Greyson Chance - Somewhere Over My Head EP [Review]

In the spring of 2016 (already three years ago!), pop pianist sensation Greyson Chance followed up his Truth Be Told EP release with a second EP - Somewhere Over My Head. Independently released via Greyson Chance Music due primarily to his having been dropped from his record label in 2015 (which led to the unfortunate cancellation of his highly anticipated and as of yet unreleased second studio album Planet X), the EP offers five tracks - "Afterlife" (the lead single), "Back on the Wall" (the EP's third single and the only one to feature a music video), "Hit & Run" (the EP's second single), "No Fear," and "More than Me." Somewhere Over My Head marked new territory for Chance in more than one way - not only was it his first independent release, it was also his first venture into electronic music (not counting his previous collaboration with tyDi and Jack Novak - titled "Oceans" - which I am not counting because he was technically a guest vocalist on the song even though he is the only vocalist on it), with the EP comparable to the tone and sound of Troye Sivan's Blue Neighbourhood album. "Afterlife" is a perfect example of this venture; the opening offers electronic blips reminding me of Troye Sivan's "Happy Little Pill," and the lyrics speak to someone struggling with low self-esteem and depression: "Mistakes that you made in the past cutting through you like they're glass." Chance has explained that the song deals with suicide, pleading with someone who is considering it and asking them to stick around: "I just want to hold you, keep you in my world." The chorus is beautiful and incredibly catchy, and it is probably my favorite song on the EP. (It was definitely wisely chosen as the lead single.) I have to confess, however, that for the longest time, I was under the false impression that the chorus was saying, "but I was born in the afterlife; I was born in the morning." I felt so incredibly stupid when I realized that it actually says, "thought I was more than the afterlife, thought I was more than the..." The latter definitely makes a lot more sense given the song's intended meaning.

Chance reaches very high notes in falsetto on the bridge of "Back on the Wall," an upbeat pop song that is easy to dance to. Something that I find interesting about the Somewhere Over My Head EP is that the songs are free of pronouns, which makes perfect sense because Chance likely wanted the music to be authentic and personal, but he hadn't yet come out as gay. "Back on the Wall" is one such song, as I personally interpret the title and the lyrics of the catchy chorus to be sexual: "'Cause when the night falls, your love puts me back on the wall." He also, in the bridge, sings, "If you're feeling cold, let it hit ya. We want to feel emotion, so let's feel it." The innuendo is clear to me and was definitely not the first time (nor would it be the last) that Greyson would be so cheeky in his lyrics. In his unreleased song "Animal in the Night" (which he performed live in 2014), for example, he offers lyrics such as "Tiger's creeping, ain't no sleeping for you tonight" and "feel me, touch me, lick me, bite me." "Hit and Run" is a great follow-up to "Back on the Wall" because it really does serve as somewhat of a sequel to it. In the soulful and upbeat pop song, the verses of which Greyson rapidly sort of half sings and half speaks, Greyson pleads with a lover to let him be free; he wants to make it clear that just because they had sex doesn't mean that he is ready to settle down with anyone: "Don't tell me you love me when I don't. Keep those words locked in a bottle. I am too young for that lifestyle. I'm Mr. Casual... I do what I do in the nighttime [likely a reference to "Animal in the Night"]. I'm sorry, but babe, it's my bloodline." The song is brutally honest and reflective in nature, and I think that Chance might have written it with the same person in mind as was on his mind when he wrote his later standalone single "Low." Here in "Hit & Run," he pleads for his lover not to tell him that he loves him, and on "Low," he declares, "I needed time to move around without you, but I think I'm ready to hear 'I love you'." You can definitely hear progression and development through much of Greyson's music, which is one reason why I love him as an artist and one of the main reason why I can't wait to hear his new album portraits.

Although not released as a single, "No Fear" seems to be one of Greyson's favorite songs considering the fact that he performs it even now on tour for his album portraits. It is definitely one of my favorite songs on the EP because I love the melodically anthemic and catchy chorus in which he sings, "You ain't got the right, baby, coming 'round here, but you came around, came around here." Chance identifies himself as damaged and not the ideal partner in the song, therefore expressing his surprise that he was chosen: "You found me in the dark, baby, said you like them real crazy." The EP closes with "More than Me," a waltzy piano ballad that sounds a bit like an old country song from decades ago. The beautiful song is lyrically very sad and even heartbreaking, as Chance expresses his grief and sadness over the good memories that he shared with someone that now cause him pain: "Gone are the times we sipped on good wine... Your memory near, laced with the pain." The song is a perfect demonstration of how nostalgia feels - a mixture of both pleasure because of the memories being good and pain because the memories are gone and in the past and cannot be relived. He laments at not having been enough for the person when he sings that "I needed love, but it's never the same, for I wanted more; you wanted more than me." The song changes drastically approximately halfway through, almost becoming a different song, in fact, when it becomes atmospheric and ethereal in sound. In this latter half of the song, he nods to the EP title when he sings, "When I took a step back, the realization came, you weren't looking at me; you were looking instead somewhere over my head." Somewhere Over My Head is such a brilliant musical accomplishment, but it unfortunately did not perform well, and the lack of success caused Chance to technically retire from music and go off to college, releasing a single here and there but not committing to music fully (which is why there are so many standalone singles out there). It really is unfortunate because the EP is so great and deserved a lot more attention, but I am glad that he decided to return to music, and here is to hoping that portraits brings him the attention that he more than rightfully deserves!