From one we like…

[Video][Website]
[6.67]

Scott Mildenhall: It’s so easy to be won over by the boldness of David Balfe. A more arresting opening couplet than “Birthday”‘s will be hard to find, and from there on in he once more digs deep; arranging sense out of the derangement of the senses. This time the personal is much more explicitly political, and that extra facet keeps things extremely fresh. From the dizzying slideshow of quotes and statistics playing behind him as he performed this on RTÉ, to the inspiredly dissonant sample and striking Instagram descriptions, every bit is thoroughly felt, thought, understood and appreciated, and the result is something vital.
[9]

Alfred Soto: A pretty string section and other elements — disembodied vocal, guitar playing Motown rhythm licks — enrich this analysand’s monologue. The trouble is with David Balfe, whose talk-singing isn’t compelling on its own.
[5]

Juana Giaimo: Songs like this make me wonder about language in music because, as a non-native English speaker, I can only grasp the nostalgia of “Birthday / The Pain” when I read the lyrics. I enjoy the contrast of the festive music with the hushed, cold vocals, but it loses its power when there are no changes throughout almost six minutes, and I get easily lost in the sounds when I can barely understand what he is saying.
[5]

Edward Okulicz: Dance is the best escape, the way the heart runs from hurt too hard to put into words. Even when the words are good, like they are here, I feel the escape more than the pain, but the two together are a compelling package.
[8]

Samson Savill de Jong: It’s always hard to follow up something like “I Have a Love” because part of what makes a song like that so impactful is that it sounded utterly unique, and another song by the same artist cannot have the same freshness. That being said, David Balfe has done as well as he possibly could, and this is still captivating. The production is fantastic, and the song sucks you in just as well as the previous one. There’s less poetry in the lyrics than last time; here David really is just telling a story set to music, and consequently I don’t think it touches the same impossible heights. Though there’s plenty of emotion here, it’s not particularly subtle. Still, there’s lots more room for songs of this quality in the world, and this still hits the mark.
[8]

Nortey Dowuona: Loping guitars and crushed drums lay behind a svelte synth track and a few trumpet stabs, when suddenly a low, raspy voice creaks out bitterness, cynicism and contempt for the world they inhabit. Still crackling and fizzing as the sweetness below the voice buoys them, all launch into a flighty, irresponsible spiral with lunging pianos and trumpet line drives; a chirping voice spinning around. Then the piano hops back in, alone and afraid, as a few friends jostle and leap, unaware of their sudden erasure.
[5]