Culture Music

Archeo – Glass Half Empty | Single review

Archeo – Glass Half Empty | Single review

Devilishly handsome, helium-voiced singer and producer Archeo is garnering all the right plaudits following the release of his first single Mr. General; a fantastic, dance floor-baiting single. He looks set to conquer the London pop scene on the strength of his cheekbones alone.

Pitched by the singer as an “intergalactic-future-funk-crunk” record, his follow-up single Glass Half Empty is disappointing and actually sounds even more ridiculous than that description of his would have you believe. Starting from the cascading layers of synths and the shrieking mantra of the intro (“if your glass half empty come meet me at the bar”) to the propulsive, sugar-high beat.

The infectious chorus is basically Hollaback Girl mashed up with A Milli, while Archeo’s playful vocals recall Prince’s Camille alter-ego or, perhaps less charitably, Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Produced by The White N3rd specifically to go do down a storm on the dance floor – particularly the jaw-dropping bass line that comes in like a ton of bricks halfway through – Glass Half Empty looks set to be a sure-fire smash simply by virtue of its regurgitation of successful gimmicks from the past. Which is a shame, because Archeo has shown he’s better than this, and still has the potential to forge a distinctive path for himself without resorting to cheap thrills.

Freddy Powys

Glass Half Empty will be available to download on the 6th of May.

Make your own mind up about Archeo’s new single and listen to Glass Half Empty here:

More in Culture

The Friend

Christina Yang

Personal Values at Hampstead Theatre

Maggie O'Shea

“These are really crazy circumstances and we wanted to make sure that the audience felt bought in”: Michael Cimino and Ella Rubin on Until Dawn

Mae Trumata

Soho’s Nessa launches weekly Salon of the Unruly art nights celebrating local talent

Food & Travel Desk

Netflix sets global premiere date for crime drama Dept Q, starring Matthew Goode and written by Scott Frank

The editorial unit

I Know What You Did Last Summer returns to UK cinemas with original stars and new cast this July

The editorial unit

Ave Mario launches pre-theatre dinner menu in Covent Garden

Food & Travel Desk

Emma-Jean Thackray – Weirdo

Emily Downie

Swimming Home

Antonia Georgiou