I want to document my love for this song before it gets played to death and I start feeling like I need to cut myself when I hear it. I first heard Imogen Heap when Pete Tong started playing the Watkins remix of “Breath In” to death back in 2002. I investigated the duo immediately and discovered why the formula worked so well, besides the fact that its singer kicked some serious ass. It was none other than Guy Sigsworth behind production on the track. Heap and Sigsworth have been involved in some pretty cheap shots, but I’m never one to hold missteps against somebody with talent. Imogen has been an emo-fag favorite since she released the track “Come Here Boy” on 1998′s I Megaphone, but nothing in her catalog really sets her apart from other breathy, classically trained, female vocalists besides this standout cut from 2005′s. She used a harmonizer box to overlay the a cappella vocal into a tapestry of dense sound, all the harmonies hitting in stunning simultaneity. Her gasps for air sometimes permit for a sudden bleed that hits the listener like an awkward (albeit beautiful) echo. And even though you can hear an outside train passing if you hold your breath, nothing mars the drama created by the lavish chords.

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