Some songs feel like a conversation that’s full of breathy stops, voice cracks, and moments where the speaker is tearing up…and “The City” by Sandra Bouza is one of those songs.
First and foremost, the song was put out on YouTube as a live studio session featuring just Sandra and Miles Evans Branagh on piano. Her vocals alone are larger-than-life on this track, and the way she controls her breath to push the optimal amount of air and change from a powerful sound to a tender one is just flawless. Sometimes she will do a quick register change or a dip with head voice/falsetto that just gets me stunned every time…it feels like I’m in conversation with her and those emotionally impactful moments simulate crying and voice cracks. To even imagine that she has such balance between emotion and technique still blows my mind…how am I just discovering Sandra Bouza now?!
All in all, this is a song that hits you with how multi-layered it is, despite its simple arrangement. The choice of having the piano accompanying the vocals accentuated Sandra’s unique timbre and polished her abilities and techniques, as each of them was given enough space to be shown and enough time for the transitions to feel and sound so much smoother than if it had more instruments. This is a song and performance you’ll fall in love with and take a few days re-watching and recommending to friends before you get over it (that’s if you ever do).