JD Sterling's latest single, "Fairgrounds" plunges listeners into the sensory overload of a noisy, frenetic summer night, the kind where love is a rollercoaster and things get hazy under blinking lights.
"Fairgrounds" is alive. There is a vibrant pulse to the production, like the neon flicker on a wet road or the faint wail of a guitar from a band playing too loud at the end of the fair. Sterling not only writes about the chaos, but also scores it. The track inhales the adrenaline of overstuffed excess, and exhales the hushed stillness of post-fair two lovers grappling with the emotional hangover of it all. "Fairgrounds" is a story about more than love, it's a snapshot of that messy, yet beautiful, time when romance and reality intersect. Riding the tension slipping easily between dreamy and disoriented as the night comes apart are Sterling's vocals. You can practically hear the two young lovebirds squealing with joy as they lose themselves in the band's playing, and just as keenly, you can discern their disappointment when the racket ends. All that remains is the gravity of the emotion that has just been felt. What distinguishes this track is Sterling's talent for transporting the listener to the scene. You didn't merely observe this couple, you were them. Dazed. Reeling. Spinning. The lyrical imagery and textures intertwine to create a sensation that is both reminiscent and intimate.
Fairgrounds isn't about drawing attention to itself, instead, it seeps in quietly, the way a memory might manifest in a flash, a fragrance of cotton candy carries on a muggy night. It's the sort of song that sticks around long after the music has stopped, like glitter all over your skin or echoes in your ears.