Sarah Buxton – “Space”
Songwriters: Sarah Buxton, Lari White & Chuck Cannon.
Sarah Buxton’s voice, starting off as little more than a whisper, is so intimate and close on “Space” that you can almost feel her breath on your skin through the microphone. It is, however, a soft vocal kiss that spins into a galactic kiss-off as she grants the object of her affection exactly what he’s asking for.
Buxton’s vocal performance is a brilliant juxtaposition—as her loved one pulls away, she pulls closer, as if to say “This is what you’re going to miss.” It’s a wonderful interpretation that expertly captures the nuanced emotion of the situation, and, in fact, Buxton sings it so well that it’s impossible to think she’s never actually lived it.
So it’s a shame that the song’s lyrics are nowhere near as stellar as their singer. “Space” is essentially a telling-off; the song is focused entirely outward, Buxton telling the schmuck who broke her heart exactly where he can go and exactly how much space she’s going to give him. It glosses over why he wants that space, and, really, how his wanting that space makes her feel. Buxton’s tremendous vocal performance goes a long way towards conveying that inward emotion, but her performance also makes the song sound better than it really is—which is to the singer’s credit.
Where “Space” ultimately fails lyrically, however, is in its anger. In the singer’s outburst of emotion, she lashes into her lover for wanting space to such an extent that it’s almost easy to feel sorry for him. The song never gives us any inclination that he’s a bad guy—are we supposed to vilify him for being honest? If the crux of the singer’s emotional conflict revolves around her own broken heart, then the song would be more effective if it went into greater depth about how it makes her feel. As it stands, it feels like there is a fundamental lack of communication between these two individuals—he claiming that things are moving too fast, she telling him to go to dark side of the moon.
Buxton briefly touches on part of all this at the opening of the second verse, with the line, “You need your own bed/You need your own room.” But that line seems to speak to a deeper emotional problem as it implies that this person has a significant fear of intimacy…in which case the singer’s reaction feels rather harsh.
Add to that the fact that the song’s second verse is incredibly pedestrian, with lines like “And you won’t have to deal/With anything real/’Cause I won’t be here/I’ll just disappear,” and we find a song that is at times confused and at others weakly constructed.
Still, lyrics are only part of the equation, and the emotion that this lyric lacks is made up for in the vocal. Buxton would deserve a thumbs up for singing any song this well.
Listen: Sarah Buxton – “Space”
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[...] I could give it a thumbs-up even despite the vocal, which I agree is brilliant.” — Dan Milliken “I love Sarah Buxton and hope that radio and her record company will really give her a proper [...]
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November 13, 2008 at 7:34 pm Permalink
Where “Space” ultimately fails lyrically, however, is in its anger. In the singer’s outburst of emotion, she lashes into her lover for wanting space to such an extent that it’s almost easy to feel sorry for him. The song never gives us any inclination that he’s a bad guy—are we supposed to vilify him for being honest? If the crux of the singer’s emotional conflict revolves around her own broken heart, then the song would be more effective if it went into greater depth about how it makes her feel.
Nailed it there. The song itself really doesn’t work for me, and I don’t think I could give it a thumbs-up even despite the vocal, which I agree is brilliant. But this is a solid review.
November 13, 2008 at 7:45 pm Permalink
I heard this song the other day, Sarah does this song beautifully. The lyrics are the low point, but her voice makes up for it, in my opinion.
November 13, 2008 at 8:22 pm Permalink
I love Sarah Buxton and hope that radio and her record company will really give her a proper shot. She has a unique voice and is a very good writer. I have the record that was never released (fully) and there are some good songs but nothing that would have launched her career properly. I hope they get it right.
November 13, 2008 at 8:25 pm Permalink
It’s okay, but I liked it much better than another song of hers that was terrible
My mom heard it on the radio and thought it was Jewel… I don’t see how anyone could confuse someone with Jewel lol
November 13, 2008 at 9:04 pm Permalink
I heard this song for the first time today. I really like the edge in Sarahs voice, its not my fave song from her but i like it. I hope she does well and radio embrace her(but that would require radio to have taste so i doubt that will happen)
November 13, 2008 at 9:31 pm Permalink
I’m a huge fan of Sarah Buxton as both a singer and songwriter but “Space” doesn’t do it for me much as I hate to admit it. When I first heard the song on Sarah’s MySpace I wasn’t bowled over like I had hoped. It seems many radio stations aren’t overly impressed either as the DJ CD singles are already turning up in quantity on ebay.
Over at Roughstock a message posted about this song by a Top 40 country radio programmer in East Tennessee named T. Ayers was telling. “T” personally really liked the song but when his station gave it a test drive for listener feedback most of it came back negative to his disappointment. I think the song is just a little too “artsy” for listeners of airhead country radio.
On the bright side Sarah has a really catchy little number on her MySpace player titled “There You Go” which I thoroughly enjoy listening to. The guitar break at the start really catches the listener’s attention. I feel “There You Go” should have been the new single rather than “Space”. Compare for yourselves:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=45203143
“There You Go” is the final song, # 6 on the player.
November 17, 2008 at 12:11 am Permalink
At Sarah’s MySpace her new ID picture is a shot of Sarah in a classy crimson dress she wore to the recent BMI songwriters awards ceremony. I think Sarah should use that photo for her future 8 x 10 glossy promo pictures from now on……
November 17, 2008 at 3:47 pm Permalink
I heard Lari White do this a few months ago at the Bluebird. She did it much better. There is no emotion in this version. This sounds sad and pitiful. Lari gave it attitude and made it sound like “ok, you want space big boy? you’re about to have more space than you know what to do with!” In this version all I hear is “oh no, he wants space, now I’m gonna be all alone. poor pitiful me.”
I know you guys rave on Sarah Buxton all the time, but frankly I thought this was pretty awful.
(Dont start throwing the furniture at me, that’s just my opinion.)
November 17, 2008 at 3:51 pm Permalink
Paula, I haven’t really heard much that’s made me a Sarah Buxton believer yet, either. “Stupid Boy” was a pretty good song, but nothing else has grabbed my attention.
November 17, 2008 at 4:00 pm Permalink
I like Lari White.
November 17, 2008 at 4:10 pm Permalink
Brady – I didnt like “Stupid Boy” til I heard Caitlyn and Will sing it.
November 17, 2008 at 8:34 pm Permalink
Paula, if you had picked up a full advance copy of Sarah’s debut album I think you’d have a much higher opinion of her. The mellow bluesy songs on that CD are top notch in both lyrical content and vocal delivery. Sadly none of those songs were included in the 5 songs from that album released digitally as the “Almost My Record” EP. A copy of that advance CD sold on eBay this weekend for $ 31, so the demand is still there.
Personally I’ve found most of the songs Sarah has placed on her MySpace since the original album was wrapped to be less satisfying. “Space” does nothing for me and I find it boring, but I see how Lari White could spice it up. As I mentioned in my first post above “There You Go” is a much more enjoyable song to listen to and should have been the single! Its too late now…..
December 21, 2008 at 11:02 pm Permalink
love this song. “space” touched me because of her voice. I don’t think it fails really lyrically I just think its simple and to the point more of a younger highschool emotion. I love her voice I do think she can get some better songs. I’ve been looking for space on itunes as soon as it shows up I’ll be one of the first to download it. I hope that she can get some songs that really do her voice justice. Her voice makes this song.
February 22, 2009 at 10:53 pm Permalink
I personally love “Space” and think Sarah is amazing!! I hope she gets the chance she deserves and Lyric Street finally releases her record!
March 6, 2009 at 10:11 pm Permalink
The first time I heard this song I loved it. I don’t agree with most about the song. She has a unique voice with that edge that makes the song stand out. Personally, I love the song. For me the song says it all. I hope to hear much more from Sarah. I think for me the song says it all.
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