Reviewed by: Lee Callaghan
Evolution Music Press
February 12, 2023
Coming up to one month since its release the latest single from HeIsTheArtist, Caught Out There is gaining quite a momentum in streaming numbers. A piano duet with a highly talented female vocalist (sorry I do not have the performer’s name), Caught Out There is a romantic, yet thought-provoking piece dealing with abandoned trust, hurt emotions, and betrayal in a way that HeIsTheArtist delivers best. With an almost spoken word lyrical delivery, Caught Out There offers highly syncopated and off-time vocals that fall on different downbeats and trip up the conventional rhythmic patterns of contemporary music. It is his sporadic and random approach to his vocals that makes HeIsTheArtist a prolific and appreciated force within the Gospel, Christian Jazz field. It is the underlying jazz melodies that are produced on the piano that gives this track its swing, while the scat vocals define the intricacies of the subject matter, leaving much open to listener involvement and interpretation.
The production quality on Caught Out There is very well-executed and delivered with maturity and professionalism. The piano sits very comfortably in the mid registers while the harmonizing vocals are allied to dance around the frequency range with relative ease. It is these qualities that make this track so inviting for Christian, Gospel, RnB, Jazz, or Adult Contemporary commercial radio playlists. I believe Caught Out There is meant to be as challenging as it is, the metaphorical approach coupled with the spoken word performance is not for the casual listener. It requires a level of attention and appreciation that may limit its approach fullness and hinder its ability to reach a vast audience. However, if you have the commitment to tackle an undertaking such as this the results are highly rewarding, as at its root Caught Out There is a very capable piece of music and deserves more analysis than this small first impression review can give it justice to. I feel with many more listens, I will take more from this track, as with each consumption of these melodies I feel more enlightened and fulfilled. An experiment in musicality that has high payoffs for sure.
