'Without You' - Skylar Astin

‘Without You’ - Skylar Astin

I want to start by saying I’m a HUGE fan of Skylar Astin’s voice, his acting and just generally him as a human being. I have been following his social media for a long time now, patiently waiting for his debut release of original material. He proved in Pitch Perfect that he had the chops required to entertain us and his performances on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist did nothing but solidify that. From Soulful hits like ‘New York State of Mind’ to his unexpectedly powerful rendition of ‘Numb’, Skylar Astin has shown us time and time again that he has an incredible talent to share with the world.

With that being said…

‘Without You’ is without a doubt a dance club summer jam meant to get you off your a$$ and up on your feet. The production work on the track follows the formula to a tee. With smooth transitions from verse to hook, breakdowns to lull you in and peaks that will have the entire club bouncing, it’s guaranteed to be the “This is my jam” song of the summer. Right from the very first beat you get transported to the middle of a packed dance floor somewhere on some tropical island. Cool breeze with a drink in hand, bodies pressed against one another moving to the rhythm, everyone just riding the wave. If the intention was to produce a solid club track that will spend all summer in club rotation then they succeeded 100%.

And now, on with the show…

Not much time is spent on the intro, you get vocals just .06 seconds in and I think in Skylar’s case that’s smart. With a voice like his you don’t want to waste any time on fluff because his singing is what people are here for, it’s kinda what he’s known for. If you are the least bit familiar with him you recognize his voice right away, even through the over production on his vocals.

Yes, I said over production on his vocals…

From the moment he come in at .06 seconds you can hear how much the production work has stomped on his vocals. Reverb hiding his natural tone, what sounds like frequency reduction, and dare I say a bit too much autotune, all contribute to taking Skylar Astin out of the song and replacing him with something not quite what we were hoping for. Well, not quite what I was hoping for anyway. His voice is missing something from the start and that something is what makes Skylar Astin so appealing.

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying…

I like the track and I love Skylar’s voice, just not together. When you have the soul and vocal power that he has proven to have you don’t stand him at the end of a long hallway, hiding his voice in the wompwompwomp of an undercover rave track. No. Especially not on his debut release. NO! You put him front and center and you showcase his vocals, because that’s what his fans are here for.

In Conclusion…

Skylar Astin is going to be a big hit no matter what he does. Singing or acting, this guy oozes with talent and charisma.

‘Without You’ going to be in heavy rotation this summer, so if you like to hit the dance clubs expect to hear it. A lot.

My Verdict…

3 out of 5 Howls

I want to rate it 5 out of 5 so bad just because of how much I love his voice but I can’t. This song showcased the producer, not Skylar… #SaveZoeysPlaylist

Listen to ‘Without You’ on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3PhEPZEtMCn13nrpCjq1MD?si=PfY8e9rlTSKxVOl-sx1Jzg&dl_branch=1

Jackson’s Song Review Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0yEqLmt3xguWAc71iYJWhx?si=65305760b7f64c37

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