James Deacon – Calling Home

I don’t often compare artists to other artists but the minute I began listening to James Deacon’s latest single I felt like I was witnessing a modern day Jeff Buckley be born. The South African artist has a way of processing raw and uncompromising moments in life with poetic lyrics and a emphatically captivating vocal that makes every note feel like you’ve been hit a runaway freight train.

Calling Home is a vulnerable piece focusing on the aftermath of a death, but unlike other tracks on this subject matter Deacon writes from the perspectives of both the mourner and deceased. This creates a soul stirring dynamic that is both intimate and heartbreaking whilst delivering it in a delicately raw yet impassioned way that makes each moment feel like something groundbreaking. The whole track offers something from both parties with the vulnerable nature of seeing someone you love and idolise pass on whilst also offering up the hope of living on in others. I’d say this is one of the best songs about the mourning of a loved one I’ve ever heard, with it managing to capture the mournful sorrow and hopeful light absolutely perfectly.