Chris Bates serves up joy in "HEARTBREAK SONG"

Chris Bates is on to something with his new single "HEARTBREAK SONG." Heartbreak has fueled legions of ballads and blues anthems, but Bates takes a different tack, cloaking his emotional candor in reggae's cozy, inviting embrace. "HEARTBREAK SONG" is for anyone who has gone through the anguish of a love lost, in lyrics that are simple and true. Yet at the same time, it insists that pain doesn't have to be a breaking point; it can be a springboard to dancing, rocking, living. It's the mixing of vulnerability and joy that makes "HEARTBREAK SONG" as relatable as it is inspiring.

It's impossible not to catch the beat to "HEARTBREAK SONG," which will have you moving from the first groove down. The sequence's smiling, reggae-lulled rhythm provides an all-time high, a musical sunburst that sets off the ponderousness of the languid, defeatist words so exquisitely. Few heartbreak songs are this smile-inducing, but Bates makes it all seem effortless.

Bates' songwriting has always been steeped in reggae's history of literal-can-do-good positivity, and it's all over this. It sails along buoyant, top-notch pop delivery, as if Bates is giving listeners a little reminder that a heartbreak is a transient state, for the beat is eternal. In other words, Chris Bates has flipped heartbreak on its head and made it something worth singing along to, and he's made it impossible to resist marching in time.

In "HEARTBREAK SONG," Chris Bates is not only adding to the reggae repertoire but opening up a space where something more deep feeling and good time can happen at the same time. It is the bouncing, stomp-your-feet track that might make its way to playlists for healing, dancing, or to remind those using it that joy can sprout in the midst of pain.

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