John Lensing is a Quiet and Introspective Songwriter on “Talk To Me"
By Keir Nicoll
There is a quiet and low-key air, around the newest release of John Lensing, Denver, CO resident. He is a man of no-depression folk and acoustic-meets-hip-hop genre crossovers. His newest song, “Talk to Me,” is introspective of the need to stop lying – to oneself, to those around one – and start talking, he implores. “Getting scared,” “Trying to be all the I can,” he states, in the songs lyrics to choruses that repeat with a rhythmic drum-machine loop, the spoken-word poetry-esque and repeating of, “Talk to Me.”
Genre-crossing is one thing Lensing is familiar with and which is simply and stately in its approach to the songwriting of this number. He is obviously familiar with the singer-songwriter/producer of the modern-post-modern world-propensities, of which he is undoubtedly conscious and a member of. He uses faintly-strummed guitar chords, behind stronger-propelling drum-machine loops.
He is said to be 'quietly confident,' as he pens airs of “soundscapes blending alt-folk and bedroom pop, and hip-hop songwriting side-by-side.” This man seems at home on a bench, at the end of a dock, in a lake. He is quietly urgent and revealing that he has to “feel some pain,” as he reveals “missing-you,” is what it taking up his time, in his mind.
In the end, the persistence of his swearing “You'll talk to me,” sounds like it'd kill him if you didn't, so the songwriting is alright, as it convinces of the emotional credibility of the songwriter. He seems to have no problems in stringing-along the rhythmic propensities of the song and is steady in his delivery.
One thing of note is that John Lensing has been a street-performer, lending to his credibility, as an act,
who has risen-up from the streets, as some people do. If you can make it happen, in front of people, on the sidewalk, chances are, you're going up somewhere. Lensing is going up online, now. He is said to be, “an artist to watch.” He is possessed of dedication.
“Joanie,” is also a release, by Lensing, which has just been released, with an accompanying video. It is about a woman he saw, in a photo-shoot, who would look like she was glowing, whenever the camera was on her but then looked miserable, whenever it was down, off of her. Just a profound insight, from Lensing' observer's eyes and a potent lesson about the values of human experience. The song itself is more traditional folk, as he relies upon the guitar to perform basic and inspiring chords, beneath a voice plaintiff of the imagination of a wandering woman's nite-life.
All-in-all, Lensing's track “Talk To Me”, is especially evocative and indicative of the position that songwriters can hold in this music environment when they can manipulate the dimensions of both electronic-digital and acoustic soundscapes and mould the identity of the song to a modern condition.
Lensing's song is imbued with a sense of youthful melancholy about the state of affairs, in modern-existence, that lead to situations that must be resolved with communication. He has an art of speaking to the truth, is his examination of the underlying feelings of people in the new millennium. He crosses the boundaries of the past centuries, and the momentary-future, as he illuminates what it is to be a real and feeling human-being.
This track is softly compelling and bears multiple listens. Enjoy the deceptively deep emotion within and bear in mind what reasons he is imploring you for-Listen to it here.