Latch (song)

Background and composition

Originally, Disclosure thought that "Latch" was "too weird for the radio and not clubby enough for the clubs" because of its time signature. The duo stated: "It's in time — not even , the more commonly used time signature for house music."

Howard has stated that Disclosure is "trying to bring some soul into the songwriting... using jazz chords and interesting melodies instead of boring, stabby EDM triads."

Guy Lawrence has declined to say definitively what the key of Latch is, but in a text message to Disclosure, Jacob Collier argued for the key being F minor, calling the tonality "a sick flavorsome F minor because all the bass notes are avoiding [the root note]". Latch has a tempo of 122 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Michael Cragg of The Guardian wrote of the song: "it's a slowly unravelling ode to the thrill of wanting to figuratively (and possibly literally) latch on to someone else." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed the track as one of the duo's "least characteristic" songs, describing it as "less relaxed, more ambitious, more blatantly pop-oriented, with full-bodied vocals". Jamieson Cox lauded the song in The Verge: "Latch" is a "song that remains this decade's prototypical piece of dance-pop. There's no such thing as a perfect song, but 'Latch' comes close: it's economic, beguiling, and precise."

Commercial performance

On 10 October 2012, Greg James announced that "Latch" was at number 39 on The Official Chart Update, officially entering the UK Singles Chart at number 26 on 14 October 2012, climbing 13 places during the course of the week. In its second week, the song climbed nine places to number 17 and in its third climbed five places to number 12; it eventually peaked at number 11 in its fourth week. The song spent a total of 15 weeks within the top 40 and 32 weeks within the top 75. The song has sold over 1,800,000 copies in the UK alone, with it being certified 3× Platinum by the BPI. This puts "Latch" among the best-selling singles to not reach the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. The single was also certified Gold by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.

In 2014, "Latch" became a sleeper hit in the United States. The song was released as their debut single in the United States on 4 February 2014. On the chart dated 2 August, it topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart during its forty-seventh week on the chart, marking the longest trip to the summit of that chart (where it remained through the chart dated 30 August). Having sold 990,000 units at the mid-way point of 2014, "Latch" reigned as one of the top-selling Dance/Electronic Songs according to Nielsen SoundScan. The song became a contemporary hit radio crossover-hit. It was the duo's first, and Smith's second, top 10 single at pop, adult pop, rhythmic, urban and urban AC radio in the US, peaking at numbers three, 10, three and nine respectively. On the chart dated 9 August, "Latch" peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Latch" was first released onto YouTube on 9 October 2012, with a run time of 04:17. The video short was directed by Ross McDowell and Ben Murray of London's Bullion Collective and features scenes of several gay and straight couples flirting and embracing. One of the couples is home inside an apartment, another meet in a crowded elevator and begin to kiss once the others on the elevator have left, the third couple is two young women who meet in a bar, the fourth couple is two men who also meet at the bar. Sam Smith does not appear in the video. As of March 2025, the video has gained 495 million views on YouTube.

Track listings

• Digital download

1. "Latch" (featuring Sam Smith) – 4:16

• Digital remixes

1. "Latch" (T. Williams club remix) – 4:07
2. "Latch" (Jamie Jones remix) – 6:31

• Vinyl

1. "Latch" (featuring Sam Smith) – 4:16
2. "Latch" (T. Williams club edit) – 4:07

• In the Lonely Hour

1. "Latch" (acoustic) – 3:43

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

References

1. "[http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/watch-disclosure-reveal-new-video-for-latch/ Watch: Disclosure Reveal New Video For 'Latch'] {{Webarchive. link. (14 December 2013 ", [[This Is Fake DIY]], 9 October 2012, retrieved 30 October 2012)
2. (July 22, 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".
3. Weiss, Jeff. (30 June 2014). "Disclosure on Songwriting & More: 'We Thought 'Latch' Was Too Weird for the Radio'". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
4. (27 June 2014). "Disclosure's Billboard Cover: 5 Things We Learned About the UK Dance Duo".
5. (31 December 2021). "How We Made Latch". Disclosure.
6. Michael Cragg. (9 October 2012). "New music: Disclosure – Latch – Music – guardian.co.uk". the Guardian.
7. Caramanica, Jon (2012) "[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/arts/music/disclosure-plays-at-glasslands-gallery.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1351620202-fV1I6sUYhtJb177Fdk1bSw Nostalgic Sounds Dating to the Early 21st Century]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 25 October 2012, retrieved 30 October 2012
8. (23 September 2015). "On Caracal, Disclosure are starting to leave dance music behind". [[The Verge]].
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12. (9 October 2012). "Disclosure – Latch feat. Sam Smith (Official Video)". YouTube.
13. Eaton, James (2012) "[http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2012/10/video-disclosure-latch-feat-sam- Video: Disclosure "Latch (feat. Sam Smith)"]", ''[[XLR8R]]'', 9 October 2012, retrieved 30 October 2012
14. Murray, Robin (2012) "[http://www.clashmusic.com/article/disclosure-latch Disclosure – Latch]", ''[[Clash (magazine). Clash]]'', 10 October 2012, retrieved 30 October 2012
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19. (6 October 2014). "ARIA Dance Singles Chart – 06/10/14". [[ARIA Charts]].
20. "History". [[Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
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