Songwriter and guitarist of The Vamps James McVey is here with his first solo single ‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’, a decidedly toned-down effort that breaks away from the poppy tracks that The Vamps are best known for, such as ‘Somebody To You’ and ‘Can We Dance’.
This new track from McVey capitalises on his strengths that are felt with The Vamps – namely his skills as a lyricist and guitarist. ‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’ mostly captures the softer, melancholic atmosphere that McVey is aiming for, supported by a wistfully fleeting guitar melody that never overstates itself for the sake of inauthentic emotion.
This track signals a strong path forward for James McVey, who should be proud of his debut solo single away from The Vamps. It is raw yet private, revealing yet deeply personal. McVey’s first single walks this tonal tightrope with a calming sorrow that effortlessly finds the truth behind his words.
It does not take long for McVey’s strengths as a guitarist to show itself. The track quickly establishes a consistent sad tone with his instrument. McVey chooses to withhold an opening guitar solo, instead immediately jumping on the track with his soft vocal work. Even if McVey places more emphasis on his vocals, the guitar still maintains its presence early on. The melody manages to feel fleeting, matching the ideas of loss that the song tackles, whilst never feeling lacking in its own emotional bite. When the chorus kicks in, the guitar does somewhat lose its status within the song itself, when it would have been better if it had matched the emotional swelling that ‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’ focuses on.
‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’ also showcases McVey’s textured vocal range. His performance is confident and restrained when it needs to be. He sounds like he is mourning something, as if we are coming to the track in the wake of something deeply affecting. This emotion is never oversold, because it does not need to be. There is an underlying tenderness to be felt hanging off of every line, with a dreamlike quality that evokes heartache as it does forlorn beauty.
McVey manages to take such personal feelings and make them universal, with lines like “Could have been forgiveness to your demons” balancing heartache with a quiet knowingness that never gives too much away. His impressive vocal performance acts as a reached out hand to his listener, bringing them into the same fraught headspace to share the pain McVey is experiencing. McVey never asks for this hand and never sounds defeated or overcome with emotion, something that works very well to maintain authority over the words. This, in its own way, makes the sentiment of the track even sadder, as if McVey has already mourned a loss, and is now communicating that loss to whoever is listening.
All of this comes together in a powerful effort lyrical that finds a truth surrounding time and losing it. Lines like “And figured out the dance to end your pain” and “Time made me its fool” feel tongue-in-cheek and playful, trusting its listener to search for the core of the track for themselves instead of simply handing it to them. The track works best when it resists the temptation to be a full-on guitar ballad, something that would feel cheap given the understated nature of McVey’s performance.
James McVey’s debut single ‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’ takes a little bit to find itself, but when it does, a distinct voice can be heard in the over-saturated market. ‘Dancing on the Head of a Needle’ is a strong opener for McVey as a solo artist. There are more than enough of the right ingredients to result in a strong starting point for a solo career for McVey, with his ability to search for sorrow without trying too hard to find it.
Words by James Evenden
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It’s beautiful💗