Have You Heard? Amber Arcades – Wouldn’t Even Know (ft Bill Ryder-Jones)

“This may be the song I’m most proud of so far” says Annelotte de Graaf, better known as Amber Arcades, of her latest track. It’s a pretty bold statement to make, particularly for a musician and songwriter such as herself. That’s especially true considering that the recent tracks she’s previewed for her upcoming EP ‘Cannonball’ – ‘It Changes’ and ‘Can’t Say That We Tried’ – might well be two of her strongest pieces of transcendent dream-pop to date.

So ‘Wouldn’t Even Know’ must be pretty special if Annelotte herself is heaping such praise on it herself. And wouldn’t you know, it is. Taking its time to build up over the course of a minute with faint, atmospheric guitar riffs and hazy, vintage synths, the track soon blossoms into what at first is a lilting, melancholic number but, despite its sentiment surrounding the unknown, the hook might be one of the catchiest, oddly uplifting things she’s written to date (she at first originally imagined as part of “a funky kind of jam”).

Bill Ryder-Jones also lends his vocals to the mix. Although on paper the contrast between his own dusky, brooding voice and Annelotte’s wistfulness might seem like it shouldn’t work, they actually harmonise perfectly, the dynamic between them adding just another layer of depth. Mixing lightness and sincerity, melancholia and positivity, Annelotte is right to be pretty proud of ‘Wouldn’t Even Know’.