It takes a lot of guts to blend the old and the new when it comes to producing a song – on one end, you’re limited by used ideas, and on the other you’re seeking innovation. But every now and then, you have artists like Chet Faker that come around with a song such as Get High, that perfectly blends the two ideologies together in one sweet musical smoothie.

The honky-tonky piano that opens the song immediately sets the tone for the rest of the track. The bluesy harmony and gritty twang layered in production quickly give path to the groove as it smoothly makes its entrance. Chet’s throaty singing in a lament is immediately reminiscent of both old-school psychedelic rock singers and new-school alt-rockers. The melodies are catchy and indistinguishable, all the while the rhythm slacks just enough to feel right. As the percussion evolves, the song really begins opening up, taking full advantage of the stereo field. The song feels a mile wide, and it absolutely works in its favor. You can hear so many odes and homages to psychedelic and soul music of the old, either in its ideas or in its production, but the production itself as a finished product sounds incredibly modern. Like mentioned before, it’s the balance between the two that makes this song work as well as it does.

Right as you believe the song to come to a close, there’s a wicked analog synth solo played over trippy variations of the progression that has been looping throughout the song. That little ear-candy at the end brings the song to its actual end, and quite honestly serves as one of the most fun endings in any song I’ve heard in a long time.

Get High sounds new and fresh, yet old and nostalgic, and though technically ambitious, it’s also very accessible in its ideas and execution. I could see people finding this song to be a gateway into the more dated recordings that clearly inspired a song like this one, and that’s really a beautiful thing.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.