Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙩 – 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙆𝙚𝙮𝙨
Charles fires up the engine…
Bad things happen. They just do. It doesn’t matter how much we try to prevent it; eventually, bad things will definitely happen. A professional chef will occasionally burn the onions. An experienced driver will occasionally scratch the paintwork. A concert pianist will occasionally hit a bum note. And then there are the things over which we have no control… The roof caves in due to much unknown woodworm. A close friend dies. Lightning strikes your favourite tree. They say lightning never strikes the same place twice (a myth, by the way)… Yet in life, it sometimes feels like lightning is repeatedly striking in the same place: your soul; as if someone has it in for you. Inevitably, you start to collapse under the weight of it all. Bad things just keep happening, and you just sit there, taking the blows like a defenceless punchbag. Your will weakens to the point of won’t, at the mercy of everyone and everything else. While you used to scramble for a fire extinguisher, you now just cower amongst the flames.
There is, however, one forever undying pilot light within; the only flame that must never be put out. It serves to keep the heart pumping, a reminder that you deserve better; that it doesn’t have to be this way. But with zapped energy it seems impossible to recover such previous vitality. Thinking back to how you used to be, you start to wonder if you are even still the same person. So much has affected you, having been bashed from every direction into submission, but you must not ever fully submit. There comes a time when you simply must take back control; control of your own life. Such a process ain’t easy. It can certainly seem daunting, to say the least, but a little inner strength and determination is “all” that’s needed. You have to WANT your old life back – or a new and better life. You see, sometimes attempting to reverse is simply not possible. The map is outdated and the roads have changed. You need to take a new route. You look at that battered old car with its worn tyres surrounded by moss and weeds, but in your pocket remains the ignition key. Though cold, you’re aware that a spark is all it takes to begin the new journey in life. One turn, and the heart elevates to the “alive” position, with lungs wheezing out the toxins. This vehicle has been stationary for too long; it’s time to take it out of neutral. Gear by gear, you set off; finally, back in the driver’s seat.
And with this, comes a confident young man having been through so much blight. He has returned, courageous, on the other side, where the grass is indeed – as they say – greener. His name is Nick Pound (a pretty cool name, if you ask me), but you will probably know him as Sonic Keys. Originally from England, he has been living in Brisbane, Australia for a long time – couldn’t really have gone any further! I mentioned hardship… Well, of course, he has not only been through this, but also that. Which is putting it lightly. But more to the point, he lost his father in 2022, in the most horrific way possible. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say it will forever be deeply affecting for the lad. I mean, losing a father is bad enough; that alone can be years or decades of grief. But this passing is the kind of passing that simply does not pass; a dark undertone etched deep into Nick. Understandably, he had lost control of things. But all was not lost. The silver lining came in the form of song. Nick finally started releasing music in 2023. So, did he therefore begin his musical journey in 2023…? Of course not. Music is not just something at which to be instantly brilliant. It takes years and years to be good enough to even think of releasing music to the world. He started singing and playing the piano at the age of 7; a fabulous start. But his first big moment came in 2012 when he performed in front of a panel of celebrity judges such as Dannii Minogue and Brian McFadden, not to mention around 2000 audience members; it was Australia’s Got Talent! No, I can’t think of much more nerve-racking either…!
In 2023, Nick released two singles. In 2024, there were three more. But 2025 is for me when things start to get serious. There were two more songs, but these were the ones that really made me latch on to Sonic Keys and consciously take note. And it cannot be a coincidence that this is when he started employing the services of Stuart Stuart. Yup, Stuart Stuart is indeed a genuine name, and the name of Nick’s producer and mixing engineer. This isn’t in any way putting down Nick’s previous efforts before this working relationship had formed, lord no; those earlier songs were great! It’s just that as the writing leapt in level, so did the sound and production. Song is a duo of writing and sound, after all. But sound is especially important in pop music. Things simply have to be perfect, or it just falls short of the mark. And perfection is EXACTLY what Sonic Keys is striving for these days; *spoiler alert* he damn well gets there. You will maybe notice the lack of Sonic Keys in my reviews thus far. This was because I simply knew he was coming with something “double-multi-mega-wow” (to quote the term of a friend). I knew nothing of his future releases, but I had this clear feeling that he was going to arrive very soon in my little Corner. He did not let me down.
Friday brought us his debut EP (‘In The Driver’s Seat’), totalling five tracks. Track 3 – ‘Better Days’ – was already a very popular single, despite being my least favourite of the five. Though exceedingly well put together, it is just a little too twee for me. Track 2 and 5 – ‘Make My Move’ and ‘Coming Back To You’ – are really good and definitely a notch above; very pleasing pop tracks. But for me, the absolute winners are tracks 1 and 4 – ‘In The Driver’s Seat’ and ‘One By One’. Seeing as track 1 is the title track, I thought I would concentrate on that one. This is as pop as pop gets. And watch out Patrik Ahlm, you sure have some competition. In fact, Nick, is Patrik your Swedish brother…? Surely you can all hear the similarity in vocal tone…? And that’s one heck of a compliment. But the comparisons don’t end there. Both musically and vocally, I get huge familiar rushes of Gary Barlow (without the Christmas jumper), Sam Smith (without the yuk), Olly Murs (at all times) and even Charlie Puth (when he’s not being asked “what chord is this?”). You get the picture. I SAID it was POP pop. Nick Pound’s voice is essentially flawless, and for once managing to carry the energy and oomph so synonymous with pop hits. I find that many indie artists attempting to pull off pure pop fall short of the power and presence needed for such a genre. And a LOT of confidence is needed, too. But with that vocal passion, must come solid writing, sculpted and precise production, and absolutely perfect sound. Everything has to be 100% clear, brilliant and intentional. Nick Pound and Stuart Stuart successfully work together to achieve ALL of this.
The opening synth flutters in like butterflies. Disco strings stab the air as the ULTRA-compressed piano mimics early Take That. Crisp claps excite the 2 and 4 before the hi-hats design the slickest groove and the DEEPEST kick lurches forward to join the claps. Then the funkiest impression of Nile Rodgers sets up our first verse with a glorious little horn (trombone?) blast. And WHAT a verse it IS! The syncopated energy of the strings/bass unison combined with the peppiest of beats is the perfect backdrop for the star vocalist, Nick himself. The pre-chorus gets those hips swinging into the mood of what is inevitably to follow: pop goodness in the chorus!! I dunno, maybe it’s the producer/engineer in me that appreciates this kind of slickness and perfection, but I love it. After another round of verse, pre-chorus, chorus, we reach the bridge. And THIS (2:10) is where things develop more, musically. It could be the pauses I like, it could be the pizzicato plucks in the background, it could be the relentless unrepeated chords and patterns, or even the chromatically descending bassline; but I think it’s the segue into the suspended chord at 2:22 that I really admire. It’s just so SLICK! And it’s chorus heaven from there on until the end. Control really is the name of the game in this song. Nick has taken back control. He’s in the driver’s seat.
I’d be VERY interested to hear YOUR favourite track on the EP. But you mustn’t be swayed by my own thoughts (and please don’t purposely say the opposite either, simply because it’s the opposite – that gag grew old at school). Let me and Nick know in the comments below!
Having burnt the onions, scratched the paintwork and hit nothing but bum notes, I think I’ll just play it safe and hire a chauffeur.
Listen to 𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙩 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
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