There are some artists that you hear for the first time and you instinctively know that you are experiencing something truly special. That is how I felt when I first came across Joe Avio. From his breathy falsetto to his distinguished production choices, Avio leaves you hanging on his every word seeing where he’ll go next. “Models,” the first single off of his debut project, is no exception. The songwriter and producer has spent the last two years growing within his artistry so he could deliver a body of work that accurately told his story.
“Models” details Avio’s relationship with Los Angeles upon moving there. He got caught up in the glitz and the glamour and lost sight of his values. “When I moved to LA, I very much chose to see in my surroundings what I thought the city was supposed to be,” Avio said. “Surrounded by immense wealth, I lost grip of what was actually important.”
The song’s production is fitting for the subject matter. If you’ve ever been to LA you’ll know that the city leaves you with a lingering feeling of being both on top of the world and under its shoe. As Avio sings about driving around the streets of the city with models, the track highlights the fleeting happiness that accompanies that. The bright synths and punchy percussion in the chorus only elevate that feeling. The chorus hits on the central message of the song as he sings, “I’m done talking about models,” as the synthetic instruments disappear and the acoustic guitar makes an appearance, symbolizing the shift from living in an illusion to planting both feet on the ground.
Once we arrive at the third verse he alters his perspective, “Last night my mama had a heart attack / I missed the call / Don’t know what I was doing.” “Models” details my initial shifting of values, difficulties with feeling inconsequential when surrounded by greed, and my eventual return to normalcy,” Avio explains. “At the end of the day, we always find and re-find equilibrium in the madness — regardless of what it may take for us to find it.” We can expect to hear much more from Avio in the near future and I look forward to seeing where he’ll take us next.
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