I first caught onto John War with his stylish, atmospheric cover of Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” a couple years ago. It was a nice showcase of his aesthetic, which is continued with his own songwriting on new track “The Real Thing.” With melded together inspirations that include “surf pop, shoegaze, & ’90s singer-songwriters,” the track shows the San Diego-born and Los Angeles-based artist as fully capable of crafting engaging melodies. The structure is repetitively hypnotic, with vocal passion escalating alongside various layers, the second half showing a fuzzy effervescence. “The Real Thing” is a pleasant, alluring listen.
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“The Real Thing” and other memorable tracks from this month can also be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of December 2018’ Spotify playlist.
