It takes a lot to make a good song. However, it’s often the simplest songs that earn the highest praise. This week’s song of the day, “Fly ft. Malik Shakur” by Raury, is aurally pleasing yet incredibly simple. The primary instrument in the song besides the singer’s voice is a guitar, but for the chorus, clever overdubbing creates the illusion that you’re listening to a full string orchestra. The lyrics are uplifting without being too cliché, and the singer’s voice takes on a gravelly quality when he gets to the verse, exploiting a sound that is heard heavily in the indie-pop genre. The song’s chorus is very catchy and it’s easy enough that any ambitious high-schooler who knows a few simple guitar chords could figure it out, making its coffee shop-performance-potential high. Considering I just dug this song up out of the bowels of Soundcloud, I would give it a very solid 8/10 stars.

Namaste,

Erez