Max Volante releases single “Camouflage” as part of his upcoming album of the same name, due out July 24.
Volante, a multi-instrumentalist, producer and artist who has built a career on relatable songwriting and catchy melodies, has struck again with “Camouflage.” The single outlines the complexities of growing up and concealing oneself from the public.
The lyrics offer a very honest reflection on how much we truly change when we grow up, and the gap between how we imagine ourselves to be when we’re older and how we actually turn out. The line in the first verse, “I was 16 when I thought I had a calling / 10 years later now I’m worried ’bout the money,” perfectly encapsulates the simplicity of our imagined futures when we’re young and how they disappoint us when we reach adulthood.
The most poignant aspect is that he implies that he’s navigating the difficulty of growing up alone, because he unwillingly conceals his vulnerability from the public: “Camouflage on me / why do I hide this away?”
Contrasting the subject matter, the song follows a catchy, repeating hook with live percussion and pitch-bending electric guitar, making for a soulful, relaxed sound.
What stands out, however, is the range of Volante’s vocals, both in pitch and in style. Towards the beginning, he holds notes in a beautifully controlled vibrato, while gradually his voice gains more rasp until he transitions to harsh vocals at the end. That is, most noticeably, how the song builds in intensity. The more messy and harsh his voice becomes, the more we can sense that the mask he puts on, or his “camouflage,” is falling off, as he sings in the end, “camouflage I wear everyday, ’til now.”
In the last few seconds of the song, the track is also stripped to a somber piano chord, as if the upbeat melody throughout was serving as a form of camouflage, too.
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