ALMOST ISN’T NOTHING [Intro – warm liquid keys, elastic sub-bass] [High delicate female voice enters immediately] [Continuous legato melody with gentle irregular pitch warbles] [Soft harmonies shimmer around sustained vowels] [Verse 1 – intimate light soprano, long connected melodic phrases] [Hypnotic swung groove, lush electric piano, melodic bass responses] I knew exactly how the evening ought to go A little conversation, then I’d make my way But somewhere in the middle of an ordinary sentence You said my name and made me want to stay And I don’t think you meant to do a thing about it You never tried to change the way I feel But I could hear the difference in the way you said it Like something that was waiting to be real [Pre-Chorus – upper harmonies begin moving around the lead] [Long wavering notes, suspended chords shifting beneath the melody] And I like the way it happens without warning How a little can become enough for me There’s a moment just before we get much closer That I almost never want to leave [Chorus – lush flowing soprano melody, rich micro-harmonic shimmer] [Deep rounded bass bends beneath sustained vocal notes] [No abrupt phrasing or rhythmic vocal chopping] Almost isn’t nothing Not the way you make it feel There’s a world between the wanting And the moment it gets real Almost isn’t nothing I can feel it coming through I don’t need another reason To enjoy this part of you And if we never take it further I won’t call it make-believe Almost isn’t nothing It’s already something to me [Verse 2 – fluid warbling soprano, delicate melodic variations] [Liquid bass plays an independent countermelody] [Detuned organ and glassy notes respond to vocal phrases] You never make a promise you don’t want to keep And I don’t ask for answers you don’t want to give There’s something in the way we let the evening happen That makes the smallest moments feel so big I like the way your laughter finds me unexpectedly The little change of color in your eyes And every time I think I’ve finally got you figured You find another way to change my mind [Pre-Chorus – shimmering vocal harmonies, more unusual chord movement] [Lead voice gently warbles around a sustained pitch] And I like the way it happens without warning How a little can become enough for me There’s a moment just before we get much closer That I almost never want to leave [Chorus – fuller intertwined harmonies, continuous flowing melody] [Heavy velvet sub-bass, lush harmonic movement] [Micro-harmonies bloom around each extended vowel] Almost isn’t nothing Not the way you make it feel There’s a world between the wanting And the moment it gets real Almost isn’t nothing I can feel it coming through I don’t need another reason To enjoy this part of you And if we never take it further I won’t call it make-believe Almost isn’t nothing It’s already something to me [Bridge – THE IMPLOSION] [The hypnotic groove remains continuous] [Deep sub-bass begins an enormous descending elastic bend] [The stereo field gradually contracts] [Wurlitzer and organ harmonies move inward through close dissonant intervals] [One high soprano note remains suspended, naturally warbling] [Three tiny independent harmonies gradually converge around her pitch] [Soft tape echoes overlap, creating a shimmering beating texture] I could let the feeling find its own beginning I could let it change without knowing where I don’t have to ask for more than what you’re giving When there’s already so much waiting there [THE BLOOM] [Massive rounded BWOMP] [The compressed harmonic cluster opens into an unexpectedly gorgeous chord] [Stereo image expands, lush layered harmonies unfold] [Groove returns with a changed bass root and new melodic countermelody] [Lead vocal remains intimate, delicate and beautifully fluid] [Final Chorus – weightless soprano, intertwined warbling micro-harmonies] [Deep liquid bass pressure, warm lush harmonic bloom] [Extended connected vocal phrases, no belting] Almost isn’t nothing Not the way you make it feel There’s a world between the wanting And the moment it gets real Almost isn’t nothing I can feel it coming through I don’t need another reason To enjoy this part of you And if we never take it further I won’t call it make-believe Almost isn’t nothing It’s already something to me [Outro – drums soften, rich bass and liquid keys remain] [Lead soprano sustains a long gently wavering melodic phrase] [Close harmonies gradually separate into delicate shimmering intervals] Almost isn’t nothing It’s already something to me [One warm unresolved chord] [Soft tape decay] [End]
