Music Review: Zedd & Matthew Koma "Spectrum"

Zedd & Matthew Koma

Spectrum

Album: Clarity

Year: 2012

           A forbidden love affair puts Matthew Koma and his girlfriend at risk in the           stirring “Spectrum.”

            Sunny synths open the single, setting an exhilarated tone. She puts her arms around him, her jasmine scent rushing through his nose and collapsing his senses. He pushes her away, allows himself to exhale and pulls her to him again. They weren’t certain if they were meant to be together. However, he knows he would wonder about her and if she’s safe.  She stares at him and nods, giving him the signal to go ahead. (“Breathing you in when I want you out/Finding our truth in a hope of doubt/Lying inside our quiet drama.”)

           In the second verse, he walks onto the empty street. He looks to the corner where she is and watches her cross. A stranger could pick up on his feelings for her. Feelings he was told he couldn’t have: “sinful, unlawful” he was told by their leader. Her status as an orphan put her at the lowest of their society. He couldn’t stand by and watch her starve. He began to sneak food to her and then took her inside her home. It was when she grabbed from his home, screaming and put back onto the streets that he knew had to find a way out. (“Wearing your heart like a stolen dream/Opening skies with your broken keys/No one can blind us any longer.”)

            In the chorus, he keeps an eye out for circles of yellow light and doesn’t see any. He runs towards her and they search for their next hiding spot. According to the map, it’s a couple of miles away. Their love will protect them. (“We'll run where lights won't chase us/Hide where love can save us/I will never let you go/We'll run where lights won't chase us/Hide where love can save us/I will never let you go.”)

             The sunny synths darken, wary of any suspicious noises.

            The first verse is sung twice.

           The now jagged synths break apart and attempt to distract.

           The second verse is sung again.

          A shortened chorus is sung. “We'll run where lights won't chase us/Hide where love can save us/I will never let you go.”)

          The chorus is sung again.

          The first verse is sung again to end the single, with the shocked synths trapped, scrambling to escape.

         Koma’s intentive vocals screen his once-beloved neighborhood and town. He believed at one time that the authorities meant what they said. But he knows it was only to maintain control. He has to keep his girlfriend safe now.

        Zedd’s compelling arrangement builds suspense. It begins as a ordinary day until one minor detail is caught by authorities. They run for their lives. Judging by the closing synths, it does not end well for the couple.

        Zedd’s usual overwritten lyrics are reigned in here. Although “finding our truth in a hope of doubt” is a mess of nouns trying to be adjectives. It makes little sense. However, the entire song is decipherable.

      The engrossing  “Spectrum”  keeps the action going.