Joe Pagano - Take Me

Joe Pagano​

Take Me
self-released; 2019

​3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

I have to admit I never heard of Joe Pagano before his single “Take Me.” Apparently he released an Americana/alt-country album a couple years back. “Take Me” is not Americana/alt-country by any stretch of the imagination.

The song is a fairly straightforward electronic song that you could imagine being played in a nightclub. It starts with a 4/4 beat and synth bass line and other synths follow that same pattern. The crescendo here is essentially his vocals where he sings, “Let me go and shake it.”

There is a more clear ’80s vibe when the verse comes. I liked the vocals on the verse where he sounds a little more relaxed and chill. He finds his range here and all the elements sound very digital yet ethereal and airy. The vocal hook is catchy but the melody made by around the two -minute-and-thirty-second point might be just as catchy. As the song progresses  it goes back into the initial build the song started with.

This is a song that has the criteria that you would probably want if you wanted to dance. The 4/4 time signature is exact and mechanical like a lot of electronic music. There is a definitely a trance-like groove that comes with that.

​On top of that the airy and ethereal qualities make the song feel relaxing as well. So you could say the song drives but really doesn’t feel aggressive or angry. It’s more joyous and uplifting not all that far away from a track you might hear from Daft Punk. The song “Digital Love” comes to mind.

One thing I didn’t mention is that this is the genre of music that Pagano started making initially. It’s obvious he had some success with this genre because this song demonstrates his sense of aesthetics. I’d say this a dance worthy club track that fans from the ’80s club hits to today will be able to appreciate.

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