This review covers the trance track Miro – By Your Side (Ian Wilkie Mix).
This track was released in 2002 as part of a single.
The track starts with a cymbal crash and a drum kit with a few added percussion elements. A reverse cymbal makes an appearance as a bassline and a synth joins the track. After a quick pause on the drum kit, the vocals come in for a verse. A synth effect makes an appearance as well. The vocals have a reverberation effect with the occasional delay effect. A second synth effect makes an appearance. The first synth then makes an appearance. A stutter effect is briefly applied to the vocals.
After that, the vocals take the track into the main chorus as a synth and a piano element joins the track. This is capped off with some string elements. The track then briefly pauses, letting a synth effect take over for a moment.
From there, the vocals continue on with the next verse. Synth effects make brief appearances as the track continues along the verse. There is an added synth element as well. When the vocals take the track into the main chorus, they are rejoined by the piano and synth melodies that are a bit on the subtle side of things. This is capped off by the vocals ending and some string elements making another appearance. An instrumental section follows.
After that, the vocals make a return, quickly taking the track back into the main chorus in a shorter manner. The title of the track is repeated as elements start getting pulled back. Synth effects make brief appearances still. A cymbal crash makes an appearance in the midst of one of those synth effect appearances. Other subtle elements get pulled. The track is then lead out by a reverse cymbal.
One thing that stands out to me is the vocals. They are pretty reasonably full and they really help make the track sound nice all the way through. So, that gets a thumbs up from me.
Another positive is that this track does manage to build up quite nicely. The multiple layers of effects work quite well in that buildup.
The problem is that this track then takes all that momentum of building up and offers a subtle couple of piano keys and some synth notes as a climax. As a result, it does have that sense of being anti-climactic in a way. It does follow through with something, but I’m not really convinced that it is enough to really seem satisfactory.
As a result, parts of this track feel like it’s on auto-pilot for large stretches. I call that a bit unfortunate given that it had so much going for it.
Still, it’s not a terrible track by any means. It has a lot of nice ambience in it. The vocals are great. Additionally, the effects added really give this track a nice buildup. It just gets a bit anti-climactic when the vocals hit the main chorus. A decent track, but seemed to be a missed opportunity to produce something exceptional.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
