Highly Suspect, 16 | Track Review 🎵

Highly Suspect returns with “16,” a dark but thrilling single from their long-awaited, highly anticipated third studio album, MCID.

“It took me 16 years to find ya / One second to love ya / Seven years to hold ya / One minute to lose ya / Oh, God / Where did I go wrong? / Oh, God.” After a three-year hiatus, Grammy-nominated alternative rock collective Highly Suspect is back! Johnny Stevens and company announced MCID, their third studio album, following Mister Asylum (2015), and The Boy Who Died Wolf (2016). Of course, beyond the announcement of the November 1, 2019 release date, the band released two singles: “16” (the song at hand) and “Upperdrugs.”

“16” appears as the second track on MCID.  Notably, “16” has more of a commercial, ‘pop’ sound compared to Highly Suspect’s previous work.  The change of pace is welcome, but don’t get it twisted – the rock is still in play by all means.  One of the biggest selling points is Stevens’ voice, which is quite colorful and nuanced.  As high-flying as Johnny is throughout, particularly the excerpted, aforementioned chorus, the songwriting has a legitimate claim at being the crowning achievement.

“Do you remember
When you told me you were holding my future kid? Eh
And all the joy that that would bring
Well, I thought I was the father
But baby, it’s not my daughter
‘Cause baby’s a different color
And baby, I’m not a brother
It was just too much to swallow
You ripped my heart out.”

Well, damn – what else can you say? When asked if this dark song was difficult to write by Billboard, Stevens said, “I’ve wanted to write the song for a very long time… It was very hard in that I couldn’t portray the story properly, but I never forced it. For whatever reason, the story finally came out correctly… I have to write about what I go through… I gotta get it off of my chest.”

Final Thoughts 

Ultimately, “16” ends up being a winner for Highly Suspect.  Sure, it’s an evolution in regard to sound, but Johnny Stevens remains as potent and fired-up as he was three years prior on The Boy Who Died Wolf.  Again, it is the narrative that puts “16” over the top – in a good way that is!

Highly Suspect • MCID • 300 Entertainment • Release: 11.1.19

Photo Credit: 300 Entertainment