*****
In the vein of the much loved (by me) "Be Alright", this was another instantly likable Dean Lewis track. Touching on the theme of a relationship breakdown once more, this covers slightly different ground. Where "Be Alright" is a story where the other party is at fault, on "7 Minutes" we have Dean himself taking the blame, which allows for a wider range of emotions to be expressed. While "I forgot to love you" is an odd lyric taken at face value, it's really just an admission of fault; that she was right to end things. This adds to the sense of heartbreak contained in the song, because while he may now know where things went wrong, he can't necessarily fix them. The lyrics paint this picture very well, and by using specific memories and moments from the past, a real sense of what has been lost can be built. Referencing "Chasing Cars" in the second verse was a good move too, because that song is excellent. It's not just the lyrics which give the feeling of heartbreak though, almost everything about the song adds to that. The guitar itself, right from the opening notes of the song, feels tinged with sadness. Dean's mostly mournful vocal also evokes feelings of pain and loss. There is what feels like a glimmer of hope offered in the chorus and the incredibly catchy pre-chorus where Dean has "figured it out" and the drums kick in. Dean's vocal shifts from sad to hopeful and the heightened production and energy take the song away from the place of sadness it had been in. At the end of the day, even though it's probably futile, there's always hope. | 
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