It’s been a busy year for Rachel Platten; following its 2014 promo on ‘We Heart It’, the 2015 release of today’s review track ‘Fight Song’ has not only propelled her to the top of the UK singles chart, but also landed her performance slots on Good Morning America, not to mention a night of Taylor Swift’s 1989 world tour.
In previous years, however, she’s enjoyed a modicum of success. Since the her career began she’s released 2 studio albums (2003s ‘Trust in Me’ and 2011s ‘Be Here’), her single ‘1000 ships’ peaked at number 24 on the American Billboard Adult top 40, and many of her tracks have been featured in movies, trailers and TV shows.
Released on the Columbia label and co-written by Dave Richard Bassett, Fight Song is a catchy pop / pop rock track in a style closely mimicking (though not copying) the that of artists such as Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. Lyrically, it’s a song of self-belief – based on her doubts as to whether she had a chance in the music industry, reinforcing her own self-belief. On first listen it’s a little repetitive (the chorus outshining the verses somewhat); but it soon grows on you.
Unsurprisingly given her classical piano background, the piano is a prominent instrument in the track; from the subtle opening to the verses (where an acoustic guitar also comes in to play). The production is decent too; though I found myself wondering if the mix was a little imbalanced (favouring the left channel) particularly during the choruses. The vocals have the usual compressed graininess to them which is typical of pop music in these times of modern mastering, but from an audio quality perspective things could be a lot worse. The track makes use of subtle multilayered vocals and a few subtle harmonies. The production, instrumentation and arrangement are all very laid back, which is a refreshing change.
Fight Song is available as a digital download as part of the EP of the same title with ‘Lone Ranger’ being the B-Side. It’s available in the usual places – all popular streaming services, iTunes and Amazon
