Track Review: Don’t Hold Back // Alex Kate
Described by Sinusoidal Music as an infectious artist with confident anthems, UK-based Alex Kate has a profound sound to share with the masses. Not only is the music profound in its seriousness, but the melodic arrangement makes her something of which to take note. Holding no bars, Alex’s powerful and engaging music has seen her develop a strong following across the globe with features on Rising Artists Blog, Frontview Magazine, We Write About Music and Send Me Your Ears. One of the more recent releases on her discography is the single ‘Don’t Hold Back’.
Following her pop anthem ‘Summer Wagon’, ‘Don’t Hold Back’ adopts a soothing, soft and intoxicating pop sound. Intricate instrumentation carefully wraps around Alex Kate’s rich vocals hitting you right in the chest with pure passion. Well-textured, the flow of guitar and drums harmonically meld with the underlying acoustic piano tossing you into a kaleidoscopic sonic blanket. What I enjoy is how the harmonic arrangement acts like a fluffy cloud carrying you along the delicate melody.
Unlike ‘Summer Wagon’ which had a strong indie-folk influence and speedier pace, ‘Don’t Hold Back’ shows us Alex Kate’s angelic side. A dazzling songstress, she uses her voice, instruments and poetic songwriting to build this image of a bright light shimmering in the distance. Stepping outside of her comfort zone, ‘Don’t Hold Back’ has joviality but is a melancholic love song – told you she was profound. Yet, while there is sadness to the overall message, the song also holds an empowering quality as she stands up and accepts the situation with an almost eureka moment.
“I had been processing a pretty painful friendship breakdown, which seemed so alien to me as you are taught about romantic breakups, but not friendship breakups. I hadn’t known how to react to the situation, especially as I have been taught to turn the other cheek…everything inside of me wanted to fight back, but I realised that it was just going to be a waste of my energy. Instead, I wanted to say to this person who had hurt me deeply ‘don’t hold back because then I can say that I am a champion’…it was almost cathartic, and I had a eureka moment that I can only be truly hurt if I let people hurt me.” – Alex Kate on ‘Don’t Hold Back’