Charlie Puth has been around for longer than we might think, with his first Youtube channel being created in 2009, but he found his first real taste of the spotlight in 2015 with his hit Marvyn Gaye. His latest release, Left and Right, also features Jung Kook, a member of the South Korean boy band phenomenon BTS who adds an excellent foil for the vocal performance of the song. 

The high register of Charlie Puth is becoming a trademark of his style, as an artist and producer and in this track, his vocals come straight in. In Left and Right his voice has an edge to it. It sounds a little autotuned (deliberately) but it gives it a distinction. The drum rhythm allows each verse to have a real head bobbing feel which helps the song portray an energy throughout, with quite a stripped back accompaniment. The panning of the vocals is also clever, working with the songs title of left and right and pushing the vocals into your left and right speakers. The song builds nicely, with added vocal presence at key points to highlight a build up in the crescendo of the song. 

Every chorus needs a hook, and Left and Right has a really nice way of attracting your attention to listen to the lyrics and float gently from phrase to phrase with harmonies subtly used to fill the mix. 

Overall this song is a good way of attracting new listeners to both artists, as there is a middle ground that is found, with live instrumentation and well written melody lines that both old and new fans of both Charlie Puth and Jung Kook will appreciate.

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.