“Open Your Eyes” the new single by Ivan Comar and Gabriele Saro

Erupting with a colorful melody that swells out of our speakers with every passing beat, to say that “Open Your Eyes,” the new single by Ivan Comar and Gabriele Saro, is a force of pop to be reckoned with might be too grand an understatement for a critic to make this May. Propelled forward by a mild bassline and synth grooves that could make anyone want to get out onto the dancefloor this spring, “Open Your Eyes” is a furiously beat-powered work that sports one of the sexier vocal harmonies you’ll hear from an indie artist at the moment. On the flipside, this single is joined by an additional track in “Like Paparazzi Flashes” that features Comar on lead vocals instead of Saro and gives us another lens through which we can appreciate their collaborative renderings. Classic europop meets a melodic western conceptualism in both of these songs, and though I doubt this will be the only time we celebrate their work together, it’s a fine introduction to their shared love of music, and perhaps more importantly, the talent they bring with them into the studio.

I absolutely love the bassline in “Like Paparazzi Flashes,” and were it not given a little extra space in the master mix, I don’t know that it would have brought out the texture in the vocal parts as well as it did in this instance. We’re never forced to split our attention between the singers and the instrumental drive in either of these tracks, but in the case of “Open Your Eyes,” there’s definitely more of an emphasis on the lyrical dispatches than there is anything in the back of the mix. “Open Your Eyes” draws inspiration from aesthetical contrast more than its B-side dos, but between both of these songs, Ivan Comar and Gabriele Saro are showing off a lot of multidimensionality here. This music could appeal as much to electronic groove-addicts as it would casual pop listeners out for something a little exotic this spring. It isn’t easy to satisfy both of the audiences simultaneously with the same material, but in these tracks, Comar and Saro make it look and sound all too simple.

There’s a lot to unpack from an intellectual standpoint within “Open Your Eyes” and “Like Paparazzi Flashes,” but if you like short and deceptively simple pop songs with a wealth of detailed adornments, they’re a tough couple of tracks to trump. There’s an experimental component to the way that Ivan Comar and Gabriele Saro created these compositions, but I wouldn’t say that either of them were designed specifically with underground listeners in mind. These are two incredibly smart musicians, and judging from the level of ambition that they highlight in this collaborative effort, this is likely just a taste of what they’re planning on putting together down the line.

Only time will tell for sure, but if this is our exclusive look as this duo’s in-studio chemistry, it’s nevertheless one that I would recommend any and all pop fans pick up as soon as possible.

Mindy McCall

The music of IVAN COMAR & GABRIELE SARO has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division.  Learn more https://musikandfilm.com