I personally prefer listening to albums – it gives me a wider perspective on musicians’ aesthetic visions. I was raised in the era of the vinyl and I was rarely buying 45s. LPs were my passion and still are. But some songs just stand out of the “crowd”. They are so good that outmatch the album and sometimes even the author. Like some ancient philosophers would say, it is as if pure inspiration fell from the Muses in Heaven and filtered through the poet’s (read “musician’s”) senses, before entering the world. One of those songs is definitely “Hard Believer” by Fink, English singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and DJ, born in Cornwall and currently residing both in Berlin and London. It was released on the album with the same name from 2014, which is his sixth album to date and his most successful one. “Hard Believer” is one of the greatest blues songs of today.
Consuming every inch of the body that shakes in the rhythm of the constant, simple beat, this song ascends the recipient to the highest spheres of exaltation, waking deep and forgotten emotions and urges that set the soul on fire. It mesmerizes the listener with its repetitive refrain and slowly developing dynamics, throwing him in a kind of a tribal trance. The singing of the chorus “Hard believer, won’t you believe me now” over again, sounds like a ritualistic chanting or summoning of the spirits. The modern soundscapes in the background only add to the breathe-like feeling of the whole song. With a simple, recognizable blues riff at the beginning, the song opens with the verses “I can see the light coming, over the hills”, immediately creating a spiritual atmosphere, full of metaphysical skepticism and a devotional quest for answers at the same time. It touches the very essence of Blues and the allegory of the Crossroad. It is one of the rare tracks of this era that have done just that and it is a song yet to be discovered by the generations of music lovers and soul seekers to come.
"Hard Believer" by Fink
