Los Angeles-based crooner Christopher Gallant – known to his fans as Gallant – dazzles the alt-R&B scene with his new single, “Weight in Gold,” released earlier this year. Boasting a vocal capability reminiscent of a Sam Smith/Usher superhuman, there’s a quality lingering in his style that leaves him just outside the traditional realm of the R&B genre. Contemporary R&B thrives on the themes of love, sex, and partying, whereas Gallant’s craft is in his powerful hook that takes on a more yearning theme.
The tactfully lethargic beat steadily opens the track as riffs from a soulful blues guitar crackle through the intimate silence. In come Gallant’s breathy falsettos as he deliberately emphasizes the weight of each lyric in the first verse. He immediately slides into the chorus, accompanied by effervescent synthesizers and gospel-tinged vocals in the background.
Listen: “Weight in Gold” – Gallant
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The song is an unrestrained cry for help. He longingly wails, “I’m pulling my weight in gold . . . but I can’t lift this on my own.” While Gallant demonstrates his enormous range and his ability to dip effortlessly from a belting falsetto to a hushed croon, his poignant lyricism in the second verse tears at the listener’s heartstrings.
We dreamt like martyrs
I never thought I was bold enough
You pushed me further
And I take the blame for the both of us
I’m pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
Gallant has a knack for the “less is more” mantra as he finds a way to electrify his audience with each of his ever so brief verses. An aching can be felt in the listener’s very bones as the song soars into its emotional apex, paralleled by Gallant’s howling upper register. Raw, transparent, and introspective, “Weight in Gold” is a gem to be treasured.
Just as powerful as the track – in an equally minimalistic way – is the song’s music video. Gallant finds himself trapped in a dark room, only illuminated by the occasional glowing of a few surrounding lights. This shimmering phosphorescence explodes into a pyrotechnic light show mirroring the intensity of the song.
Finding himself as an opener for the likes of Kygo, Duke Dumont, and Sufjan Stevens, Gallant has proven to appeal to a diverse audience. Testing the limits of R&B, he is an innovator of this timeless genre, and will continue to evolve music as we know it.
You can follow Gallant on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@sogallant)
Watch: “Weight in Gold” – Gallant
[youtube=https://youtu.be/qh7BCluk3wc?t=0s]
“Weight in Gold” – Gallant
lyrics
Black dust in orbit, cascades down like a parachute
Bricks on my shoulders, this gravity hurts when you know the truth
I’m pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
Pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
We dreamt like martyrs, I never thought I was bold enough
You pushed me further, and I take the blame for the both of us
I’m pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
Pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
Oh, Universe, hold me up
You tried your best, is it ever enough
When it’s already dragging me down?
I’m pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
Pulling my weight in gold
Call me anxious, call me broke
But I can’t lift this on my own
