Haley Fishberger
Home (305)
Haley Fishberger is a singer, songwriter and producer from Miami, who’s settled into Los Angeles and doing a great job of climbing up the venue ladder. She’s got the kind of vocal chops you can only develop from taking on every gig you can get - they’re solid. More importantly, she is composing, mixing and producing her own work - and doing it very well. I was drawn to her tone, breath control, melody and chord progressions when I first heard this track, I think you’ll agree she’s got a better comprehension of tonal possibilities, songwriting and production than most artists with “only” ten songs out. Here’s my review of “Home (305)”.
Cool effect to start the track - a bit of an old-school “warm up the tape machine” sound from a synth that takes me back to tracking when I lived in LA. Swear to god, it made me think of the intersection of Cahuenga and Selma in Hollywood (and the two great studios that were right there). We’re in the key of C, and she jumps right into the story of being on a plane taking off from Miami, going to LA. Great use of the major 7 on the tonic in conjunction with the IV as the accompaniment plays out on the piano. In a very bold decision, she centers the melody around the I & II. I love how tight the melody is in conjunction with the story being told. Leaving home - going back to your new life - staring out the window to not make a scene and leaving your heart on the runway - yep, been there. That’s a tightly held feeling.
30 seconds in she takes us to the chorus and this is where I fell in love with her voice. Listen to how easily she glides into “….fools of ourselves.” Tell me that’s not wonderful, seriously, try. You’re wrong. She follows that up with a soaring falsetto, and her pronunciation of the word “chaos” is like I’m listening to Sara Bareilles. Sorry for the comparison Haley, but wow.
That’s followed up by an incredible string section that was orchestrated and performed by Hannah Wyatt. Wonderful phrasing and tone - nothing too complicated or distracting. With the second verse, Hannah adds a nice backbeat, downstroke feel as Haley moves to a lower piano register to expand the overall tone. The lyrics expand from a first person narrative to a collection of group memories and experiences. She doesn’t make the verse any longer - she doesn’t need to - because in addition to having the vocal and production chops, she’s got the lyrical composition skill down, too. With the second chorus, she changes up the phrasing for my favorite lines, uses more of her chest voice to keep the production expanding while not loosing site of the overall vision. Absolutely love the “bridge” - the expanded use of the line “my heart is in the chaos” - and the outro, “that I can home, home.” She ends the track, unresolved, with the melody on the II. That’s a dirty trick and I love it. Works perfectly with the vibe and the production and the lyrics - life is messy, home is messy, love is messy.
Now that I’ve picked it all apart, go back and listen to it again, just focusing solely on her vocal presentation. When you self-produce, it’s very easy to get frustrated and passive because you don’t have a partner there (who sometimes knows better) to push you and get the best out of you. There’s really nothing that I would change with how she sang this - and to get it right when you’re self-producing takes a tremendous amount of discipline. Now listen to it again and just analyze how that whole thing is built - she’s done a great job of starting small, expanding, turning and then creating a soft and surprising ending. I don’t care what genre you’re in - every song should do this. Punk songs, metal, gangsta-rap - everything should have an emotional and sonic expansion to it. This is a great example of that.
Make sure you scroll down to check out her socials and other tracks. “Un Known” is a favorite - love the melody, her lyrics, and of course her vocals. The way the melody moves over the chord changes and beat are sublime - really beautiful track - great mix of modern R&B and pop. Really dig “Hazel Eyes” too - it’s a synth heavy pop track, but still does a great job of featuring her vocals, and the effects she throws in after the first chorus are really cool - haven’t heard that before. Love the way the second verse builds too - the entire soundscape is killer, and the chord progression is gorgeous. Great work, Haley! Looking forward to what you’ll be doing next!
Check it out now!