Archeo – Glass Half Empty | Single review

Devilishly handsome, helium-voiced singer and producer Archeo is garnering all the right plaudits following the release of his first single Mr. General; a fantastic, dance floor-baiting single. He looks set to conquer the London pop scene on the strength of his cheekbones alone.

Pitched by the singer as an “intergalactic-future-funk-crunk” record, his follow-up single Glass Half Empty is disappointing and actually sounds even more ridiculous than that description of his would have you believe. Starting from the cascading layers of synths and the shrieking mantra of the intro (“if your glass half empty come meet me at the bar”) to the propulsive, sugar-high beat.

The infectious chorus is basically Hollaback Girl mashed up with A Milli, while Archeo’s playful vocals recall Prince’s Camille alter-ego or, perhaps less charitably, Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Produced by The White N3rd specifically to go do down a storm on the dance floor – particularly the jaw-dropping bass line that comes in like a ton of bricks halfway through – Glass Half Empty looks set to be a sure-fire smash simply by virtue of its regurgitation of successful gimmicks from the past. Which is a shame, because Archeo has shown he’s better than this, and still has the potential to forge a distinctive path for himself without resorting to cheap thrills.

Glass Half Empty will be available to download on the 6th of May.

Verdict: ••

Freddy Powys

Make your own mind up about Archeo’s new single and listen to Glass Half Empty here