A charismatic string melody. A soft voice with a brooding, strong verse. The gentle beat of the percussion. The sway of the collective band. This is “Anniversary,” our first official look into the artistry and melodicism of one Jeffrey Li, and it’s easy to see why industry insiders are already calling this young man one of the artists out of the Canadian underground to watch in 2020.
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“Anniversary” isn’t a complicated song – if anything, it’s got a simplistic structure that keeps all of our focus on the vocal and limited panache of the instrumentation – but what it lacks in bells and whistles it more than compensates for in sheer originality and broad, heartfelt harmonies that could penetrate even the coldest of souls this August. Li is on a mission to celebrate some of pop music’s most charming cosmetics in his debut single, and although his is hardly the only rookie effort that is worth taking a look at right now, it’s one I’ve personally had a difficult time putting down since first acquiring a copy of the track a little over a week ago.
There’s a lot to the substance of the narrative in “Anniversary,” starting with the romantic element, and I like that the general use of gloss on the instrumentation was kept to a bare minimum as to preserve the sonic integrity of the strings, keys, bass and percussion as though we were listening to an intimate club show instead of a studio recording. The lyricism here enjoys a great deal of depth; both thoughtful and relatable, Li circumvents the mere notion of self-centeredness by applying a surreal spin to his protagonist’s internal dialogue (as conveyed in the verses). We’re listening to thoughts springing from inside and pouring out of our speakers wrapped in a beautiful, supremely melodic ribbonry, and better yet, it’s accompanied by a soft swing that keeps us moving to the beat even the harmonies are stealing the lion’s share of the spotlight. There was no need for a lot of bassline indulgence in the backdrop – truth be told, I think it would have inevitably got in the way of our fully appreciating the scope of this teenage phenom’s talents.
I just found out about Jeffrey Li through this debut single, but if this is at all representative of the kind of music he wants to be known for (and, perhaps even more important than that, the type of artist he wants to be), he’ll definitely go far in this medium. He’s got so much potential as a vocalist, and provided he ditches out on negative compositional opportunities overly-highlighting his surface appeal for more artistically-provocative tracks, he’s going to have critics like me supporting his work.
I like the direction Li is headed in with “Anniversary,” and even if it takes him a minute to get back into the studio for a follow-up, I don’t believe there’s any need to debate his future as a pop singer. He’s onto something good, and once you’ve heard this greenhorn outing, I think you’ll agree.
Jodi Marxbury