In what feels like a half-fever dream, half-epilogue as viewed through tequila-soaked eyes, the music video for Dwight & Nicole’s “The Next Go Round” puts us right in the middle of a surreal visual scheme that seems incredibly emotional when paired with its sonic source material. As a song, “The Next Go Round” is deeply introspective and brooding, cutting through the silence with an unassumingly passionate lead guitar that leaves the audience awash in vulnerability, only to have us finished off with a soul-inspired vocal that ascends towards the heavens with utter ease. This is modern blues, and yet it feels as classic as anything made seventy years ago or more.
As a composition, this piece is rather stripped of frills. The guitar and the lead vocal are what duke it out for the lion’s share of the spotlight, but they complement each other far too much to sound like conflicting components of the master mix.
Watch the video for “The Next Go Round” below
The flow created by the rhythm feels choppy in spots almost purposely, as if to push us into a corner with the band just to have them claw their way out with melodies as mighty as a wicked hurricane wind. These players are using everything at their disposal to make a point and showing us that there isn’t much they need to really hit a homerun here.
Dwight & Nicole’s “The Next Go Round” is inspired, riveting, and a profoundly acerbic reminder of how important the blues aesthetic remains in appreciating everything about contemporary pop in 2022. This is emotional songwriting at its purest and most homespun form, and with its electric edge to assist in captivating just about any listener who happens to be within earshot, I have a feeling that this single is going to bring Dwight & Nicole a level of international attention their brand deserves.
