Second Choice – “The Haunting” Feat. Dimi De San

Second Choice – “The Haunting” Feat. Dimi De San – Single Review

If there’s one thing that can certainly be said about the music being made by Second Choice it’s that no one else out there is really doing what this Fredrik Lindström project has been doing.  With a focus that is primarily based on art and emotion, it can often feel like the rest of the ingredients we consider to be more typically associated with music are a distant second.  It always feels like the art is what matters most to Second Choice, and admittedly, that kind of focus tends to come at the cost of some accessibility, as we’ve discovered through past singles, and arguably even this one, “The Haunting.”  It’s bound to appeal more towards people that are looking for something different…for people that like to discover music that’s interesting, regardless of whether or not they’re even sure if they like something.

For myself personally, I can appreciate what Second Choice is creating, even if I recognize that this whole concept still has a long way to go in terms of refining itself to the point where people will give it a fair shake.  That’s not to say people aren’t already listening – you can scan Second Choice’s YouTube page alone and you’ll see that thousands upon thousands of listeners & viewers are tuning in…so I suppose what I’m saying is that there’s still a bridge to create in order to reach the majority of the masses.  If that’s what Second Choice wants to do of course…which might not necessarily be the case – projects that are largely based in art don’t tend to be the same ones that worry about numbers and all the clicks & views that the mainstream usually focuses way too much on.  Still, there’s always a way to level up and broaden the audience, and Second Choice can likely make a few tweaks here & there to reach even more people than it already is if that’s something Fredrick choose to do.  In the case of “The Haunting,” I think there are aspects of this single that make it the most compelling cut I’ve heard from this project so far…but I can also recognize that it’s still a very challenging song for the average everyday listeners out there to dig on.  For example, the main hooks in a song like “The Haunting” are actually the drama inside of it, or perhaps the poetic aspect that singer Dimi De San adds through her lyricism.  Don’t get me wrong, hooks can come in many forms…but you get what I mean, those wouldn’t be the two attributes that most listeners would tend to associate with the hooks they’re usually listening for.  Some do of course, and I think the numbers of folks tuning into Second Choice reflect those of an art-minded audience.

As I like to remind y’all from time to time, it’s YOU that matters most.  If you’re making music that you love to listen to, that’s really what matters…the rest of us come second, and those that get what you’re creating will eventually find their way to you.  I like the piano-based music that Fredrik’s created, and I like that the drums & crashing cymbals work well with the video & the crashing waves, which also coincide with Dimi’s vivid lyrical imagery.  As I’ve mentioned in the past – back when I was reviewing a song called “Celestial Tragedy” on an episode of SBS Live This Week earlier this year, there’s no doubt whatsoever that De San can really sing…she’s got astounding technique and can hit some remarkable notes for sure.  At times, I think she’d likely better serve her voice by finding a more rigid structure than what the more artistic & avant-garde approach affords her, but that could very well be just the way that I hear it.  Sometimes I wonder if having the freedom to roam almost works against her, or again, makes the battle for accessibility become tougher, despite the fact that she brings an undeniably artistic touch to the whole process.  I mean, it seems obvious to say it, but “The Haunting” doesn’t really exist without what Dimi De San brings to it – it’d become something totally different.  As to whether or not that ends up serving Second Choice for the better or not in terms of something like this single reaching the people out there…I suppose they’ll have to look at that closely.  At the end of the day, none of that extraneous stuff matters as long as they’re enjoying the process of creating the art they personally enjoy, and as this is at least the third collaboration I know of between Second Choice and De San, I’d have to say they do.

Much credit to De San here, I think so many of these lines she’s written for “The Haunting” are as unique as they are poetic, and I feel like I could pretty much cite them all…but I’ll show a little restraint in the pursuit of brevity.  Here’s a couple for example though:  “You cradle bones the world denied…”  “The lighthouse died a year ago, its eye extinguished, blind with grief…”  “Where hearts are wrecked on coral thrones…”  And truly, I could go on – there’s so much to love about the way she’s penned the words for “The Haunting,” and let’s be real here – thematically, they’re a brilliant fit with the tenor of the mood of the song, and the ideas put forth in the video to support it as well.  So don’t get what I’m saying twisted – all I’m pointing out is that there’s almost always a direct trade-off between accessibility & art, and that it’s a hard route to navigate when bringing your music to the masses.  But as long as you know who your audience really is, and what you’re creating satisfies your own wants, needs, and desires, then all is fair game when it comes to the art of making music.  There’s ultimately a whole lot of depth in the emotional content of what Second Choice creates, and that’s bound to connect with the listeners out there that enjoy music on a sensory level & those that appreciate a powerful connection to what makes it become art instead of just another song.  Uniqueness can always work both for and against you in the wild world of music, but those that get what Second Choice is doing are bound to stick around for more.

Find more music by Second Choice at Apple Music:  https://music.apple.com/se/artist/second-choice/1457449998

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