When I was a teenager, life was simple. I didn’t have social media seeping into every aspect of my life, exposing every element of my relationships to a watching pack of wolves. I didn’t know what my friends were up to after college until I saw them the next day. And I certainly wasn’t subjected to seeing what my exes were up to just days after a relationship ended. Today’s generation of teens have it tough. It’s a subject 17 year old Kieran decided to tackle in a song produced as part of an A-Level music tech course. I Don’t Want To is a gritty, hard hitting track about a break up, with a no holds barred approach to lyrically describing the aftermath of the relationship ending, and a subsequent betrayal.
The track opens with a voicemail, presumably the girl in question, that suggests she wants to remain friends. The rest of the song plays out as the voicemail left in reply, which cleverly reveals the story of the relationship, the break up and the events that followed.
Self taught musician Kieran plays all the guitar you hear on this track, with a cutting and whining intro that sets the mood for the unfolding story. With the track being written, recorded and produced by Kieran himself from his bedroom during lockdowns, musically it stands tall.
The lyrics are raw, powerful and honest, a fantastic work of creative genuis that spells out, without a doubt, the pain caused by the end of a relationship that once promised the world. Muted vocals replicate the tinny playback of a voicemail.
The melancholy guitar continues throughout the track, stitching hard hitting verses seamlessly into the darker chorus, where the layers of the track build and rise in tempo, as a declaration is made that there’s no going back. No amount of talking or calling will bring even a friendship back.
The second verse reveals the sting in the tail, a betrayal that uncovers why the track holds such a sinister tone.
The instrumental bridge before the final round of the chorus is majorly impressive, as Kieran expertly takes his guitar on a twisting and turning journey which really showcases his skills as a musician. An energetic drum beat builds the tension, a cacophony of pent up anger spilling audibly out. The track ends with the voicemail being deleted, signifying perhaps that despite the anger and resentment, the storyteller is not yet ready for his side to be heard. Lyrically this track is maturely poetic for such a young artist. The professionalism shown in the production of this track is promising for a bright future. With many more songs “pending”, this is a musician worth looking out for.
By: Colorado Beetle