Mary at Midnight

Heads will Roll is the debut single from new artist Mary at Midnight. Apparently she is being courted by top producers and songwriters, and this debut features Talvin Singh.

Anyway, getting past all that, and actually listening to the music you find it is a pretty good song. It starts with a sparsely instrumented, haunting vocal refrain - that recurs throughout the song. The song moves up a gear at the chorus, becoming edgier and slightly disconcerting, with traditional instruments and samples vying for attention.

This is on the very edges of pop, as there’s a dislocated, ambient, otherworld vibe about it, and it’s not the warmest of songs. It could have drifted off into a cold technical exercise in studio dynamics but it’s kept the right side of self-indulgence by the vocals and harmonies which gives the song a soulful depth.