If there is one kind of song that never seems to go out of style, it’s the well-regarded love songs created by everyone from indie unknowns to the biggest of names in music, all for those who inspire us to experience romance. In the powerful “It Don’t Take Much (Because I Do),” OG singer/songwriter Bruce Sudano beautifully demonstrates the potency of what a strong love song can do when the right pipes are singing its verses, all while steering clear of the predictable elements so many of us have come to associate with the sugary side of pop and rock music.

Official Website: http://www.brucesudano.com/

There’s a really folky feel to the main hook in this track that initially makes it seem as though we’re going to be listening to a straight singer/songwriter affair, but right before we discover the hook for the first time I think it becomes obvious that the bones “It Don’t Take Much (Because I Do)” are pure pop magic. The construction of the lyrics aside, the instrumental fluidity is straight out of an old fashioned playbook essentially perfected by The Beatles more than a half-century ago, which isn’t to discount the pastoral nature of the harmony so much as it is to honor the true aesthetic driving us home here.

I really appreciate the music video’s not wasting any of our time with over the top conceptualism in the style of other postmodern pop powerhouses’ in 2021, and though it’s a little stripped in comparison to what a lot of the competition happen to be producing this spring, I think it works better because of its lack of frills. Sudano’s voice doesn’t need anything to sound sexy and endearing; on the contrary, I would say that aural props would have just got in his way and impeded the development of his narrative.

Among under the radar singer/songwriters that you really need to be paying attention to this year, Bruce Sudano is unquestionably one of my very favorites. His music has become a go-to for my unwinding-minded soundtracks in the past year, and while I highly doubt this is going to be the last time that we hear any big releases from his moniker, I don’t know that there’s a better track currently out for unaware listeners to give a shot this month. It is an identity piece, and certainly one that I really don’t see myself forgetting anytime soon.

John McCall