Zachary Campos – “Precision”

Zachary Campos – “Precision” – Single Review

Because if there’s one thing I love, it’s the feeling of living in Groundhog Day.

For real…isn’t this right where I left off prior to taking vacation this year?  What could have possibly changed in Zachary’s music in such a short amount of time?  I ain’t typing just for the fun of it y’all…if my advice ain’t going to good use, believe me when I tell ya that it starts going somewhere else real quick.  Weren’t we just talking about how crucial time is for evolution and perspective in creativity & the craft?

I mean…I have mentioned in the past reviews that Campos has gotta make the shift out of doing the whole “my name is Zach and I’m here to say” stuff, which was somewhat in jest, but instead of taking that advice, he leaned into it even more on “Precision” and actually DID go in that direction literally instead, adding “music is forever and I’m here to say, I was born and raised in San Jose.”  Okay then.

So no…there’s no real growth here, because again, how could there be?  No time has passed.  Not enough has changed.

It’s tough when you want to be in someone’s corner, and they put you in a position where it’s practically impossible to be.

I suppose I could go with the music aspect…that’s more entertaining and engaging than it was just prior to vacation this year…in that respect, I like what I’m hearing on “Precision.”  That’s the strongest element driving this particular single, whereas the rest regarding the lyrics and content and the strange behind the scenes details are all essentially the same.  Like…I can’t even begin to explain the disconnect in some of this.  According to the notes I’ve got here, “Precision” is “written in honor of my childhood dog Juni” – which is a sweet thing to do, I fully salute that.  Having said that, there’s absolutely nothing about this song that’s about a dog, it’s just about Campos being the best of the best yadda yadda, and similar things we’ve heard from him so far that he’s yet to prove concretely through his craft.  So it’s kind of like the audible equivalent of saying you feel like Mac & Cheese for dinner and just having soup instead.  If something is really about something, then make it about that something, you feel me?  Sigh.

Zachary’s desperately searching for that next breakthrough, but it’s never going to come tomorrow, it’s only going to come with time, experience, and refining his craft.  I’m somewhat frustrated FOR him at this point myself…he’s capable of great things, but he’s too locked into this particular moment to make the adjustments he’d need to in order to get there, and the majority of my advice seems to be falling completely flat.  Right now he’s serving up the same song we’ve heard many times from him already with a different soundtrack, but the mechanics of what’s stopping him from reaching the next level are all essentially the same.  I could repeat myself on metering issues and lyrical diversity and blah blah blah but if it’s not really being heard on the other side of the screen, then there’s really no point to do that.

There’s lots of work still to be done if Campos is going to stand out from the rest – that’s the objective reality, simple as that.  I can’t make the guy change, and based on everything we’ve heard as of late, we kind of have no other choice but to assume he has no interest in doing things differently.  The best I can do is tell him there’s a whole lot further to go, because other people aren’t going to do that for him – they’ll rubber stamp a track like “Precision” and say ‘good job’ and leave it at that, unchallenged.  That ain’t me though…that’s not why people come through this site of ours.  We keep it real here, 100%.  So once again, I’ll tell ya that Campos is blessed with a lot of personality that could very well get listeners onboard no matter what he does…but it’s really up to him if he just wants to rest on that natural talent or take his craft any further.  He cites Kool Moe Dee as an influence on this new single, and I can hear that…Zachary knows the roots of his sound & respects the game, which is another positive we can point to despite it not being something that furthers his own uniqueness.  Tim J Abbott nailed the guitar parts on “Precision,” and I really dig what Josh Zuckermann did with the drum programming & record scratches too.  As with all-things-Campos, there are always going to be some positives that can be cited even if leveling-up the effort isn’t one of them.

When it comes to “Precision,” it sounds like good times and it sounds like fun.  We can spend a whole lifetime making songs like that, and sometimes that’ll even be enough to carve out a modest career too.  I’m gonna die on a hill knowing that Campos is capable of so much more than he’s showing us, and maybe I’ll die there alone…but at least I was honest with the guy.  On the bright side, we’ve got one more track from Zachary to discuss later on this week, and then we get to take a break from his music for a while…because if it’s just gonna be the same thing, you can fill in the blanks for me instead and I won’t have to keep living in Groundhog Day.  Time and perspective homie…it’s something we all need.

Find “Precision” online here:  https://songwhip.com/zacharycampos/precision

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