Country, folk, bluegrass, and Americana are (or at least used to be) genres that many consider being products of their time. In the case of Canadian singer-songwriter Genevieve Charbonneau though, her latest single “Symphony Of Sorrow” borrows elements from all these genres without being a stereotypical or exemplary piece.
The track begins with a soft chord progression on a solitary guitar, which is slowly joined by a string arrangement as we transition into the chorus. The vocals are soft and airy, but they gain more power in the chorus and especially during the climactic and riffy phrase “I will find the melody, I will find the rhyme”.
The string section gets more percussive and powerful during the bridge section after the second chorus, which transported me into an indie fantasy film where I’m the main character. The strength of the arrangement lies in how well it delivers the emotions along with the lyrics.
Things calm down and we can hear one last verse before we head into that beautiful chorus one last time, and everything feels like it’s in the perfect place. At the end of it, I felt like “Symphony Of Sorrow” is one of those compositions where everything falls perfectly into place, and there is no single element or note that I would change about it. This song is for those days when you feel a melancholic cloud overlaying you and you want a song to relate to, but also to give you that tiny-yet-much-needed ray of hope.