Single Review: Jay Moussa-Mann - ‘What Makes You Think’

by Autumn Jones

“Got your last email

The words were quite short

I guess you didn’t like what I wrote you

Or what you heard"

These are the opening lines to Jay Moussa-Mann’s 2021 single “What makes you think”. Moussa-Mann, a folk-tinged singer-songwriter tinged with electro-pop influences, grabs the attention of the listener with a gut-wrenching anecdote about not quite connecting with someone who was once deemed important. Moussa-Mann unpacks the experience of two people drifting apart in a relationship, painting a picture of heartbreak and loss. The main attraction of this song is the lyrics. Framed with a woefully catchy melody, Moussa-Mann writes each word with intention.

At no point was I, the listener, left with the feeling that there were excess words in the verses or the chorus that felt out of place. Each element of this production was well thought out and elegantly executed. From the glimmery piano in the introduction to the evocative climax in the last chorus, every element was concise and thought through. The build from beginning to end remains subtle but efficient. Every second built to the next, showing the listening personal growth first hand. In that way, this track felt not only a song, but an experience. I think that a huge part of what makes this track is so remarkable is the fact that it doesn't contain the bells and whistles of a flashy production; and with lyrics so stripped bare, any more musical layers would mess with the balance of instrumental, lyrical content, and melody that Moussa-Mann so artfully pieced together. Why mess with perfection?

What makes you think is Jay Moussa-Man’s second single off of her album the breakup album that is expected to arrive later in 2021, and I for one think she is someone to look out for.

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