“Good To You” by Rhodes is one of those few-and-far-between pop songs that, while easily appealing to the commercial market, also has an immense amount of substance. The vocals are smooth and imbued with emotional gravity. The instrumentation is organic. The songwriting is poetic and poignant. There’s something for literally everyone.
A hopeful chord rings out from an organ. “When you gonna come and wake me up?” Rhodes croons, the melody taking a sharp foray into his falsetto. The chords gently change underneath, creating the mood without drawing too much attention. Decadent runs and soft vibrato paint the words with a unique, intimate sense of personality. Reverb and echo fly off the ends of each phrase. The vocal delivery is just stellar.
The pre-chorus welcomes some claps and a steadier melody. A subtle lower harmony carries us into the chorus, which sports a huge cloud of background vocals. Suddenly we’re in folk/gospel territory, swimming in soulful, diverse textures. “I’m good for nothing if I’m not good to you,” Rhodes repeats, a bittersweet sentiment packaged in a short, touching phrase. Lyrically, this song does a fantastic job of being clever without necessarily being corny. It uses the perfect amount of repetitions, idioms, and turns of phrases.
If you’re in the mood for something moving, you couldn’t do better than “Good To You.” Rhodes brings out the best in indie pop music, making simplicity feel earnest and personal. Be sure to check him out on social media or your choice of streaming service!
Written by Alyce Lindberg
