“This Kind of Love” by Bruce Makin

Although it’s an understatement to say self-awareness isn’t a subject a lot of pop singers know how to grapple with sincerely, but Bruce Makin isn’t a typical performer. Makin is a songwriter who composes what he feels on the realest level possible, and if this weren’t true of his new single ”This Kind of Love,” I don’t believe critics would be buzzing over its release this winter.

URL: https://brucemakin.com/

“This Kind of Love” draws us closer with its pleasure-emitting instrumentation but unleashes real daggers with its lead vocalist’s verses, all of which sound like the trappings of an introspective diary entry and not the standard-issue pop/rock  we’ve all heard before.  

Makin’s heart is on his sleeve in every aspect of this song, and not limited to the expressiveness of his singing at all. Contrary to what a lot of his contemporaries might have done with the harmony in the chorus here, he takes a cerebral route, relying on his voice and the precision of his backing band to set the stage as opposed to any external props. Being detail-oriented is an attribute for sure, and in this player’s war chest, it’s an irreplaceable weapon he can’t afford to lose.  

There’s a sense of urgency in this crooning as Makin scales the verses immediately feeding into the cathartic chorus of “This Kind of Love,” but it’s inevitably denied by the lumbering groove set forth by the percussion. This adds a lot of tension to the words, but don’t think for a minute this wasn’t the original goal Bruce Makin had in mind for this single from the get-go. 

His deliberate shaping of the climax in the chorus forces all of the emotional discord into the fold, thus making his narrative more tangible and inescapably effective for anyone who is within earshot.  

When all is said and done here, I think “This Kind of Love” is going to wind up being one of the most well-received songs this singer ever adds to his discography for one reason over all the others; it represents a degree of artistic communication rarely utilized with any genuine meaning in pop music. Makin isn’t afraid to be exposed and put everything out there if it means making the melody in this single sting more than any unfeeling radio hook ever would, and for that, I believe he deserves a lot of praise.  

I can’t wait to hear Bruce Makin’s work as it continues to evolve out of the concept we’re getting in this performance, and I’m especially eager to know what the future beyond his last trip to the recording studio is going to hold for listeners. He’s still got so many different avenues through which he can bring his creative ambitions to life, and in “This Kind of Love,” he more or less confirms that he isn’t even close to slowing down his artistic momentum anytime soon. What it all adds up to is anticipation among legit music lovers, starting with those who have already heard “This Kind of Love” this month.  

Trace Whittaker