the real hooks of a song are, or possibly settling for some that don’t quite give a track the single-worthy sound you’re seeking out…and again, I feel like that’s a bit of what’s holding her back on “My Story In Chords.”  When I’m listening to this song, I’m hearing a strong verse, a chorus that doesn’t measure up to it in terms of its hooks & appeal, and a finale that’s pretty decent…in fact, some of the hooks you’ll find at the end of this song are quite possibly stronger than what you’ll find in the chorus, in my opinion.  I think she sings the chorus well for the record; I just don’t think the part has as much impact as she’s likely hoping it does.  The bridge around the 1:50 mark is a stellar highlight, but also carries that matchy-matchy feel of pairing the vocal melody too closely with the one in the music.  The more she leans into contrast and counter-melodies, the more potential her music will have to possess the dynamism that she needs to set herself apart from the rest of what’s out there in the scene, and it’ll help her reach that next-level as an artist in her craft creatively.  Essentially, it’s the real key to moving forward and generating authentically engaging material.

I am going to say that the verdict is…I want MORE out of Illeeria than I feel like we get on “My Story In Chords” right now, but that I feel like she’s given us every reason to believe she’s capable of giving us the MORE we’re looking for.  I’m hearing someone that’s still feeling like they’re testing the waters a bit and being more cautious in their performance than they need to be, and I feel like what Illeeria really needs most is to understand she’s a singer that’s fully capable of kicking all the ass if she wants to.  As in, if any of us had her talent, we’d take that right into the recording studio and never leave…she’s got a great voice, but she needs to believe in that beyond anything else if she wants to tap into her best and sing with the supreme confidence that she should be.  There’s no doubt that a song like “My Story In Chords” shows us the potential, but all-in-all, it does feel like we’re just scratching the surface…and I have no doubt at all that she’ll go on to prove these are still the first steps in her career as we look back at this track in hindsight years down the road.  For a track inside her debut year as a singer/songwriter, there’s a ton of positives she can draw from as she moves forward.  I like the cross-cultural vibe you’ll find in the music – that works.  I think she’s got a voice that’s going to get better and better as time goes on – that’s great too!  I think that “My Story In Chords” has a lot of solid moments in the writing, even if I’m not as sure about the balance of its strengths overall.  The production could probably use a little work, if I’m being entirely honest with ya, “My Story In Chords” sounds a little on the thin side…but that’s okay.  Where I think that Illeeria has to be the most cautious and careful about, is listening back to the material as objectively as she can, and asking herself if the song really has that standout element that is going to bring people back to it…because right now, I feel like that mind-blowing wow-factor might be the most noticeably missing part of this single.  That being said, I could ALWAYS be wrong – I just call things like I hear them, but that doesn’t always mean I’m right.  What I really did think was great about “My Story In Chords” was that it is actually a lot more memorable than I would have thought I’d give it credit for on my first couple of spins.  That same chorus that I was chirping about earlier, is the same one that seems to give this single an undeniably memorable part you’ll sing along with the next time you hear it, and there’s clearly incredible value in something like that, whether or not it ends up being our favorite part of a song.  I’m interested to see and hear where her story goes from here…I am pretty confident that Illeeria will go on to get better and better the more she develops her craft – she’s got all the right tools to succeed…from here, it’s all about refining her talent, being objective about the results, and settling for nothing less than her very best.

Find out more about Illeeria from this multi-link right here:  https://linktr.ee/illeeria

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