Pamela Hopkins’ “Back When” isn’t the musical equivalent of a Hallmark greeting card or family album. It is one of those songs about the enchantment of the past, childhood specifically, and we’ve heard its ilk before. Hopkins, however, brings her innate Southern talent for soulfulness to bear from the first line through the last. She carefully modulates the vocal, however, never pushing a heavy-handed virtuoso trip on listeners. I particularly like how she brings listeners into the song’s opening lines and how she transitions into higher emotional pitches as the song develops.
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Her voice matches up well with the acoustic guitar. Hopkins shows a debt to rock music in the way she uses guitar, especially electric, but even the softer acoustic instrumentation puts rock-tinged dynamics to use. Some may say they hear a country music influence. Hopkins is working with many Nashville based songwriters but, in the end, any opposing style weaving its way through the cut is full-on pop.
We don’t hear music like this much anymore. The predominance of cookie cutter acts has pulled. down the genre but individual voices like Hopkins’ can punch through because they throw the full weight of their life experiences behind their singing and songwriting. It is easy to believe she is relating the actual details of her past and present rather than interpreting reheated words with a competent level of skill.
The handclaps heard during the song are old-fashioned, without a doubt, but they work. Another effect they have on the song is making it a much more intimate trip. It encourages listeners to move or bounce their knees to match its beat and works well with the song’s other instruments. The rhythm section has critical importance. It is unobtrusive, however. The electric and acoustic guitars present in “Back When” contribute contrasting emotional tones that, in the end, mesh seamlessly to create an even greater whole.
This testifies to her talents for construction. The single benefits from dramatic, yet never overwrought, construction that creates several attention-grabbing turns through the track’s progression. It never breaks new ground, but that’s not the point. Hopkins wants to call forth emotions and imagery that all of us, in some degree, have experienced and shapes the song to accomplish these goals.
The words sparkle with the air of conversational poetry. There is no high-flown language drawing attention to itself, just a steady lyrical eye that captures significant details and eschews self-indulgence. They fit in lockstep with the music. Hopkins has likewise shown good judgment tailoring the song to the appropriate length. It never overreaches while still providing listeners with a fulfilling ride.
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It’s a welcome release in a thorny year. Maybe it is a character flaw, but COVID shadows everything I hear this year, even if only indirectly, and I’ve welcomed hearing songs that invoke a better time. “Back When” fits the bill. Pamela Hopkins has been at this a long time, with some significant interruptions, but reading about her story and hearing this song convinces me she will be making music for the rest of her life.
Chadwick Easton