Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Max Summers – All I Need (2021)

Breakdowns of relationships are not limited to romantic connections as friendly and familial relationships can also slip through our fingers. Max Summers is delving into this through his debut single ‘All I Need’. Drawing on his own experience of losing his close relationship with his sisters which has never fully mended, he touches on the pain this can cause. With amazing storytelling lyrics, Summers unleashes his own story while connecting with experiences many have gone through.

The sharing of his story and emotions comes through a blended soundscape that meshes dark pop with alternative sounds. While using a very personal experience for his debut, he touches on universal feelings for an engaging track. As his first single, he is really hitting the ground running with a depth of emotion and tender touches.



‘All I Need’ opens with a tender piano line. There is a depth to the piano that draws you into an intimate space before a thrumming in the low levels of the melody tickles your ears for attention. The tender tones give way to a heavier pop vibe full of deep beats that get your head moving. The melody is very interesting because it is both stripped-back and not. The melodic layers are laid bare but come together for a textured movement that traverses the spaces between contemporary pop, dark pop and tender acoustics. It is a wonderful display of musicality that gets you excited for what else Summers has in sort for us.

Resting over the captivating melody are his smooth vocals that are packed with so much emotion. The lyrics detail the emotions of the track through a storytelling flow allowing you to deeply feel every emotion. There is a pleading to the lyrics on the chorus before you are thrown into a pool of nostalgia. It is a very touching vocal performance that is melancholic with a tempering of yearning for a connection that seems lost forever.

Max Summers uses his debut single ‘All I Need’ to hit you with a sledgehammer of emotion. While the melody is an enthralling mixture of stripped back melodics and intertwined sounds, the vocals pack a serious emotional punch. Through the tale of his own experience, he fills you with melancholy and yearning for a link and relationship that you can never really get back.

Find out more about Max Summers on his Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.

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