Lincoln Lim / Houg : (Feel Like) Dancing Alone - Houg Mix
In an unexpected collaboration between singer-songwriter Lincoln Lim and trip-hop maestro Houg, (Feel Like) Dancing Alone combines the former artist’s pop sensibilities with the synth-driven groove of the latter to mixed results. Houg’s joyfully lush production stylings and tasteful embellishments are present especially so on the “Houg Mix”, serving as the B-side to the single. The original mix on the lead single itself however, sacrifices character for clarity, making for a boring and obnoxious mix of the song.
The songwriting is serviceable at best, with lines such as “roast chicken on a Sunday night is what I’m feeling like” seemingly coming out of left field rather than the carrying the quirk needed for the line to work, or any of the introspection typically associated with Lim’s previous works. Melodically, the song’s chorus (“You make the distance feel fine (Feels like just dancing)/While staying up all night…”) is just okay, toeing the fine line between an attempt to be catchy and being straight up annoying.
On the plus side lays enjoyably understated and intricate production work on the Houg Mix, with its chillwave and 80s-indebted sonic landscape shining through. Synths are tightly weaved in with its groovy 16th note hi-hatsand kick snare drum patterns, all its elements building a dynamic sense of atmosphere that ebbs and flows as the song progresses. The Houg mix particularly succeeds on the front where the original single mix seems to stumble, with its lead synths tastefully complimenting the track rather than overpowering the rest of the instrumentation in a trebly mess.Though never quite reaching the soaring heights of the tracks on his recent EP The Oscillation Scene, the production in the Houg Mix of (Feel Like) Dancing Alone is a commendable effort and testament to Houg’s mixing sensibilities.
It feels like (Feel Like) Dancing Alone suffers from an inherent stylistic clash between the two artists present, with the Lim and Houg not able to reconcile how their individual musical sensibilities (which has proved to work great on their own respective projects) may work together, leading to something that sounds half-baked and uninspired for the most part.