Marc Soucy's newest single, "American Velocity," is a cinematic thunderclap that is surprising, genre-busting, and full of feeling. The cut poignantly reflects on the height of American power and that uneasy feeling that things may somehow be slipping away. But don't expect a lecture or a lament. Soucy conveys this message using a musical journey as ambitious as the country it mirrors.
"American Velocity" initially seems like an homage to a tasteful salute to lofty aspirations, all refined culture, and mythic Americana heroism at its most aerodynamic. Strings soar decisively, summoning a sort of architecture you wouldn't be surprised to hear in a grand concert hall or as the accompaniment to the slow-motion film sequence documenting rockets, inventions, or movements once deemed world-stunning. The serene classicism explodes into a charged, modern surge of distorted guitars, urgent rhythms, and an almost futuristic energy thrown into the mix. It's choreographed. "American Velocity" gets its name from the track detours toward something rougher, louder, and more agitated.
What makes this song so compelling is the emotional loop that it traces without a line of lyrics. Contrast is Soucy's language. The binary classical versus contemporary represents a nation recognized for its past glory yet currently still searching for its identity. The result is uncanny and profoundly human.