I recently found this group (as usual I’m probably about 4 light years behind) whilst looking for something else and now I can’t get this song out of my head. I feel like there’s some sort of magic combo-move of things going on here that I like…great drumming, GREAT feel, lyrically ambiguity and a great vocal performance. I also love the guitar/piano/drums instrumentation. Too often with “anthemic” songs like this I feel like the tendency would be to over do it with instruments, you know, add string section upon string section and some sort of crazy billowing keyboard line…all which would distract from the stark beauty of what’s happening here. Instead these guys/gals sound like they were all sitting in a room together FEELING it. And while that’s probably NOT the case…they did a really good job of making it sound that way. When the drummer strikes the bell on the ride I feel like it’s such a perfect little statement inside of the much larger statement of the song itself. Add to that the wistful melody with the not-so-hidden anger of the delivery and you get one hell of a catchy jam.
I probably should’ve prefaced this entire post with the news (a revelation to some, I’m sure) that I’m an unabashedly HUGE fan of pop music. I think when it’s done well and the writing is smart that it’s one of the most entertaining and stimulating forms of music out there. It can make HUGE crowds dance and even bigger crowds cry or laugh or turn to their neighbor and shake their head in agreement that the sentiment in the song is a mutually shared one. Por ejemplo, we just had a tearful goodbye for a pop icon in Whitney Houston and when Jennifer Hudson started singing (a stunner of a pop song “I will always love you” originally sung by one Dolly Parton) it silenced the Twitterverse. No small feat, that one.
I think we’ve had some bonafide pop gems in recent years…some that transcend the sugary sweet coating that is sometimes applied too generously. Coldplay were the champions of that for a time. ”Clocks” was EVERYWHERE when it dropped. Taylor Swift has recently done it with “Mine”. Lady GaGa hit us hard with “Just Dance”. Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. The list goes on and on and on. I feel like this song is stuck in there somewhere…between Tegan and Sara (with whom The Jezabels toured in their native Australia) Coldplay, The Motels and U2. There’s a strange quality to the vocal delivery…sounds a little like a female Bruce Springsteen or like she’s trying to channel a much happier Ian Curtis if Ian knew that everything was gonna be ok after all…when she goes for the big falsetto notes at the end I love that it sounds like she’s TRYING, that maybe she can’t hit those notes but the desperation of the song requires that she take it there…
I have to confess and warn you, this video is not the best and I don’t like it very much…too much drama. But I think the song is fun and catchy as all hell. Though I’ll probably change my mind about all of that in a week…
man did I over-analyze that one…
