SONG REVIEW: Séan Fox – Open Road

By Jeanette Arsenault

There are some songs you hear for the first time that you immediately like because it sounds like a song you already know. But it’s not because they have copied that song or parts of it. It’s because it evokes a feeling right away that you can relate to and you don’t have to wait to hear the whole song to know if you are going to like it.

You just do.

Séan Fox’s single *Open Road* is that kind of song – at first I thought it reminded me of a Sting song though I can’t pinpoint a particular one or why he came to mind. Maybe it’s the great vocals, simple but effective arrangement padded by the lushness of a synth pad.

I’ve always liked the support of a well-chosen/well-placed synth pad that can fill in the soundscape around the voice. Not that Fox would have to rely on that as he has a beautiful, clear strong voice and carries the song well.

What caught my ear was the evocative chorus:

“Standing in the middle of an open road

Let me go, let me go

Here I am there I stand

Will you come & take my hand

And bring me home”

And then you hear “Oh oh oh oh” ethereally drifting around in the background as you automatically sing along, lost in a dreamy state.

*Open Road* has such a yearning quality to it. Nothing makes you more nostalgic then longing for home, that place where you feel safe. It resonates deep in your core not always at the conscious level.

The video is well done – the rain, the road, the fast moving cars contribute to the sense that you are on a journey with him.

Isn’t that what we all want? Especially in these quarantine times – to experience the world through music, stories, to feel something, to feel connected. Right now, most are probably feeling a longing to be with friends and relatives – there is a tremendous yearning to have what you can’t have or what you took for granted.

One final thought – this song would be perfect in one of those dance competitions in the contemporary dance category. Love how they can tell a compelling, tug-at-the heart story through movement.

Have a listen:

SPOTIFY