“Arlo Nyx can perpetually conjure up music with sounds that differs from song to song, this time presenting his sentiments on an R&B soul track.”
Massachusetts based artist Arlo Nyx has given us a sense of what his upcoming EP is going to deliver with his latest single I Can’t Hate You. We get an idea of the atmosphere the song holds straight away just by the intro, which is purely instrumental. A few guitar strings reveal the melancholy aspects of I Can’t Hate You . This is later confirmed by the opening lyric I don’t wanna talk about it, suggesting the likes of a bitter, unresolved break up.
The song continues to display such sorrow, so much so that the words feel as if they’re difficult to say – yet Nyx still sings them so melodically. Reminiscent lyrics like We used to tell each other everything and All the time we spent still lingers in my head truly capture this.
Arlo Nyx analysed the meaning the lyrics behold, disclosing that “The song talks about not holding resentment towards a past lover and the act of shutting yourself away from the world to self reflect. Filled with regret but not living with the heavy burden of hate on your shoulders.”
He added, referencing production, “I originally wrote this song on my guitar. Interestingly, when it came to producing the beat, I took it in a completely different direction. It turned into a bouncy array of modern plucks and smooth 808 glides, (the 808s courtesy of my good producer friend Jahbel) which really completed the sound. I was over the moon with the result.”
We are somewhat already familiarised with the outro, what with it almost mirroring the guitar strings played during the intro – possibly insinuating that even though he has just released his feelings so intensely through music, nothing he says will ever change the dynamic of the broken relationship. Nothing has changed since the beginning of the song, except us being blessed with an ardent expression of raw emotion.
You can listen to the song here: