What Could Possibly Go Wrong – Dominic Fike

By: Tomas Ayala

Dominic Fike is an American songwriter and singer from Florida. He started his career pursuing Rap but eventually switched to more Alternative music. His first go at Alternative music was his 2018 EP Don’t Forget About Me Demos and he gained traction and a record deal off that EP. In 2020, Dominic Fike released his first full length project What Could Possibly Go Wrong. This album leans even more to alternative and more pop while still staying extremely experimental. This Album has no theme but rather tries to get a personal view of Dominic’s current state of mind.

The album’s opening track “Come Here” is extremely unique and creative. Really scratchy vocals and imperfect mixing gives the track personality and make the track a lot of fun. Dominic keeps this up for the rest of the album throwing in super slow modern alternative sounds, 80s pop, and other styles. All the songs are incredibly unique, have different styles, different vocal delivery, and different mixing. Slow and simple songs like “Good Game” are examples of what Dominic brings to a song. His lyrics and fun experimenting with his vocals give life to songs that without those elements could have been extremely boring. The second half of Dominic’s album becomes a lot livelier and are songs to jam out to. “What’s for Dinner?” and “Chicken Tenders” are standouts to me because of their up-tempo pop sounds while Dominic stays himself and operates in any lane he tries.

The experimentation with this album is also my biggest gripe. Although Dominic shines through on all these tracks, some production and mixing choices just did not compliment Dominic. At some points in the album, it truly feels like Dominic is fighting against the production to make a good song. With more time Dominic will learn what works for him and what does not so this issue is minor. I’m excited to see what Dominic puts out next because his potential is off the charts. When it comes to What Could Possibly Go Wrong, we are left with yet another Dominic Fike project that leaves us guessing just how talented this guy is.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Track – “Chicken Tenders”