A song for when you’re tired on Sunday night and really should go to bed, but you just don’t feel like it. You want more weekend, dammit.
If Daughters fell over repeated listenings, then this song just kept rising. Especially the first few goes it felt like I should dislike it, it’s really not the sort of thing I ever put on now, but instead of languishing it got stuck in my head. I found myself humming it around the house and feeling surprisingly happy when it came on.
I think it reminded me of some bands I half knew but couldn’t quite remember, people doing indie pop but with big doses of ambient keyboards and electronics. The thing I really loved was the tune, with the guitar line in particular being a gorgeous hook, but the overall relaxed atmosphere is just as good. The mood is slightly tired or lazy, but somehow not in a bad way. I dunno, I second guessed myself a lot about this one but in the end I couldn’t deny that I just enjoyed it every time.
In second place with nine points Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
After everyone is asleep; this is the time to scrape that exposed nerve. Pluck it until it sounds like the guitar at the end of the song. To do this properly, you can’t have any lights on, nobody needs to see this, including you; you may have to shoot out the streetlight if it’s seeping through the window.
Beautifully put, but I must say I try and avoid this sort of thinking at night. Not that I always can, but spiralling around what seems an ever growing issue (which, in the light of day, doesn’t seem too big a deal) isn’t great.
However when these philosophical issues are ignored (as we should all problems) you ended up sending a fine song. For no good reason I’ve never listened to Richard & Linda Thompson, despite thinking that when Richard was in Fairport Convention they were one of the best bands about. An oversight made graver by the stately power of this song, one which didn’t so much grow on me (as I enjoyed it a lot from first listen) as gradually reveal greater and greater depths.
It’s a rich brew, though quite a stark and slow piece of rock music. Its theme is stalked out by lingering chords, looming base, and a doomy bit of vocal work (I presume from Richard). Those account for about half the song and, apart from the central refrain, never quite seem to choose a stable structure. As above, though, the real late night desperation is in the guitar solos, particularly the final one. It gets increasingly abstract until it drags the whole song down along with it. Lovely stuff.
In first place with ten points Conjure One - Into The Escape
If it puts you to sleep that’s kinda the point!
This was the first track I listened to and struck me as a decent entry from the start, though with some initial misgivings. I tend to stray away from music that seems very mannered or controlled, and the precise way it’s composed triggered that and obscured just how satisfying a song it is.
The first minute is a gentle ambient wash, then a simple melody builds around an acoustic guitar. That chord pattern is then mined for more-or-less the rest of the track, layering on drums, more guitars, keyboards and so on. It reminded me of someone like Explosions in the Sky, who also get a big ‘epic’ feel out of building and building on simple melodies.
In a way I have the least to say about this one, it’s a simple tune executed extremely well. There’s lots of intricate embellishments that add satisfaction, but the essence is as pure as it gets and it really clicked with me over repeated listening. A worthy winner.
I would guess that you are one of three entries. Two of them will score well. One of them won’t. (though I do like all the entries) (you, pyatnitski, and nano are the only ones I have even and inkling about…maybe pauwl.)
Nano said I hated this song, but that’s not true. Every time I take more than a nano-second to say I like something she jumps in with YOU HATE IT! Ok, she’s reminding me of when I heard it and I did tease her about it being so weird. But it’s good.
eta: I fully support her in everything she does, even weird music.
