14minutes
By James Yu Sep. 25, 2024
Confusion is an infuriating feeling; it presents no pathway for rejoinder. As artists experiment with increasingly complex themes, the substance of their music is often obscured by unnecessary lengths in order to flesh out the music’s message, confusing listeners. However, Dominic Fike breaks this trend with his most recent album “14minutes,” presenting 14 delightful minutes of solemn sunny ballads and on-brand energetic summer tunes for which he is renowned.
Opening with a somber guitar instrumental and muffled vocal performance in “megaman,” “hi grace” and “1.23.23,” Fike settles listeners into the tranquil nature of the album—a drastic departure from his previous “Sunburn” and “What Could Possibly Go Wrong,” which exclusively consisted of lively pop anthems. Employing static vocal ad-libs and rhythmic drums, Fike twists the formulaic summer hit on its head by using relaxed melodies to form cohesive sentimental yet vibrant songs. Although the identical themes present between the first three songs would come off as repetitive on another album, their brief runtime prevents the tracks from growing stale.
Diverging from the uniform sound catalog established from the previous songs, “THICKRICK” calls forth a contrast of heavy, metallic instrumental strums on top of melodic guitar riff, invoking a unique, soothing, yet confident presence for listeners to enjoy.
Returning to the calm norm established in the first three songs, “bowie box” heavily utilizes his angelic vocals to direct his guitar’s energetic emotional rays. As one of the last restful songs in the tracklist, “bowie box” delivers a final hurrah for the experimental serenity Fike spread throughout the project.
Turning up the pace, “misses” forwards an upbeat humming instrumental with syncopated drums and strident singing to formulate a romantic summer groove. The song’s melancholy cheerfulness invokes feelings of playful nostalgia. Borrowing the muffled vocals of previous songs, “to say to say” mixes the singing with a bouncy yet ariose guitar and drum instrumental. Although the guitar solos fit together well with Fike’s vocals, the muffled singing vocals, which throughout the song comes off a bit tinny, giving a lackluster finish-line approach to what is overall an overall consistently good album.
Closing the album out, “coast2coast” unleashes the guitar riffs for the magnum opus: “14minutes.” “coast2coast”’s bright instrumental blends well with Fike’s sporty singing, culminating in a clear, invigorating hymn which leaves listeners in confusion over why the album is just 14 minutes.
Rating: 5/5
Upfront instrumentals
Vibrant vocal range
Too short a run-time
About the Contributors
James Yu page editor
James Yu is a Junior at Leland High School and Page Editor for the Sports Section. He loves listening to music and reviewing the newest releases as Music Columnist. Outside of Journalism, he enjoys debating for the debate team, hanging out with friends, and sleeping.
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