The single itself, a song named Lifeboat, is a curious mix of powerful vocals and minimalist musical elements. This is a tried and tested combination, usually used as a break in a more intense sounding album. In this case, it’s used as a single in its own right, but it works. It’s a good song, experimental and unique, but sure to be popular.
In fact, the best way to describe this song is ‘fashionable’. The CD itself has two tracks, the original track of Lifeboat and a remix of the same track. The original is, again, slow, melodic and passionately sung, with minimal musical aspects, whereas the remix has, as one might imagine, more of an upbeat, dance feel to it.
The remix itself is a very good one; it shows effectively how much the original can be changed to give it a whole different feel, whilst not changing the core aspects of the song. The addition of any kind drums is the most dramatic, striking change, and in this case they fit very well.
Actually, it seems that the original song has been created in a deliberately minimal way to allow maximum opportunities for remixing, to allow it to be versatile and adaptable to many different styles, to allow as many people to enjoy it as possible. It’s almost as if the original single is a sort of ‘base template’ for other artists to experiment and play with and change. This is a brave move by Early Morning Rebel, and interestingly enough, it doesn’t actually detract from the original song at all, which is good in its own right, if a little bit repetitive at times. It’s slow and chilling, but still good.
Overall, then, it seems like it’s a song designed to be changed and interpreted in many different ways. An ode to the popular and fashionable of today’s fast paced, ever changing, borderline impatient society, and therefore it deserves an above-average 6/10.
