On "Sunsets in Paradise," Paul Mezzanotte takes a colorful psychedelic U-turn into reggae, and the adventure feels like a cool island breeze locked into a magnetic groove. Dropped on Midnight Music, this new tune is an escape into a tropical daydream with a Ska and Rocksteady beat.
Throughout Southwest Florida, Mezzanotte is known as an avid solo performer and accomplished guitarist, and it shows. He's not dipping a toe into the genre but diving in head and heart first. Supported by a talented group of musicians, the song shows the polish of someone who might be a reggae newcomer but is no music amateur. The instrumentation is lush but freewheeling, allowing the melody to dance and breathe.
The real magic occurs just before and in the first chorus, when the song loosens its melody by a half-step and opens up in a way that sounds easy and raw. Mezzanotte's voice rides the rhythm with smoldering assurance, easing you into his paradise vision, sun-kissed, soulful, and undeniably chill. His ear for composition shines through with the compositions of his degree, Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games at Berklee College of Music.
"Sunsets in Paradise" invites you to power down, breathe, and be in the golden hour. This song sounds like watching the sun sink beneath the horizon from a hammock with nowhere to be. Although it's Mezzanotte's first stab at reggae, he's already proving his reggae sensibility. His ear for melody, balanced by innovative production and sincere delivery, reveals a welcome crossbreed. If "Sunsets in Paradise" indicates what we must look forward to, feel-good music with substance is back on notice.
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