Gregory Dillon Gets Dark on New Single Vacuum
In 2019 Gregory Dillon has quickly become one of my favorite pop stars of the year. Each of his 5 singles so far showcase his deeply soulful voice which is complimented by meticulously atmospheric production that feels transportive & even other worldly at times, all topped off with melodic sing along choruses that run laps through my head constantly. Gregory has not made a single mis-step yet as I would easily award all 5 of his singles with an A+ rating and his latest single Vacuum is no exception.
That said, Vacuum does represent a bit of a departure from what came before. While it is still synth pop that has a bit of retro feel, it's definitely darker, sexier and more throbbing than his past singles. Gregory says that musically Vacuum is influenced heavily by Robyn and Depeche Mode and I can definitely hear those 2 acts' influence, especially Depeche Mode. Vacuum reminds me specifically of Depeche Mode's dark leather period of the late 80s and early 90s when they went a bit darker with a series of darkly throbbing synth pop masterpieces that ended up turning the group into arena filling superstars. Listening to Vacuum I can easily draw comparisons to Depeche Mode songs from that era such as Never Let You Down Again, Enjoy the Silence and The Policy of Truth.
Lyrically Vacuum also sees Gregory going down a darker path as he has also said the song was about a very toxic relationship he used to be in. Still Gregory actually doesn't place the blame on his ex, like most pop songs do, instead Gregory blames himself as he sings:
"I'm sorry I Let You Go
Forever I will be alone
You Know I Tried to Hurt You
I feel terribly good dancing in the vacuum."
Gregory is not so much the protagonist of the song, as he is the antagonist which is quite the role reversal from his previous singles. Gregory's desire to be self destructive and miserably alone on Vacuum also recalls such 90s rock songs like Garbage's Only Happy When It Rains and Alice in Chains' Would? Yet, for all its darker tendencies, Vacuum feels like it's Gregory's biggest club bop yet, one that is meant to soundtrack sexy late night rendezvous in darkly lit dance clubs.
Vacuum feels a piece of what came before, while still feeling like a big departure. With Vacuum, Gregory Dillon continues to show us the different layers of himself as both a pop star and as a songwriter & producer. Overall, Vacuum is another pop triumph from Gregory Dillon and it makes me even more excited to hear what comes next.
