No Trace (featuring Glenn Travis) – Vibrations
Piano keys shine a blinding light through an ominous bassline as we enter “Vibrations,” the new single from NoTrace featuring none other than Glenn Travis on backing vocals. The dark and threatening vibe of the bass isn’t overwhelming at first; it takes a little time, but slowly we find ourselves trapped in a corner with its unadulterated bottom-end weight, clinging to a smashingly streamlined vocal from NoTrace for dear life.
He pulls us from beneath the rhythmic rubble and brings us towards a spellbinding melodic chorus from Travis, who for all intents and purposes gives a performance in this track that stands above anything I’ve heard out of either of these two artists’ peers in the last few years. The magic is just getting started, but it doesn’t take more than thirty seconds to become hopelessly entranced with this song’s excellently designed harmonies.
Both from an instrumental perspective and a lyrical one as well, “Vibrations” assaults us with everything that NoTrace and Glenn Travis have got, and for all the hype about the ongoing minimalist revival that has supposedly overthrown the gluttonous hierarchy of hip-hop’s previous existence, the excessive tonality in this single is actually one of its most attractive and refreshing qualities.
I don’t know whether or not NoTrace intended to do so, but in this song, he essentially breaks away from the pack and establishes himself as a hard-hitting rapper who doesn’t accept sonic boundaries as well as the bulk of his rivals do. His rebellious attitude is a nice change of pace from what 2019 has had to offer critics so far, to say the least.
Glenn Travis really seasons this single with a melodic groove that I think makes it so much more appealing to both pop and hip-hop fans than it would have been were his stylish pipes not present in the final cut.
A lot of critics like to make the argument that collaborations are doing more harm than good within the indie rap community both on the east coast and out west, mostly because of the notion that it demands all involved sacrifice a part of their artistry in favor of compromise, but that just can’t be said of “Vibrations.” Nothing is sacrificed here from either side of the booth, and if anything, NoTrace and Glenn Travis bring out the best in each other and make this single a showstopper with incredible crossover potential.
2019 is likely going to be one of the biggest and most successful years for up and coming talent to emerge from the underground ahead of a new decade in music, in both hip-hop as well as a litany of other genres, and while it’s only February, there’s no debating that “Vibrations” is already making waves for both NoTrace and Glenn Travis alike.
It symbolizes a strain of rappers that aren’t playing by anyone’s rules but their own, and they’re making some really passionate music in the process of waging their war on the status quo. This pair drop one heck of a bomb track in this song, and I’m excited to see them do it again in the future.
If you enjoyed Vibrations, check out NoTrace’s official website by clicking here. Give him a like on Facebook by clicking here & a follow on Twitter by clicking here.
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