You see.. this is how to do ballads in pop music: drop the cheesy instrumentation which always seems to dog such endeavours – RnB people that includes you, let the lyrics scoot around the subject rather than explaining everything (remember it’s about building a relationship with your listeners). I guess I’m asking to songwriters to understate everything.

This Time starts and continues in a very ambient fashion, adding percussive decorations to emphasize how much was lost – explained through the lyrics. Sure, there’s a gradual build towards the end, but the climb is wonderfully subtle. Check out the sparse use of acoustic guitar which is usually the dominating factor in such downbeat songs.

Bertine Zetlitz: My Italian Greyhound – iTunes UK