Charlie McDonald’s “Time” is the kind of song that doesn’t just play — it lingers, pulses, and aches. Following his stirring debut “You Broke Me”, which garnered over 120,000 views, “Time” arrives not just as a follow-up, but as a clear statement of intent: McDonald is here to craft music that resonates on a visceral, soul-deep level.
Written in the wake of rediscovered memories of a friend lost nine years prior, “Time” is rooted in real, unresolved emotion. Rather than chase nostalgia with sentimentality, McDonald examines the quiet ache of forgetting — the betrayal of a brain that lets go even when the heart doesn’t want to. This is songwriting as soul-searching, and it cuts like truth.
Musically, the track walks a fine line between minimalism and grandeur. It builds slowly, with lush cinematic instrumentation that swells and recedes like waves of memory. Soft synth pads, restrained percussion, and R&B-tinged melodies create a dreamlike texture, while the raw, unfiltered vocal performance keeps it grounded in reality.
There’s a maturity to McDonald’s songwriting that belies his early stage in the industry. He doesn’t tell us what to feel — he creates a space for feeling. His lyricism is more about suggestion than specificity, allowing each listener to bring their own story to the song’s emotional canvas. This universality is what makes “Time” so devastating and so comforting, all at once.
What elevates “Time” is how fully formed it feels. From the poetic backstory to the nuanced execution, everything about this release speaks to an artist who is not just reacting to emotion, but shaping it into something enduring. That the song was mostly written in under three minutes only adds to its mystique — it feels like a message from somewhere deeper.
Charlie McDonald may be early in his career, but “Time” places him in the lineage of artists like James Blake and Aurora — creators who make music that doesn’t just sound good, but feels necessary. It’s a leap forward, and a quiet triumph. If this is what time has done for Charlie, we can only imagine what comes next.
