If David Vogel is the alternative/indie pop artist he claims to be, one has to wonder about, ‘Alternative to what?’ Well, he is Nashville based (relocating there from New York), so he is an alternative to the Christian and country music so prevalent in that city. He is not ‘alternative’ in the most recognizable sense, though. That’s because alternative music, even alternative pop music, suggests something at least a little edgy. Nothing in his single “Maybe You’re The Reason” is at all edgy. Not the vocal. Not the instrumentation. Nothing. It is, instead, a fairly straight forward pop song. It’s a good one, too; just not any sort of alternative.
Vogel sings with a shiny bright vocal tone. He could just as easily be a pop singer akin to Richard Marx. He sings with an urgency much closer to a boy band’s sound than, say, that dark man, Nick Cave. He even layers his own lead vocal that at least sounds partially like a boy band recording. The groove is a keyboard/guitar riff with a big, booming sound. Perhaps this is Vogel’s pop Trojan horse – so to speak – intended to get his foot into the pop radio door. Maybe he has heavier songs to present once he catches the ear of radio gatekeepers.
Lyrically, this song wonders out loud if a particular person is the one making him feel and act differently. “Maybe you’re the reason I can’t sleep at night,” Vogel tells us at one point. Insomnia is oftentimes a symptom of being in love. “Maybe you’re reason I don’t feel right,” he also tells us. However, these two verse lines don’t sound especially positive. This person is making him – possibly – sick, and also causing him to miss sleep. If this is truly love, why won’t Vogel describe his situation in much more positive terms?
“I want you so bad,” he also states. Therefore, he may be hoping to spend time with this other person in order to find out if that one partnership can turn into love. There are situations where we just don’t know what the chemistry combination will create. In a perfect world, we all find love at first sight, nearly immediately. But this ain’t no perfect world. In this life, plenty of trial and error is necessary. This song is Vogel smack dab in the trial-and-error phase, just trying to figure it all out.
When it comes to love and romance, there is ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and ‘maybe.’ Maybe may be the most frustrating answer of them all. Even no may be preferable because at least the person knows where he/she stands. Maybe causes people to over think the whole thing, looking constantly for clues until and answer is clear.
Although the track incorporates rock instrumentation, it’s not a simple and straightforward rock song. Instead, it has a big, multifaceted sound that supports Vogel’s lead vocal.
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“Maybe You’re The Reason” is, at the end of the day, a reasoning song. The character just wants to pin a reason on why his emotions are the way they are. Hopefully, this potential lover is the cause of these feelings, and a romantic connection can finally be initiated.
-Dan MacIntosh
