Piero – “Spell”
Piero – “Spell” – Single Review
I’ve been pretty damn addicted to this song since the moment I heard it, and I can’t see that my need to hear it again is gonna calm down outta nowhere anytime soon.
I first learned about Piero, aka Piero Widyastana, somewhere back in the middle of 2021 if my memory serves me correct, back when he was busy out there promoting his debut self-titled album. I remember enjoying what I heard in that original seven song set…dude seemed like he was off to a great start.
But this…THIS…this new single “Spell” has got the magic to it. I’ll remember this song for years from now. It shouldn’t be too hard – I’d imagine it’ll still be on my playlist for the next decade or so.
So…with that being said, I think there are a couple of things that can be true when it comes to the art of making music…lemme explain what it is I’m liking & loving so much about this, and why I might not even think a track like “Spell” has to be complete and utter perfection in order to want to turn this right UP as loud as your stereo system will take it. There are great elements to Piero’s new single – like the gentle keyboards that start this track out, and the drums sounding like a sub-bass beat to kick things off for example – “Spell” gets you interested and listening immediately. Obviously, when we’re talking about the context of a ‘single’ that’s a great thing – you want to instantly generate some kind of tangible hook and pull into your song as quickly as you possibly can, and Piero’s “Spell” does that simply through a smart selection of sound at the start and a clever structure that’ll continue to build on itself from there.
When it comes to the verses he’s got in this track, they’re alright. What I’m not gonna do, is be the guy that’s gonna tell you every bit of this song sold me at all times. The verses are good enough to do the trick and his lyricism works – that’s what this moment in the song needed to supply, and it does that. You see what I mean? Not every part of a song needs to necessarily wow us beyond belief for us to enjoy what we hear. Heck, I’d STILL put “Spell” up there with some of the very best I’ve heard in 2023, even despite feeling like the verses or the bridge just did the trick, but weren’t necessarily outstanding. WHY that can be such an effective moment in this song, is revealed through how exceptional the chorus truly IS – it’s the kind of contrast that takes “Spell” from being good, to being undeniably AMAZING, and the effect is instantaneous from the very first time you hear it pop up. Somewhere right around the forty-two second mark, Piero lets the chorus come out for the first time in its most subtle and understated form…and I’m tellin’ ya folks…it’s straight-up awesome. You can hear how much of a hook the idea has and how irresistible it is – and each subsequent time you’ll hear it in “Spell” from there on simply gets better and better. It’s enhanced by the guitars that’ll come along with it later, or how you get a combination of that subtle breakdown at the 2:10 spot before the music springs along to life with it, for what essentially becomes the finale. The bass has got real life to it as well – everything comes together by the end, really bringing “Spell” to the pinnacle of what it had inside of its potential all along. Piero nails his vocals with precision in the melody and sings the chorus as perfectly as anyone out there could possibly do it. The real recipe for the success of “Spell” could very well be the fact that the verses end up appearing almost ordinary when it comes right down to it…and by comparison to the chorus, I’d honestly say they are. That being said…tell me the last time you remember a song raising the stakes quite as far as this one does from the start to the end? It’s extremely rare to hear a moment in time like this one here…Piero expertly uses contrast in his songwriting and structure to catapult this song from being something you might listen to once or twice, into a song you NEED to hear again & again & again.
By the time I reached the chorus of “Spell” for the first time, I knew I’d be as hooked on this track as a person could ever be. I don’t need every inch of a song to stand out personally – all I need is for everything we hear to serve what the moment is calling out for, and I felt like Piero nailed that all tightly. “Spell” has the sweetness of a love-song, the spark of Pop/Rock you wanna hear, and a chorus that’ll have you singing along instantly, possessing the very definition of what any of us would consider to be ‘single-worthy’ sound. He gets a massive thumbs up from me for the efforts he’s put into this tune. It’s arguable that he’s got some room to create even stronger material for the verse, perhaps – we can debate that I suppose. What I’d tell ya though, is that he creates this chasm of space, where the chorus almost ends up surprising you by how much ground it makes up for…like…you might have thought that “Spell” was gonna be okay or just alright, but by the time it’s all over, you’ll realize it’s entirely inspired. He’s got an incredible video supporting it as well – “Spell” is enchanting from sight to sound and has everything it needs to win you over.
Find out everything you need to know about Piero from this multi-link right here: https://gyro.to/Spell
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