Echoing acoustic guitar-play and the subtle warmth of voice and synth united for an ambient backdrop. Noah Rauch gets fearlessly personal and poetic, with the boldly rising energy and juxtaposed intimacy of Second Glances.
Intriguing and heartbroken lyrics open the doorway to contemplation, and the music, whilst seemingly bright and optimistic, creatively counters the ache and longing at the heart of the writing.
“Take comfort in the fact you never knew me and never wanted to.”
On reaching the three-minute mark, this seemingly relentless stomp of rising anticipation reaches an impassioned peak – a higher vocal key and a more demanding lyric asserting dominance in this still familiar space.
Noah’s voice is stunning at this point, elevating the quiet uncertainty of earlier towards something of a Bruce Springsteen meets Ben Howard aura. The passion is key, the short lines reflective and honest – the delivery clearly connected to their intentions.
This moment also makes the song decidedly recognisable, we hear a guitar solo consistently meandering in the outskirts – perhaps ad-libbing its way through the same uncertainty as the lyrics. And the beat rolls on, but the voice injects a sense of finality – something like an ultimatum, this outcry of ‘wake me up’ resounding to resolve the journey that came before.
The artistic evolution of a song and indeed this inherent, inseparable connection between the performance and the words, is a trait that runs throughout Noah Rauch’s music. Consider also the somewhat more lo-fi, electro-pop flavours of Pauper.
The production is dreamy here, less organic, the melody a tad more fluid in its progression, but the voice and these profound ideas are no less provocative. The stop-and-start arrangement again utilises changes in energy and pace, as well as the power of contrast between a comforting, lightly guitar-led ambiance, and the more scornful isolation and lostness of the lyrics.
It’s an all-consuming space, and the music as such grants listeners a sincere hit of escapism – the sort that seeks to understand and cry out for connection all at once.
Download or stream Second Glances. Find Noah Rauch on Instagram.
