In pop music, vibrancy comes in many forms, and in the new single “Boomerang” by Jaimie Steck, it’s manifested in both the melodies and the beat that join Steck’s striking lead vocal. Rather than relying on her voice and the linguistic lashings she’s come up with as the sole source of poetic value in this song, Steck allows for the grooves to take us somewhere that words can only tease – whilst incorporating a provocative harmony just for good measure. It’s a crowded talent pool in 2021, but out of the contemporary Miami underground, this is one songstress I wouldn’t bet against for anything.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jaimiesteck/

The rhythm here is quite intoxicating, particularly in how it shapes the role of the bass (and the singer’s subsequent relationship with the backend). There’s an argument to be made that Steck has the perfect vocal style for straddling a beat as intoxicatingly stealthy as this one is, and because of how focused her attack is, there’s never a real moment of disconnect between the moodiness of her voice and the tone of the lyricism. Every word feels real, and never like a minor piece of a pop puzzle designed simply to get people grinding on the dancefloor.

Steck’s video for “Boomerang,” brilliantly directed by Zoltan Orban, is a bold throwback to the physicality of old school pop from the mid-90s (sans the bombast of the era, of course), but that’s more or less where the aesthetical retrospection begins and ends for the document. I’ve seen a tremendous uptick in recycled framework within the American indie pop movement of the past year, but there’s a big difference between that and what we’re getting in this piece, starting first and foremost with the cosmetics of the video. You can’t call this kind of conceptualism retro – it simply wouldn’t have made sense outside of the present context.

“Boomerang” conquers one of the biggest hurdles this style of music faces in finding just the right amount of bass with which to create a foundational rhythm, and that alone makes it a really danceable pop track regardless of what your typical interest in the genre is. I’d like to hear what Jaimie Steck can do with something acoustic, or perhaps just slowed down from the pace she’s at in this performance, mostly because the versatility she exhibits freely has so much potential to be exploited if put in the right compositional circumstances.

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/boomerang-single/1546273286?i=1546273289&ign-gact=3&ls=1

There’s never been a time for pop music quite like the present, and “Boomerang” sees Jaimie Steck joining the soundtrack to modern culture as a singer and performer ready for the big leagues. Both the single and the video hold unique insight into the kind of player she wants to be and, more importantly, the growth she’s found in the two short years to have passed since “Full Moon” first hit record store shelves. If her goal was to get our attention, she’s met it; next, the mainstream needs to get ready to hear her roar for themselves.

John McCall