Pay The Man is a new single that was recently released by Ghost of Vroom, Mike Doughty, and Andrew Livingston. This song was recommended to me by Spotify and I decided to review it because I am a big Mike Doughty fan and he is the most prominently featured musician in this collaborative effort in my opinion. Mike Doughty is commonly known for being the frontman and main songwriter of the band Soul Coughing, but he also has an extensive solo catalog of music that is quite good.
In general, I would say that if you like soul coughing or Doughty’s solo work then you will probably like this single. The vocals and instrumental parts on this single are very reminiscent of Soul Coughing’s sound but with more of an emphasis on electronic elements and drum sounds. The beat that drives the song paired with the upright-sounding bassline sounds like a soul coughing arrangement if the bass presence was turned up on every instrument. The song has a driving feel with various strange sounds that fade in and out in the background. Doughty’s vocal delivery in this song is also very reminiscent of Soul Coughing, as he utilizes hip-hop-like flows to deliver his lyrics. There were more repeated lines in this song than I commonly recognize with Doughty’s writing but it wasn’t a hindrance to my enjoyment of it in any way.
There wasn’t an extremely apparent rise and fall of emotion in this song so I would categorize it as more easy listening. I have not listened to any music from the other collaborators on this single, so I cannot comment on their contribution. I always like to see Mike Doughty release new music because I think he is just an incredible lyric writer and an extremely unique musician. Overall I wasn’t blown away by this single but Like I said, I do think it’s worth checking out if you are a fan of any of Soul Coughing’s albums or anything from Mike Doughty’s discography.