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Removing a popular concept from the countless filler-based pieces of material that fill the mainstream can be difficult, but lucky for the singer/songwriter known as Cody Jasper, he’s got just the right singing voice for the job. There’s nothing even particularly grand about his new single “Who You Are,” but what the song lacks in inventive fireworks it makes up for in a plaintiveness that feels like a breath of fresh air. Jasper is one heck of a good vocalist, but here, he’s going much further than his contemporaries are ready or willing to in a country/rock crossover single.
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There isn’t a detail spared when it comes to the structure of this track and the meticulousness of our leading man, but even if he had chosen to get a little cheap when it comes to the mix, something in my gut says that Jasper would be sounding as on-point with his delivery as he does here. This isn’t to discount the solid production quality of “Who You Are,” but merely to acknowledge what the real bread and butter of this song is, no matter what the setting or the stylization of the recording as we’re hearing it today.
This hook is sublimely crisp, and a lot of that has to do with the way the track has been mixed as a complete piece. There’s not as much of an emphasis on scooping out the EQ whenever there’s a big melody, and it’s because of this that there’s never an overpowering physical presence to the backing band when Cody Jasper is crooning. He doesn’t have the time nor the space for that kind of negative indulgence in his music, and I’m grateful he chose to keep it out of the equation completely when he sat down to make “Who You Are.”
I would have liked the vocal to get a little more love from this mix closer to the conclusion of the song, but it does make some sense why Jasper isn’t doing what literally all of his rivals on the underground end of country music have been trying out lately. Even with his big voice, this is a guy who respects doing things as simple as he can when it’s an option, and his decision-making with the creation of this single is something that backs that up, no matter what you think about his motivations as a player.
Blue-collar rock and down-home country music are more closely related than a lot of listeners – or even critics, for that matter – are going to tell you this summer, but you don’t need a music lesson to understand why “Who You Are” is a special single. It’s an introduction for those unaware of Cody Jasper, and perhaps one of the best new singles that takes its arms from both country and rock music in certain regards, and while it doesn’t have the radio-ready stock elements you’re going to hear in a mainstream track, this could well be its most alluring feature to many (myself included).
by Jennifer Munoz
