Charlie Puth has released a new track titled “Hero.” If you go to YouTube and watch Charlie break down his super famous song “Attention,” he explains how he made that track. One curious detail from that interview is that Charlie explains how he was hesitant to feature acoustic guitar as a main instrument in the song, even though he recognizes it can be really useful for filling out rhythmic spaces in a song. In his latest release, “Hero,” he does feature the acoustic guitar as almost the prominent instrument. In that interview for “Attention,” Charlie said something akin to, “If you use the acoustic guitar, you instantly become THAT guy, or the song instantly becomes THAT song.” Meaning, Charlie was thinking about the fact that the persona of an “acoustic guitar guy” takes up so much space, and it seems, in his opinion, that persona overshadows some part of the song itself.

Okay, I will finish with this: Charlie, there is no need to worry. Even though the acoustic guitar is taking up more space in this track than it has on previous records, it still feels like a Charlie song. Or maybe it is just that you have to establish yourself first before you start using the acoustic guitar? Either way, well played, Charlie. Well played.

The song features Charlie’s hazy, catchy vocals being harmonized throughout the song. He is ridiculously good at writing catchy little melodies that stick with you. “Hero” is moving more in the direction of a track written by a traditional singer-songwriter than his previous works. I think you could fairly say that this track is related to artists like John Mayer and Alec Benjamin. Charlie talks about how Taylor Swift’s shoutout in her latest album gave him a lot of courage to release a song like this that deviates a little bit from his usual style. I think that is a really cool domino effect. Just imagine getting a thumbs-up from arguably the biggest artist on planet Earth.

This track uses fewer elements, but a lot of people would probably argue that it actually accomplishes more than his previous releases. Charlie talks about deviating to a style that feels more natural and stripped back. The use of laid-back, simple acoustic drums, acoustic guitar, and lots of more organic sounds really help the song feel down to Earth. I have been harping about this for a long time, but I really see the audience shifting to songs that have more organic, acoustic sounds. I, for one, enjoy it. Listen also to acts like Khruangbin, Glass Beams, or BADBADNOTGOOD. First and foremost though, give this new, slightly modified version of Charlie Puth a try.

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!