I’ve don’t know much about snyths and how they produce all the weird and wonderful sounds found in electronic music. I’m not an EDM fan unless it’s super melodic as beats alone just don’t do it for me. There’s plenty of indie music that I like which features synths – Methyl Ethyl for example – but that doesn’t mean I know the first thing about this magic, so “No Giving Up” seems like wizards work.
Lyrically, it’s a song of both acceptance of life as it is and hope, in that you haven’t given up yet:
All these years have been the same
Looking for ways to explain
Does it matter in the end?
No one knows, no one can tell
Always wanted more from you
And you gave all you could give
sir Was – No Giving Up
The chorus is simple, reiterating the title of the song. In this article, Joel explains that he wanted to be more clear and outspoken with the lyrics on this second album, having feared the reactions of others to his previous works. I definitely understand that feeling – I have one song I’m afraid to work on because I fear how the message will be received – I think not caring so much or putting emphasis on the opinions of others is a much healthier mental head space.
Musically, the song starts with the wispy backing vocal repeating ‘No’ with the piano melody underneath, building up to the verse when the drums kick in. And this is where I get lost – because the instrumentation sounds all synth to me and I can’t unpick it, all I can say is there’s long held notes, accompanied by this shifting bass line, it feels sparse but full, the drums are chunky and Joel’s voice just weaves through everything.
After the first verse is a sound I liken to a bell being rung, but it’s got a xylophonic edge to it which catches your ear and leads you into the next verse. From here it becomes a feature in the song and is at the perfect pitch and intensity to offset the initially bassy soundscape. The electric piano starts to creep in when we’re building to the chorus, and it lands with the bell becoming more frenetic and the ‘No’ vocals of the intro create a call and response with the chorus lyric. The guitar used here is sparse, almost like someone picked it up, strummed a chord twice and then put it down. It goes to show that less really is more. I know how hard it is not to fill up space when you’re recording. It’s so tempting to kitchen sink it because silence demands noise. This song proves with the right combination of instruments, you can create something full and interesting without going OTT.
There’s an instrumental bridge before the second chorus which breaks the monotony of a verse-chorus-verse structure. It brings in the same vocal as the intro with other vocal layers, as texture, a shuffle sound (again synth) and as everything else drops away, you can really hear the bass line. A guitar/synth ramps things up again and with a snap of a snare we’re in the chorus again, with that new guitar riff repeating throughout.
The outro takes us down to that intro vocal with simple drums, taking its time to ramp down, with the guitar/synth playing a new riff until we’ve faded out.
I think what I love the most about this is that the soundscape is different from a lot of music I listen to. It does make me think about how I use instrumental parts in my songs, as there are patterns repeated here to embed the lyrical idea and to provide space for the listener to reflect. I appreciate that balance, while still being catchy enough to get stuck in your head.