In life, things tend to be finite. Things end, people leave, and it can leave us sitting in the dust of the aftermath wondering exactly what just happened. Etham depicts this instance beautifully in the song “Still Can’t Move On”. Through artistic lyrics such as “I didn’t need anyone / Till you came and showed me how wrong I was”, Etham conveys the nearly earth-shattering grief that can come with the end of a relationship. Whenever a relationship ends, the human brain reacts in the same way as if someone close to you had died. Whether a platonic or romantic relationship, the end of something special can make one feel as if part of them had died with it.
The instrumentation of this track is key in telling the story being painted by the lyrics. A song about not being able to move on is incredibly vulnerable. This is emphasized by the thin instrumentation. The singer sings on top of one, maybe two instruments for most of the song. Rather than being able to hide behind heavy bass and thick drumbeats, the vocalist is incredibly exposed. In a way, the singer’s voice is just as vulnerable to small discrepancies being picked up as it is incredibly prominent. This follows along with the feelings that are communicated in the lyrics. Admitting to not being able to move on is an incredibly difficult feat. It requires surrendering the desire to appear strong and unbothered and puts someone at risk of rejection and judgement. This mirrors the instrumentation beautifully. Of course, Etham is a technically proficient singer and a skilled performer, so the discrepancies are nowhere to be found.
This fantastic artist was born Etham Basden on March 2nd, 1997. He is a singer and songwriter from Reading in the United Kingdom. He began writing music at the age of twelve and was greatly inspired by the Beatles. At the age of fourteen, Etham began posting his song covers to YouTube. Shawn Mendes shared one of his covers, “Hurtful” by Erik Hassle, on the internet, which gave Etham some mainstream recognition. Soon thereafter, he signed to Virgin EMI. He released his first single under his full name. In 2015, he began releasing under his stage name “Etham”. He has toured the UK with John Newman and has solidified himself as a fantastic artist in the modern times.
Written By Victoria Fitzgerald
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