Gye – “Ho Chi Minh” – all-embracing versatility, and overall virtuosity

While Gye excels at weirdness – twisting chords here, jangling guitar strums there, intriguing themes and bizarre arrangements everywhere – he is also a musical genius, a sublime vocalist and a pro at just rocking out when he wants to. He ably weaves his way between alternative rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B musical flavors, among many others, with effortless ease. To be honest, we should not be surprised by his all-embracing versatility, and overall virtuosity. Gye is a Witch King from Pangaea – a planet similar to Earth in the 17th dimension with the major difference being, many mythical creatures exist there, and 90% of the population of Pangaea has some sort of super power.

It has come to our attention that Gye is considered a Creator God on Pangaea, as he is one of the rare Pangaeans with three different powers – empathy to the point of mind reading, witchcraft, and the most prominent – music. He found the love of his life in a vampire from a prestigious clan, but lost her in a dark ritual. Heartbroken, he now traverses the nineteen known multiverses looking for 500 Gifted Remnants – fragments of his deceased love’s soul so he can reincarnate her.

If this is all too much for you to digest and elaborate right now, rather sit back and concentrate on the song “Ho Chi Minh”, which is the first single taken off Gye’s EP, entitled “Kintsugi: District One”. “Love me enough to blow cocaine up my butt. I mean, life’s too f*cking boring not to try. You’re my type of crazy and you’ll always be my baby. So if heaven needs referrals, I’m gonna lie. And we could both be silly. Living in Ho Chi Minh City,” sings Gye, in voice that resonates powerfully, as he unfolds the sad but intriguing narrative.

The most potent and pertinent lyric in the song, has to be the one that reads: “Guess happy endings just stories that ain’t been finished yet.” It really is a devastating but truthful statement, if you carefully unpack it in your mind.

All of which highlights Gye’s lyrical prowess and absolute depth of thought, as he tackles the complex themes of drugs, death and heartbreak, in a song that runs for just two minutes and twenty-four seconds. Gye’s ability in emotional and intellectual synthesis is stunningly sharp.

Musically, “Ho Chi Minh” sticks to the superior-quality template set by the lyric sheet, with shimmering guitars, ambient recordings and crashing drums underscoring a well-defined, ear-warming melody.

The vocals are lushly layered and purposely set to the forefront of the arrangement, so as to dominate the soundscape and clearly communicate the narrative. The song is driven by the dynamic soundscape, while Gye’s voice and the lyrics give it personality and mood.

The songwriting and performance are top-notch on “Ho Chi Minh”, and exceeded my expectations. Whether this track will be a hit on Pangaea remains to be seen, but for us humble earthlings, “Ho Chi Minh” possesses all the captiving sonic elements necessary to impress and multiply Gye’s fanbase and streams.