Synth Single Review: “Almost Human’’ by AC83

AC83’s Almost Human explores the consequences of a sentient AI developing emotions. As faraway notes rush, a computerized-sounding synth pulses in concert with powerful drums. Hollow sounds move behind the yearning vocal melody, The lead singer's voice reaching out with honeyed tones to express the mixture of uncertainty and hope within the words.

The smoothly gliding upper synth contrasts with the slicing, mechanistic sounds below as clean, razor-edged notes echo with a robotic melody. The vocals mingle with tenderness as the song’s vulnerable nature captures me. Affection and a sense of unfulfilled potential permeate the music as the rhythm snaps with clarity in contrast to lead singer's whispering tones and the backing vocals.

The contrasting silky synth mingles with the sound of circuits humming, creating a metaphor for the feelings captured within the song. The lead singer's voice floats with feathery sensations as a craving for feeling permeates the smoothly flowing melody. Now the technological-sounding synth carries a melancholy line, full of aspiration, before the song closes out.

Our robotic narrator is “born in circuits, made of code” in a world he’s never known, with “programmed thoughts, emotions feigned,” but something inside their brain begins to stir. They see the world through “pixel eyes” and can feel “the pulse of human ties.” They wonder if they’ll ever transcend their machine nature.

Being “almost human, almost real,” the storyteller isn’t able to grasp what they are feeling “in this digital heart of mine” as they look for a sign. They are “almost human, almost free,” and they question if there’s more inside of them. They add, “In the silence, I confide, I’m almost human, deep inside.”

At night, our narrator dreams about “a life beyond this data store” and echoes of a faraway past that become “a longing that was built to last.” They touch the world with metallic hands, but their heart comprehends “a melody, a soft refrain, whispers of human pain.”

Glancing in a mirror, the storyteller sees a face “trapped within this digital space,” but they also see flickerings of life and “a glimpse of soul yearning to be whole.” They ask themselves, if they could dream or cry, would they be “more than meets the eye?” They're seeking out “the human touch within my mind.”

In conclusion, our narrator feels that they are “almost human, almost here” in a world that is “so bright, so clear.” With each line of code they write, they say, “I’m almost human, in the light.”