English singer-songwriter, Henry Moodie, is only 19 years of age, but already has millions of followers on social media after having supported The Vamps on their ‘Greatest Hits Tour’. Since then, Moodie has been selling out his own headline shows all around Europe, now having the roles reversed with The Vamps’ guitarist James McVey as a support act. On the 29th of March, the young artist released his latest single, ‘beat up car’, after teasing it on his socials as well as singing it on his ‘Lonely Nights Tour’.
The song opens with guitar strumming and Moodie’s soft vocals. The track has an interesting structure, having two verses before the first chorus. Both of these verses follow a similar pattern, consisting of four shorter lines and one longer one, reading almost like poetry. Moodie is known for singing about his struggles with mental health. In this particular track, he talks about a person who can make him feel like it’s not all so bad. “When I’m with you, I don’t feel like I’m stuck in the fight” he sings in the first verse, the fight referring to the one against one’s inner demons. While the two verses are only backed up by the guitar, the drums enter from the first chorus onwards. Vocal effects are added when Moodie sings “oh, what a feeling”, giving this line an ethereal feeling and like one is really in the beat-up car, watching the stars. It is easy to envision the scene, like it’s a dream, as Moodie sings: “don’t you wake me if I’m dreaming”.
The track only builds more from here, with the drums becoming faster and louder in the third verse – which follows a similar structure to the first two – and even more so in the second, extended chorus. In the bridge that follows up this chorus, string-like sounds make for the song’s climax, with Moodie reiterating that if it’s all a dream, to just let him sleep. The final chorus goes quieter again, bringing the tempo back to where it started.
‘beat up car’ is a love song that could just as easily be read platonically, as well as romantically, with Moodie singing about someone who makes him forget about his worries so he can just live in the moment. It’s a track that many people can surely relate to; it’s important to be able to find peace and happiness in others when sometimes you can’t find it within yourself.
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Sem Van Poucke
