Like the first few notes we hear before a deluge of audiological lust that comes roaring out of the ethers at the start of a grand symphony, the opening bars of Jen Fodor’s “Love Struck Baby” are as telling as they are deftly erotic and evocative. We’re instantly drawn in with the instrumental introduction that paves the way for Ms. Fodor’s words in just eleven seconds’ time, and once the songstress starts to grace us with her groove-inducing words, we’re more than ready for the impact of her verse, even as strong as it is. “Love Struck Baby” doesn’t allow us to get past the fifteen-second mark in the track without getting some legitimate emotion out of the audience, but in the next three minutes, it gets much more than that.
Fodor’s voice is angelic and soft, but it isn’t beaten down by the violent strut of the rhythm here at all. The beats get heavier and heavier as we travel further into the clutches of the melody, and though the build up to the chorus doesn’t exactly deceive us into thinking that something enormous isn’t about to come rushing over us, it doesn’t prepare us for the explosiveness of what lies around the first beefy bend in the track.
Where some of her previous songs had a certain theme to their compositional integrity, I find none in this latest single from Jen Fodor, which isn’t to say that she’s sounding scattered or impersonal in “Love Struck Baby” at all – if we get down to brass tacks, she’s breaking away from brandings altogether here.
“Love Struck Baby” brings us full circle at the conclusion of its few short but memorable minutes of play, and while it’s hardly the longest pop song making headlines this September, it doesn’t feel limiting or sample-sized even slightly. Jen Fodor is all focus and zero filler in this single, and if her fans were hoping for an extension of the magic she’s created in her last few tracks, they’re going to be blown away by what she strings together in this fabulous melding of pop and club-style grooving. This will definitely be on my playlist through the duration of the year, and when those long chilly winter nights come around, I’m sure it will be just as awesome a listen as it is amidst the last warmth of the late summer season ahead of fall.
