Layered like a contemporary indie folk-pop tune but sporting more energy than the genre would typically allow for, “Rush” is Mason Embers’ electrifying acoustic single out this December and creating a lot of buzz for the young singer/songwriter’s career as we approach 2021. From an instrumental standpoint, “Rush” is pretty basic stuff that doesn’t really test the limits of Embers’ sound, but I don’t think this was the point of its release. At its heart and soul, this is a pop-rocker made to quietly start a fire on your speakers, and in my experience it doesn’t need any kindling to ignite something special every time it’s played.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masonembers/?hl=en

There’s not a doubt in my mind that Embers is putting up a piece of his personality in these lyrics and leaving it for all the world to see, and I think that his assertiveness as a songwriter is something that his younger peers could maybe learn a little bit from as they work on their own craft. From the lyrics to the swing in his step, there’s culture and unassuming emotionality pretty much everywhere you can think of in “Rush,” which again isn’t the kind of thing I can expect out of the commercially-saturated side of the industry these days.

The lead vocal is tightly tucked between the percussion and the strings as we get into the latter half of “Rush” especially, but there’s never an instance in which any of the instruments or the singer himself sound cramped within a studio or a mix trying to create something just a little bit more complex than it might initially seem. Embers has room to breathe when he needs it in this piece, and this is another example of how to record ambitiously that I can only wish for his less than successful rivals to try themselves.

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/rush-single/1537909758?i=1537909759&ign-gact=3&ls=1

Pop music doesn’t have to sell-out everything iconic about its homespun side to sparkle like a brand new Rolex, and I think this is the main reason why Mason Embers’ “Rush” is a new favorite of mind this month. There’s no trying to deceive us with a lot of filler that you wouldn’t be able to replicate in a live setting here; there’s only an uncut melodicism that I have yet to grow tired of, and if this is the last time I have a chance to give it a listen, I would be very upset indeed.

John McCall