Premiere: Less Is More with Ross Nicol's "I've Got You"

Ross Nicol’s “I’ve Got You” video is a short and sweet testament to its title. At just over a minute in length, the music video leaves you wanting a little more, yet satisfies you by not over-complicating the story.

Watch: “I’ve Got You” – Ross Nicol

[youtube=https://youtu.be/QAbxT8wuMd4?t=0s]

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the music video for “I’ve Got You,” taken from Ross Nicol’s recently-released debut album New Streets (independently out 11/4/2016). The song opens soundly with a strong piano chord, a snare drum and a loose high-hat resembling the feel of an Avett Brothers tune. The snare builds slow and steady as Nicol appears in the shot, standing on a long and windy country road surrounded by greenery. The female protagonist soon enters through the rearview mirror of a car. She’s driving away from Nicol; it appears they’ve had some sort of falling out. As she continues to drive, the build in the snare comes to a halt. The piano picks up with a higher pitched organ-like sound and a steady beat to bring in the lyrics..

You know I’ve got, yeah you know I’ve got you
You try to stop but you just can’t, you just can’t
You know I’ve got, yeah you know I’ve got you
You try to stop but you just can’t, you just can’t

Nicol’s voice is crisp, steady, and urgent as he sings the lyrics. The couple has clearly gotten into an argument, hence the woman driving away as he stands hopeless in the empty road. The swing of the beat and delight of the piano puts you in a trance as you listen and watch. Nicol is able to do something incredibly unique with his sound: It’s nostalgic and modern all at the same time. As Nicol sings his heart out, the video jumps between intermittent shots of the female driving away, Nicol helping her up a ladder into a tree house, and the pair sitting happily on top of the car taking in the view.

The further she drives, the sadder and more desperate her face appears to become. Through the emotion of the music and lyrics, you know that she knows that despite whatever fight they are having, he will always be there for her. The weight of that knowledge makes it that much more difficult for her to drive away. The slow swing of the beat continues with the same piano chords reiterating the message of the song: He’s got her. She continues to drive away as he sits and reflects. She takes one last look behind her, and he begins to run after the car as the music slowly fades out.

“I’ve Got You” is all that it needs to be, leaving one to think about and decipher what happened, and what will happen in the future. It’s rare to encounter such a short music video with the same repeating lyrics; it’s honestly refreshing. Ross Nicol tells you just as much as you need to hear. The melody will turn in your head as the music forces a tap in your foot. Make sure to check out the video for “I’ve Got You.” Those in New York can catch Ross Nicol live at The Gutter in Brooklyn on February 11th @ 9PM.

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