Highly Suspect returns with โ16,โ a dark but thrilling single from their long-awaited, highly anticipated third studio album, MCID.
โIt 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.โ 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: โ16โ (the song at hand) and โUpperdrugs.โ
โ16โ appears as the second track on MCID.ย Notably, โ16โ has more of a commercial, โpopโ sound compared to Highly Suspectโs previous work.ย The change of pace is welcome, but donโt get it twisted โ the rock is still in play by all means.ย One of the biggest selling points is Stevensโ voice, which is quite colorful and nuanced.ย As high-flying as Johnny is throughout, particularly the excerpted, aforementioned chorus, the songwriting has a legitimate claim at being the crowning achievement.
โDo 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, itโs not my daughter โCause babyโs a different color And baby, Iโm not a brother It was just too much to swallow You ripped my heart out.โ
Well, damn โ what else can you say? When asked if this dark song was difficult to write by Billboard, Stevens said, โIโve wanted to write the song for a very long timeโฆ It was very hard in that I couldnโt portray the story properly, but I never forced it. For whatever reason, the story finally came out correctlyโฆ I have to write about what I go throughโฆ I gotta get it off of my chest.โ
Final Thoughtsย
Ultimately, โ16โ ends up being a winner for Highly Suspect.ย Sure, itโs 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.ย Again, it is the narrative that puts โ16โ over the top โ in a good way that is!
Highly Suspect โขย MCID โข 300 Entertainment โข Release: 11.1.19
Photo Credit: 300 Entertainment