Synth Single Review: “Broken” by Future Analog

by Karl Magi

Future Analog’s “Broken” has a subtle and melancholy beginning with barely trembling synth and a guitar that slips with hurting tenderness as Julie Hicklin’s emotively embracing performance transmits a painfully gentle melody above the strong rhythm. As the waves undulate, defiance creeps into Julie Hicklin’s vocals with deeper currents running beneath her devotion, adding an emotional complexity that I enjoy.

The vocals reach with pained yearning, while refracted light flickers and the underpinnings throb. A complicated mixture of desire, loss and worry animates Julie Hicklin’s performance while the background beat adds support and haunting voices echo. Future Analog’s guitar adds power and a harder edge to the breath-warmed vocals before drifting outward in a solo full of broken feelings and intense love as Julie Hicklin ends with doubt, restrained anger and undeniable caring.

Although the song's subject says that both of them are fine and have always been, our storyteller wonders why they're looking at somebody else. She goes on to say, "I don't wanna pretend, I don't need your words" because she can see the way the other person is moving although they accuse her of being paranoid.

However the narrator needs the truth because she has trust issues and nobody to blame so, "if you were me I bet you'd feel the same." The song's subject has been texting their ex and “I should play it cool but I don't want to" because she'll never get a good reason not to suspect that "your heart’s somewhere else."

Our storyteller says, "I'll sew up your head when you kiss me with your eyes open" as she admits that she’s lied because her heart's broken and adds, "you say that we're fine, why would we not be?" To conclude, she says, "oh, touch me like you used to while we're around your friends."