Belgian Fog’s new track, “Loveless Way”, is an attempt at classic pop deception — and a successful one. Greeting us with glistening 80s synths and a tight electronic beat, it’s pretty easy to just dance and let the lyrics fade into the posterior, but Robert Dale’s voice ensures that it won’t happen — at least not on the first listen. Kicking things off after the slow jam intro, we hear him sing, “It’s easier to stay with you than search for someone else,” and he goes on to detail his preference for an emotionally hollow relationship versus a healthy one. The scenario is more common that one might think, but the sophisticated intricacies of “Loveless Way” are far less common in the realm of electro-pop. The chilly, detachment of his voice and the crystalline quality of the sound production makes it a track built for repeat-listens, meaning you leave with “I’d rather stay trapped in a loveless way, than try to make the pain go,” on repeat in your brain. But it’s so good, you don’t really mind. And that’s messed up, which is cool.
Sad lyrics/happy song is not a new concept, although the confession here is a bit more disconcerting than most I’ve heard. Dale explains, “my main influence for this project is the Flemish songwriter from Jacques Brel, who was able to communicate ideas through realistic characters and beautifully painful lyrics.” Well, there you have it. Listen to the exquisitely sad premiere of Belgian Fog’s “Loveless Way” above.