Jonathan Cavier – Comes a Moment
Jonathan Cavier’s latest single “Comes a Moment” builds on the success of Premier’s first single release “January” while offering listeners a distinctly different take on his musical creativity. This Phoenix, Arizona based singer/songwriter has already logged countless miles in his long career before even branching out on his own and that expertise shines through on everything he releases. His tenure as one half of the evocative pop duo EyeTalk resulted in a busy live career and five well-received studio albums before Cavier made the fateful decision to embark on his solo career. “Comes a Moment” proves Cavier is a pop artist with much substantive value, but the song never betrays his self-professed influences and, instead, stands out as a singular product of his imagination alone. There is no imitation here, no aiming for the lowest common denominator. “Comes a Moment” is thoughtful, musically beautiful, and undoubtedly sincere.
The sincerity is palpable from the first thanks to Cavier’s vocal. If this were a strictly instrumental piece, the music would strike listeners as very pleasing and expertly arranged, but his singing draws out tremendous emotion from the instrumental work and helps make the melodies stand out even sharper. The production really does an exceptional job with two specific instruments. The acoustic guitar doesn’t reach for any sort of virtuosity, but juggles straight ahead chords and lyrical touches in a way that couldn’t be any more ideal. The drums come in just before the song is a minute old and they give the song and performance a shape that it lacks in its opening. The playing is never plodding or too forceful – instead, it ratchets up the drama of the song with great taste and touch. This sort of playing epitomizes the idea that it isn’t what musicians play that’s most important, but what they don’t play. The clear delicacy that Cavier and his accompanying band reach for is present in this performance from its first notes on.
His lyrics are never laid on too thick, but they certainly aspire to something much greater and finer than pop music’s typical grab bag of clichés and vague emotions. Cavier communicates his mental and emotional space with exquisite clarity that keeps its language conversational without ever diminishing the weighty themes he’s exploring. Even young listeners will relate to this material – the experience that he’s depicting in this song isn’t so far removed from a particular age group that it reduces the accessibility of the song. Imaginative listeners who haven’t lived through the sort of sea changes in attitude that Cavier is singing about will still be able to put themselves in his place. “Comes a Moment” has a balanced, deep approach that bewitches listeners from the beginning and Cavier conveys enormous depths of feeling within its deceptively simple framework. This is a single of rare distinction and it is clear why Jonathan Cavier opted to start his album Premier with this song.
SOUNCDLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/jonathancaviermusic/comes-a-moment
Michael Saulman