SONG REVIEW: A R R O W S - "dummyXbunny"

“ARROWS new single “dummyxbunny” aims to blend genres and hits the mark dead center!” 

By Jesse Smith

There has been a new genre boom in the past 2 years or so that has begun to blend more and more into the alternative music scene. The Alternative Pop / Hyperpop genre has BOOMED with the help of Tiktok and more and more emo influences have been injected in the music. In Denver there is a solo project called ARROWS that exemplifies the Emo and Alt Pop sound mix. ARROWS is a solo project of the artist named River Taylor, and has  releases trailing back to 2018.  ARROWS has a very unique blend of beautiful instrumentals and an even better voice. Fast forward to 2023, He has just released his newest single titled “dummyxbunny”.

I was immediately impressed with his voice, right off the bat it gave me Chester Bennington vibes but prettier. The intro was very unique in the synth tone that was used but as the beat dropped in and River started singing I knew there was no way I was turning this off. Being a solo artist, all eyes are in fact on you and in this case for good reason. The vocals sit high in the mix so you really get the full taste of how beautiful his voice is. You can really hear the emo influence in both his delivery and in the lyrics. As the chorus started, the layers of harmonies really stood out. The thing I thought was most interesting is that although the beat was pretty consistent throughout the entire song, his vocal melody was almost dancing on top and in and out of the beat like lyrical gymnastics, it was very impressive and his voice made it easy to listen to and get lost in the emotion. 

ARROWS has a darker aesthetic which I am a HUGE fan of and it makes sense with his music. The influences are definitely in the alternative spectrum of music. Some of his other songs like “WATER VAPOR” have a similar vibe and again the thing that stands out is how good the singing really is. The closest artist I can compare ARROWS to is Chase Atlantic, but even then ARROWS has its own vibe and sets it apart from everyone else. Even though he’s been releasing music since 2018, I think ARROWS is very underrated and 100% needs more eyes on him, he has the skill and vibe to blow up. You heard it here first.