Title: “Down”Artist: Kara Romero
Released: June 28, 2015
Format: Digital Download, CD Single, Weekly Airplay
Recorded: May, 2015 - Basement Studios, Brooklyn, New York
Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop, Indie Pop, Electro-Pop
Length: 2:53
Label: Just Record
Writer(s): Kara Romero, Cara Zayn
Producer(s): Cara Zayn
“Down” is the title of the comeback track from American musician/actress ‘Kara Romero’, the alternative pop singer-songwriter first debuted in 2012 but failed to make a major mark on the music industry, releasing one hit single titled, “My Poison Ivy Lips” before the singer drifted back into obscurity. But the release of this brand new track from the singer serves as the first real attempt at a return to the music industry for alternative pop musician. “Down” shows a change lyrically since her first attempt at breaking into the industry, with more of an urban feel to the song, with elements of hip-hop and electronica as the twenty-year old attempts to find her own sound as a musician. However the biggest question remains, is she good enough to make a career in music?
The song was recorded at the ‘Basement Studios’ in Brooklyn, New York, a relatively run-down recording studio and was recorded around May 2015 with Romero working alongside Cara Zayn in the production and songwriting of the track. This came after the musician had signed a deal to the label Just Record. Marking her potential return to the industry.
The song is released today on June 28, 2015 and clocks in at just under three minutes in length, it’s reported that the song will be the first steps towards the Spanish/American musicians debut solo album, and will be available as a Digital Download, CD Single and will be made available to Weekly Airplay.
REVIEWThe song features a strong rhythmic backdrop throughout which sets a relatively low-key mood for Kara to work her vocals into. As the singer delivers the opening lines to the song, you can feel the connection between music and lyrics as she sings the opening verse, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this/Feels like I’m clutching at straws and your necklace/F*ck it, I’m feeling a little reckless/Wanna take to you to the backroom just to test it/See if you really got what I need/I ain’t gunna beg or plead/So just drop to your f*cking knees/Go faster, make me scream/Looks like your’re living everybodies dream/If we only have one night in town/Then we’re going down/... Down, down.”, lyrically the song isn’t anything ground breaking, some may even say that it borders on boring, it’s nothing more than just another average sex and alcohol song.
There’s a combination of synthesizers and keyboards mid-way through the song and if you add that to the rhythmic tones, then you get a mess of music that I assume was meant to be different and interesting, but it doesn’t highlight the vocals and feels out of place. Lyrically it just doesn’t work either, it feels like a lazy attempt at rap more than anything and it even fails at that.
The industry is full of musicians that aren’t doing anything in particular to stand out, there’s a handful of names that are creating music that is unique and interesting, the rest, just seem to blend into the crowd of familiar but nameless faces and it sadly looks like the same can be said for Ms. Romero. She showed a lot of promise with her song back in 2012 but nothing came of it and the reasons are now clear, it was a fluke song, it was catchy and unique and it did everything a pop song should do, but this attempt shows why she dissapeared, because she’s not capable of following it up with anything even remotely close to quality.
We would no doubt love to see Kara prove us wrong and show us that she has a unique voice and can bring something else to an urban scene that is currently missing. But like so many before her, we are looking at another one hit wonder.
Or perhaps, we’re seeing a talented musician making a satirical statement about the industry itself ...
LYRICS“I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this
Feels like I’m clutching at straws and your necklace
F*ck it, I’m feeling a little reckless
Wanna take to you to the backroom just to test it
See if you really got what I need
I ain’t gunna beg or plead
So just drop to your f*cking knees
Go faster, make me scream
Looks like your’re living everybodies dream
If we only have one night in town
Then we’re going down
... Down, down
Midnight rushes, wide awake
Fuelled on booze and bad mistakes
Come inside, stick around
We’ll burn this club to the f*cking ground
Grinding down to that beat
We’ll take this party to the street
Neon signs and golden stars
For one night only
This is ours
They call it a blackout, my mind is a little hazy
Shots of adrenaline for me and my baby
Bottles on the bedroom floor
This wasn’t how I left it
Memories of last night, guess I’ll just reject it
Don’t know what I’ve done
But f*ck it, I guess we both had fun
Don’t know if I’ve ever felt like this
Feels like I’m clutching at straws and your necklace
F*ck it, I’m feeling a little reckless
Wanna take to you to the backroom just to test it
See if you really got what I need
I ain’t gunna beg or plead
So just drop to your f*cking knees
Go faster, make me scream
Looks like your’re living everybodies dream
If we only have one night in town
Then we’re going down
... Down, down”