When Holly Golightly sat drunk and sullen in a strip club during the 1961 classic film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, it hit a chord with audiences everywhere. Even to this day, it inspires incredible art, like Gaby DeSpain’s latest single, “Settle for Skin Deep”.
DeSpain’s jazzy lament of the dating scene in your 20s blends the sultry glam of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s with a modern dark pop sound. There’s a melancholy tinge to the catchy licks and lyrics. “Maybe tonight this will feel right.”
With rich clarity, DeSpain’s smoky voice floats over the sparse and staccato harmony. The space between the notes stretches and twists, like holes in the hopes of finding love.
As she slowly becomes more intoxicated, “warmed with whiskey that I just downed,” she knows she’ll settle for a drunken, lustful hookup. “I’m so lonely and tempted to play.” As the bass flirtatiously pulls the harmony along, DeSpain’s sassy attitude closes in for the femme fatale delivery of the titular line. She’ll “settle for skin deep.”
Stream “Settle for Skin Deep” below.
Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
