Stephon Foster – “No Signal”

Stephon Foster – “No Signal” – Single Review

Ohhhhhhh Stephon…I genuinely hope you get to where you wanna go one of these days.

As to whether or not that’s gonna happen right now as a musical artist…I’m still not quite hearing it.  Over the years, I’ve heard plenty of tunes from Stephon Foster.  Sometimes it’s a step or two forward, sometimes it’s a step backwards, and I’d say for the most part, dude’s been making lateral moves.  Even with “No Signal” having been released a significant amount of time after the last track we reviewed here on our pages back in 2022, I’m still not convinced that he’s done quite enough to fix what’s not fully working out, but as always, I’ll try my best to remain on the positive side of things & focus more on the parts that do.

So!  In that respect…there’s a hook that might very well connect in “No Signal” – that’s a positive!  There is songwriting at the core of all this that ain’t half bad either.  When this new single dropped in advance of Stephon’s new record Anything Is Everything (Coming out August 7^th) and I clicked play, I felt like I instantly traveled back about four years to the last time I was listening to Foster’s music and thinking about how wild it was that this guy is STILL going wayyyyyyyyyy overboard with his performance on “No Signal.”  Rein it in bud, it ain’t that hard I promise ya.  Get in the ol’ studio booth, take a big ol’ breath and calm on down, find your zen and all that…that’s the pathway forward my friend.  As things stand right now, objectively speaking, Foster’s coming out with some high quality moments along the way for sure, but in other spots he colors this song with material that’s too far outside the lines at times tone-wise, right to the borderline of being shrill at points…and I just don’t think that’s the mark that any artist out there is aiming for, Stephon included of course.

Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t off target in the entire song, but by the same token, the inconsistency is also part of the main issue here too.  It’s mainly the opening and the verses that prove to be a battle to get through, and I’d probably cite some of the over-excited backup vocals he’s added into the mix as being an obstacle that exists between Stephon and his audience this time around as well.  Thankfully, the main hooks, aka what most listeners will always consider to be the most crucial part of the song, come out pretty well for him.  I’m not saying they’re perfect by any stretch, but they’re much closer to being where they need to be tonally than what you’ll find in the verses or in the backup vocals of “No Signal.”  As to whether or not there’s enough time to smooth things out in between here & the release of Anything Is Everything on August 7^th, I do not know.  Chances are, things are already set in stone, so I’m not really sure what else can be done in time for the album dropping this late in the game.  I will say this – I like the main hooks…but I don’t know if a fraction of a song is going to be enough for the people out there listening these days.  After so long away and the declaration of a whole new era for Stephon’s music, I think I was hoping that I’d notice a more significant evolution in his attention to detail, rather than what seems like a smaller step forward than I’d anticipated.  That being said, every step counts and every step matters in the long run.  There’s not too much about “No Signal” that felt like Foster was going backwards…it didn’t quite feel like a completely lateral move either, so it must be a step forward in some way, right?

Focus on the positives my friend.  The songwriting is sound.  The beat is great.  The hooks are good too.  I’m sure that Foster himself would be the first to tell you that he’s more than guilty of getting way the hell too excited when it comes time to record…that’s how it was in the past as well, but if we’re really looking at this next chapter ahead as a completely new era for Stephon’s music, the methods of making it need to change as well.  What I think is still fully intact as ever, perhaps more-so than any other artist I’ve ever come across through these speakers of ours, is the desire that Stephon has towards making music.  Like, you can tell it’s the ONLY thing that really matters to Foster and that he needs to make music like he needs the air he’s breathing.  Desire can take you a hell of a long way in this business, so don’t get it twisted – Foster possesses a crucial ingredient that you practically can’t succeed without.

All I’m saying is, dial that in…let that passion guide you, but keep an ear on what matters too.  I don’t think that Stephon needs all the layers, glitz, and glamour, so much as he just needs to focus harder on the parts that work and maybe even take a more minimalist approach.  Objectivity is always the end-level boss in the journey of being an artist, and it’s a tough level to beat even for the greatest among us.  I ain’t suggesting he should dull his shine or yuck his own yum…but I am saying that quite often it’s the simplest ingredients that end up making the most effective and memorable recipes.  Foster has always been about being larger than life when it comes to the art of making music, and I respect that…all I’m saying is that everyone has gotta master how to walk before they start running at full speed, you feel me?  There’s a catchiness to “No Signal” that definitely has a ton of appeal to it, and when this song reaches its maximum potential with the balance it requires, I have no doubt that Foster will find he’s got something every bit as special as he thinks he does here.  As it stands right now, “No Signal” still needs additional work to get the most out of what the song and Stephon has to offer the world, but it does feel like it’s enough of a step forward in the right direction…at least for now.  Foster has to decide whether or not that’s how he wants his music to be described, or if he’s truly moving at the pace he wants to be with his career…I suspect he wants more than that, and if there’s one thing we can definitely agree on, I’m sure that’d be it – I want more out of his music too.  He’s got the desire and heart to get to where he wants to go, give him time, let’em cook, and he’ll find his way to the right recipe that hits the spot of true satisfaction.

Find more to listen to from Stephon Foster at Apple Music here:  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/stephon-foster/1099970566

Click this link right here to be the next artist or band featured here at sleepingbagstudios, because hey – why not?  All the cool kids are doing it.