I love music. I know that seems obvious, but bear with me for a moment. One of my passions is discovering new music, but I also love sharing it, hence this article and the many I’ve written up until now. I could not live without music, or sounds in general. I would have a very hard time if I was suddenly struck deaf. Which brings me to the subject of this article, Tom the Lion’s “Silent Partner.” The video for the track shows a woman signing along with the lyrics in a manner that I can only describe as heartbreaking.
Rebecca Withey is herself hearing impaired, and she does an incredible job emoting throughout this clip. There is an overwhelming amount of silence felt throughout, despite the track swelling and cascading with rhythm and feeling for four minutes. The minute-long intro watches Withey stare silently back at you, but the vocals don’t provide any relief. Withey lip-syncs along to very few of the lines in the song, and even then she is not loud. She is forlorn, her gestures exact. (The continuity editing of this video is superb.) Though the song isn’t necessarily about being deaf, this video is a perfect intersection of theme and emotion. The song would be tragic without the video, and vice versa, but paired together they become something more.
“Silent Partner” is from Tom the Lion’s Sleep LP, which is out now. For more information, visit Tom the Lion’s website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Soundcloud.
The Music Court 
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