Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Frenchie Teams Up with Frida Touray on Soulful “Love Reservoir”

Today has been a difficult day. Work has just felt stupid and next to impossible. I suspect that’ll be the case for the next few days. Pretending that things are normal and that any of this make sense right now,. is just fucking wrong. But here we are.

Initially, receiving praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, Clash Magazine and airplay from the BBC 6 Music’s Jamz Supernova, Jazz FM, Reprezent Radio, BBC London and BBC Introducing with the moniker, The Naked Eye, acclaimed French-born, London-based singer/songwriter Frenchie will be releasing her self-titled debut on March 28, 2025.

Produced by one of the UK’s leading lights in the jazz scene, Femi Teomowo, who has worked as a producer, guitarist, arranger and composer for the likes of Amy Winehouse, SAULT and Gregory Porter, the rising French-born, British-based artist’s highly-anticipated debut will see her collaborating with an all-star cast of some of the UK’s most talented musicians and vocalists, including Corinne Bailey Rae‘s and Chaka Khan‘s Luke Smith (keys), KOKOROKO‘s Ayo Salawu (drums), Hohnen Ford (vocals) and Frida Touray (vocals), along with additional instrumental and production contributions from Aaron Taylor, Alex Maydew, Chris Hyson and Jas Kayser.

The full-length album sees the acclaimed artist continuing to draw inspiration from the likes of Cleo Sol, Lauryn Hill, Khraungbin, Minnie Riperton, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Bob Dylan and The Meters to craft a sound that traverses soul, jazz and alternative R&B paired with honest, heartfelt emotion.

The album’s latest single “Love Reservoir,” a collaboration with Swedish-born, London-based artist Frida Touray is a slow-burning, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu-meets Soul II Soul-like take on soul, anchored around a strutting bass line, glistening Rhodes, ethereal bursts of harp, and skittering boom bap serving as a lush bed for Frida Touray’s soulful delivery and a French spoken word bridge by the acclaimed French-born, London-based artist.

Inspired by the work of SAULT, the new single thematically addresses a desire to replenish the emotional stocks of relationship, pulling things back from the brink.

“‘Love Reservoir’ lyrically explores the theme of seeking to refuel and revitalise a relationship’s emotional reservoir, symbolising a desire to overcome challenges and nurture love and connection,” Frenchie explains. “Femi and I wrote the song together – and I knew I wanted my talented friend Frida Touray to feature on the track. When she came down to record her vocals, the song was elevated to a whole new level.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Terrain Vague Shares Breezy “Funambule”

French indie duo Terrain Vague — Marion and Valentin — can trace their origins back to when the pair met at a party in Southern France. During that party, the pair talked about their common passions for Michel Berger, Haruomi Hosono, Elli and Jacno, Bonnie Banane, Véronique Sanson and André Breton’s poetry.

The following day, they texted with each other with “our duo should be called Terrain Vague.”

Terrain Vague’s latest single “Funambule,” is a breezy and mischievous synthesis of krautorck, psychedelia, 70s library music and tropicalia featuring glistening and arpeggiated analog synths, a fluttering flute line, bursts of angular guitar and a propulsive, motorik-meets-70s am rock-like groove paired with dreamy vocal melodies and harmonies singing lyrics inspired by the board game Snakes and Ladders. While sonically “Funambule” may draw comparisons to Laure Briard, Corridor, Pavo Pavo, and others, with a hint of wistful nostalgia, the song as the duo explains is inspired by the a member’s father, a former clown and magician, who spent his life walking a fine line.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jody Vukas Shares Soulful and Euphoric “Set Me Free”

Since the late 90s, electronic music label head and artist Jody Vukas has been a mainstay in the American electronic music scene for a sound that features elements of tribal house, progressive house, tech house and techno. Vukas’ latest single “Set Me Free” is a melodic and soulful bit of house, featuring dense layers of shimmering and arpeggiated synths, skittering tribal-influenced beats paired with a sultry, pop starlet vocal and Vukas’ uncanny knack for catchy, euphoria-inducing hooks.

“‘Set Me Free’ is a modern day spin- off of the early 2000s vibes,” Vukas explains.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Technasia Shares Euphoric “Together We Shine”

Technasia is a renowned French electronic music artist, who is known for a swinging take on tech house and high-energy performances. After a two-year hiatus from music, the renowned French artist launched his own label Humans Alike, which marks a new chapter in his acclaimed career.

His latest single “Together We Shine,” is one of the labels first releases, and it’s a slick and hypnotic synthesis of French touch, 90s house and breakbeats anchored around euphoric hooks and a soulful, chopped up vocal hook. It’s a fun club banger that brings memories of Stardust‘s “Music Sounds Better With You” and others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Charles “Wigg” Walker Shares Optimistic, Two Step-Inducing “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way”

Tracing the origins of his nearly eight decade-long career back to when he began singing at an early age in church and then later in school, Nashville-born and-based soul singer/songwriter Charles “Wigg” Walker released his first single back in 1959 through Ted Jarrett‘s legendary and beloved Champion Records.

Walker relocated to New York, where he became a frontman for the J.C. Davis Band, an outfit that shared bills with James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. His first group, Little Charles and the Sidewinders because a New York nightclub scene staple in the early 1960s, and would then go on to record and release material through Chess and Decca Records.

After spending over a decade on the road, Walker took a staff writing role with Motown in the 70s. By the start of the 80, Walker relocated to Europe. where continued to find enthusiastic audiences. But the blues, R&B and soul revival movements that started in the 90s ultimately brought Walker back to Nashville.

This Love Is Gonna Last is the first album from the Nashville-born and-based soul artist in over a decade, while also being the first album since his stint fronting The Dynamites in the early 2010s. Recorded with longtime organist and collaborator Charles Treadway, the album’s material reportedly shifts seamlessly between different and distinct ears of soul, bouncing from Philly to Motown, to Memphis and more. The album’s richly lush arrangements are owed to Walker’s chemistry with his core backing trio — Treadway, along with Chet Atkins‘s and Lyle Lovett‘s Pat Bergeson (guitar) and Average White Band‘s and Tom Jones‘ Pete Abbott (drums).

While superficially joyous, thematically, the album’s material is underpinned by the wizened and insightful recognition of our own impending and inevitable morality, of time’s inexorable march, and the lessons and losses that come with all of it.

Underneath the album’s joyful truce, there’s the wizened recognition of time’s inexorable march, of our own mortality and the lessons and losses that come with it. In fact, the album is a dedication to Walker’s late wife, who died earlier this year.

Ultimately, the album reportedly is the sort of album he’s been building towards for his entire lengthy career, and a showcase not only for his vocal, but also for the unparalleled emotional range that’s defined his work for over 50 years. Now, with his unflagging faith and dedication as the bedrock of This Love Is Gonna Last, Walker may finally be getting his due. “I feel more appreciated now than ever,” he says. “There’s something different about this album. It just feels right.”

This Love Is Gonna Last‘s first single “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way” is the perfect tune for your grandma and grandpa or your uncle and auntie to sweetly sway and two-step together at a Black barbecue or a Black wedding. Those of y’all, who know, know what I’m talking about and can immediate picture it in your mind’s eye. Sonically resembling a slick synthesis of Luther Vandross‘ “Never Too Much,” Keni Burke‘s “Risin’ To The Top,” The Isley Brothers‘ legendary 70s output and gospel, “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way” is a sweetly earnest and school declaration of the sort of love that we all long for — the love that’s there with you, through the ups, downs and everything in between.

“This song sums up this whole album for me really,” says Walker about the new single. “After all the places I’ve been and all the bands I’ve performed with and all the recordings I’ve made, it feels like things are finally starting to come my way.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Melbourne’s Delivery Shares Punchy “Only A Fool”

Formed back in 2020 by romantic partners and collaborators Rebecca Allan (lead and backing vocals, bass) and James Lynch (lead and backing vocals, guitar, synths), rising Melbourne-based garage punk outfit Delivery initially featured members of several local bands including The Vacant Smiles, Gutter Girls and Blonde Revolver.

2021 saw the release of the Aussie outfit’s debut EP Yes We Do. Building upon a growing profile, the band released their full-length debut, 2022’s Forever Giving Handshakes, which featured singles “Baader Meinhof” and “The Complex” to critical applause from the likes of NME, who called the album “a lively record full of guitar interplay and sociopolitical critique” and Tone Deaf, who wrote that the album was “an exercise in controlled chaos, songs threatening to fall apart at any moment, but it all coolly remains together . . . ” The album also landed on Rolling Stone Australia‘s Top 10 albums list of 2022 while receiving airplay on Henry Rollins’ KCRW show.

The band’s current lineup Allan and Lynch, along with Jordan Oakley (guitar, backing vocals), Scarlett Maloney (guitar, backing and lead vocals) and Liam Kenny (drums) will be releasing their highly-anticipated sophomore album Force Majeure on January 17, 2025 through Heavenly Recordings. The 12-song album reportedly builds upon the promise that their full-length debut showed while featuring material that’s concise, direct yet forceful.

Force Majeure‘s third and latest single “Only A Fool” is a punchy, hook-driven post-punk stomp that quickly settles into a steady, chugging “Psycho Killer” groove paired with a languid yet forceful guitar solo, and an insouciant, bratty and too-cool-for-school vocal, before concluding with a loose jammy coda.

“‘Only A Fool’ might just be the most uninhibited moment in capturing this album’s all-in dynamic at full steam,” the band explains. “Lisa brought in the guitar chords, vocal line and lyrics, and then gave everyone free rein to do their thing which means everyone’s individual flare gets a moment across the track. Also might explain why this song features Delivery’s only ever jam-out ending.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Micheal Ellsworth Shares Club Thumping “Lantern”

Michael Ellsworth is an emerging electronic music producer and artist. His latest single “Lantern” is a woozy, deep house banger, anchored around scorching synths, tweeter and woofer rattling skittering beats and a seasonal vocal sample […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Bad Robot Shares Spooky House Banger “Zombie Process”

Micheal Ricker is a Delaware-based electronic music producer and artist best known as Bad Robot. Over the course of hit year, I’ve written about a small handful of Ricker’s Bad Robot material, including:

  • The aptly named “Supermassive,” which features skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling thump, scorching bass synths and a woozy and wobbling synth melody. Fittingly, it’s the sort of club and festival banger that sounds as though it should knock a building over. 

  • “Close To You,” which according to Ricker, is “a bit of a departure into a brighter, more ‘pop’ sounding progressive house style.” Built around an almost mantra-like glistening synth phrase, shimmering synth arpeggios and skittering beats, the motorik-like “Close To You” is both summery and remarkably catchy, while seemingly nodding at Discovery-era Daft Punk-like French touch.

  • Max Blücher‘s remix of Year One single “Aero III.” The Blücher remix retains the original’s woozy polymeric melody but pairs it with more aggressive, skittering tweeter and woofer rattling thump, some brief bursts of industrial clang and clatter, and some ethereal synths that create a spacey, house music feel. “Inspired by the gritty sound design and frantic polymetric melodies of my original track ‘Aero III,’ Max has taken the musical DNA and infused it with his own. While the original is great, Max definitely improved the quality of the track with his production skills and imagination,” Ricker explains. “This house remix is an ethereal journey through space and time with elements of Deadmau5 that are felt even in the cover artwork.”

Ricker’s latest single “Zombie Process” is an another deep house banger featuring tweeter and woofer thumping beats, scorching synths and a horror movie sample that’s perfect for the spooky season. Dress up in your scariest, bloodiest costume and hit the dance floor y’all.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Blue Herons Share Gorgeous “ladybug”

Swiss-based musician Andy Jossi, a member of The Churchhill Garden and American-born singer/songwriter and musician Gretchen DeVault, a member of The Icicles, Voluptuous Panic, The Francine Odysesys, and Hero No Hero started their transatlantic collaboration The Blue Herons back in 2020. And in a short period of time, the duo began quickly crafted a sound that draws inspiration from C86 and Sarah Records heyday — think of bands like Even As We Speak and Heavenly — and contemporaries like Alvvays and Hatchie.

With an initial batch of singles that quickly garnered attention and acclaim, the duo experienced a growing profile across the international jangle pop and indie rock scenes. Building upon a growing profile, the transatlantic duo’s full-length debut, Go On, which was released to a limited run through Subjangle Records earlier this year, is a compilation of the band’s acclaimed singles over the past couple of years, remastered and remixed, along with two previously unreleased singles. Sonically, the album’s material is rooted around catchy melodies, soaring vocals and shimmering guitar riffs.

The album’s latest single “ladybug” is a nostalgia-inducing bit of jangle pop, anchored around shimmering layers of Jossi’s Johnny Marr-like guitar, a propulsive rhythmic groove and some remarkably catchy hooks paired with DeVault’s gorgeous and expressive delivery. The song’s narrator is offering warning to its subject, that if they continue being a two-timing fool that they’ll lose their chance with a truly special woman. If you’ve been in that situation, this song will hit close to home.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jaco Jaco Shares Breezy and Funky “Favorite Kind of People”

Tulsa-born, Philadelphia-based musician and visual artist Jacob Theriot’s career began in earnest when he began writing and recording music in grade school with his brother and childhood friend. Those early efforts led to the acclaimed […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: BUÑUEL Shares a Furiously Primal Ripper

BUÑUEL — OXBOW‘s Eugene S. Robinson, Afterhours and A Short Apnea‘s Xabier Iriondo (guitar), The Framers‘ Andrea Lombardini (bass) and Il Teatro Degli Orrori’s Franz Valente (drums) — is a transatlantic supergroup that specializes in heavy music that’s been described as beautiful, merciless and unforgiving. 

Creatively, the band has always been led by instinct and the id-like impulse to expressed completely unfiltered and unvarnished emotion through song. And through their close musical alliance, they’ve displayed a seemingly innate ability to craft material that warps and buckles with complexity, freedom, tenderness and primeval energy — simultaneously. 

“BUÑUEL is a name that embodies a certain cultural and literary reference, which evokes an entire world,” the band’s Franz Valente says. “Like his films, our Buñuel is surrealism. We take the listeners into a place that’s suspended between dream and reality.” Eugene S. Robinson adds “What we’re doing with BUÑUEL is to carve out a very specific glimpse… partly into hearts of darkness, but more specifically into the depth of our secrets. Secrets we keep from each other, ourselves and whatever futures we’ve imagined for ourselves. We are ultimately trying to communicate something direct and deadly about the human condition.”

Slated for an October 25, 2024 release through SKiN Graft Records and OVERDRIVE Records, the transatlantic supergroup’s latest album, the Timo Ellis-produced Mansuetude derives its title from an archaic word, which means “meekness’ or “gentleness.” Certainly, for a band known for being punishingly heavy, the title seems like an ironic juxtaposition. Firmly anchored in the band’s long-held penchant for surrealism, the album reportedly sees the band taking every opportunity they can to stretch their musical tendrils towards discomfort and the deconstruction of tradition, all while reaching absolute abandon. Sonically, the album’s material encompasses many moods — sometimes simultaneously — while blurring elements of post-hardcore, avant-noise, hard blues, post-industrial, symphonic thrash, metal and free-jazz, played at great cost. The record is, in Robinson’s words “extreme but articulate.” 

The album also features guest spots from Converge‘s Jacob Bannon (vocals), The Jesus Lizard‘s Tomahawk‘s and The Denison Kimball Trio‘s Duane Denison (guitar), Andrea Beninati (cello) and David Binney(alto sax, vocals). 

Earlier this month, I wrote about “Class,” an urgent, amygdala-driven teeth-bared, id-fueled ripper built around Robinson’s primal shouts and howls, thunderous drumming and scorching riffage. Seemingly featuring elements of heavy metal, No Wave, thrash punk and noise rock, “Class” sonically seems like a forceful synthesis of Boris, Bo Ningen, The Stooges and several others while being deliriously artful. But underpinning it all, the song is rooted in incisive socioeconomic criticism that’s furious yet very funny. “America is schizophrenic about class and class attributes,” BUÑUEL’s Robinson explains. “On the one hand we claim it doesn’t exist here, on the other hand like Paul Fussell lays out in his book on class it works its way through every aspect of American life and living. The song itself eviscerates the notion by placing it where it most needs to be placed: in the iD fuelled [sic] underworld.”

Mansuetude‘s latest single “American Steel” features The Jesus Lizard’s, Tomahawk’s and the Denison Kimball Trio’s Duane Denison continues a run of unhinged, amygdala-driven, id-fueled rippers anchored around Robinson’s primal shouts and howls, thunderous drumming and scorching riffage. Sounding much like a man, who has gone absolutely mad, “American Steel” captures a certain kind of power madness with the song pays tribute to something particularly American: our love of big bore hemis, assault weapons, tanks, violence and Harleys.

Duane Denison says. “Eugene Robinson’s vocals have the effect of listening to a desperately flailing drowning man, and my guitar serves as a malfunctioning floatation device–it never quite makes it long enough to provide actual safety.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Terciopelo Returns with Soulful “Nothing Can Stop Me”

Terciopelo is the solo recording project of a mysterious and emerging Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist, who blends diverse instrumental elements, trap beats, jazz and soulful melodies into a unique and moody sound that has been described as thought provoking.

The mysterious Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist’s forthcoming full-length debut, The Breakaways reportedly sees him collaborating with a talented and diverse group of female vocalists. Thematically, the album focuses on women and their journeys through life — with each vocalist singing lyrics that detail the trials, tribulations and joys of their life through their perspective. The album’s material delves into the depths of passion, love and all of the various aspects of human life. 

“This album represents a significant chapter in my musical journey,” the mysterious producer and artist says. The Breakaways is not just a music album, it’s a celebration of life, love and the magnetic power of music. We poured our hearts into every note, and we hope it resonates with our audience on a profound level.”

Late last year, I wrote about “Your Love . . .,” a brooding and slickly produced synthesis of Portishead-like trip hop, trap beats and contemporary electro pop paired with yearning vocals and evocative lyrics. The song thematically is a deep dive into the lives of women trapped in abusive romantic relationships. The song’s narrator paints a poignant and haunting picture of the internal and external struggles that domestic abuse victims face with a seemingly lived-in specificity. 

The Breakaways’ latest single “Nothing Can Stop Me” continues a run of slickly produced material that pairs contemporary pop with trap beats, shimmering acoustic guitar, bursts of twinkling Rhodes with a soulful vocal, pop starlet delivery. Much like its predecessor, the song capture the interior world of its narrator with a lived-in specificity.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lowly Light Teams up with Nouvelle Vague’s Liset Alea on 80s Synth Pop-Inspired “Chill Child”

Matt Gorny is an award-winning, New York-based songwriter and producer, best known as Lowly Light, who has collaborated with dance music artists like Ultra Naté, Amanda Lepore, Luca Perra and others. As a producer, Gorny’s work has show continually evolution, ranging from nu-disco jams like “Get Over Yourself,” the chilled out groove of “Prayin'” and “Candy Lied,” to the energetic indie pop of “Down the Coast.”

“Do You Feel Me” amassed over 115,000 Spotify streams. And building upon a growing profile. “Lose You (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman 808 Beach Remix) along with The Weekend remix on Acid Stag and was on regular rotation on SiriusXM channel 312.

Gorny’s latest single “Chill Child” is a collaboration with Nouvelle Vague‘s frontperson Liset Alea. Alea’s ethereal pop starlet cooing floats over a percussive and ebullient, 80s synth pop and dance pop-like production that recalls Madonna‘s 1984 self-titled debut, Banarama‘s “Cruel Summer” and St. Lucia.

The New York-based songwriter and producer explains that the song lyrically is a meditation on the much-needed art of patience and perspective. Ultimately, it’s about “giving time a chance to work its magic to reveal what’s truly worth fighting for,” he says. He goes on to say that the collaboration came about when he pitched the song to Alea, who has been on the top of his list of artists he wanted to work with. She loved the track and the lyrical message and was eager to bring her own vision to the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: GITKIN Shares Trance-Inducing “The One”

Brian J. Gitkin is a New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-nominated producer, best known for his work as the bandleader and frontman of the road warrior, party rock outfit Pimps of Joytime. He also collaborated with  Cedric Burnside on a Grammy-nominated country blues effort.

Gitkin’s solo recording project, the aptly named GITKIN was initially conceived as a way for the Pimps of Joytime frontman and producer to “explore tonalities I’d never mess with,” as he puts it. Gradually, the instrumental project became a release from “having to write lyrics or involve my voice,” Gitkin explains.

With the release of 2018’s debut album, 5 Star Motel, the New Orleans-based Pimps of Joytime frontman, multi-instrumentalist and producer quickly established a sound that he dubbed “Outernational Psychedelic Twang,” which drew from a wide range of sounds and styles, including Peruvian Chicha, 60s Pakistani surf rock while featuring a back band with an impressive collection of players.

His sophomore GITKIN album, 2020’s Safe Passage saw the New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist and producer expanding upon an already rich and eclectic sonic palette with melodies informed by Greek and Middle Eastern modalities, Saharan Tuareg guitar, creating a sound that was a mix of stomping blues and gritty funk.

Gitkin’s latest album, the recently released, 10-song Golden Age showcases yet another evolution of the New Orleans’ based artist’s lyrical guitar-driven sound. Exploring the endless expanses of cumbia, North African and Middle Eastern music, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and producer has increasingly brought his own personality to those traditions, while creating a lively interplay between distant modes and rhythms and his own New Orleans-steeped sound.

The album’s latest single “The One” seems to be a mesh of Tuareg Desert Blues, Black Sabbath-era metal and krautrock that to my ears reminds me of Here Lies Man — but with deep, lysergic-fueled grooves. Gitkin describes teh song as “Sudanese synth-trance mixed with Tuareg, Black Sabbath, and 2000s-era hipster disco.”

“My goal when creating is to think as little as possible and do what feels good,” the New Orleans-based artist and producer says. “I don’t overthink creating. If I wake up with a groove in my head or melody idea I just go into my studio and record it.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jack Manley Returns with Grunge Rock-Influenced “Grow Up”

Jack Manley is a grizzled veteran music, whose career has proven to be the embodiment of resilience and rebirth: He has played in a number of projects, including Cosmonaut, The Jennifer Shop, and Spires. While touring in those projects, Manley struggled with depression and addiction. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the world came to a grinding halt, Manley spiraled downward. Two near-fatal overdoses served as a wake-up call that propelled him back to music. In the confines of a Poughkeepsie hospital room, armed with a broken guitar and sheer determination, Manley began to craft melodies from the threads of his experiences. 

Fueled by a hard-won, newfound clarity, Manley reunited with his childhood friend, classically trained guitarist Billy Pierson. Andy Idol (bass), Josh Eppard (drums) and Noah Sonenstein (drums) were recruited to be the grizzled indie artist’s backing band and collaborated. Since then, Manley and his backing band play regularly for audiences in and around Woodstock, NY.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Save Your Own,” a remarkably catchy song that nodded at The Beatles, Elvis Costello and the like while revealing a slick combination of earnestness and lived-in experience. Building upon the momentum of “Save Your Own,” Manley returns with “Grow Up,” a 90s grunge-like anthem that recalls Pablo Honey-era Radiohead featuring distortion pedaled power chords, enormous raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along worthy hooks and choruses paired with Manley’s plaintive delivery.

Anchored around a classic grunge song structure of alternating quiet verses and loud choruses, the song is arguably one of the most personal song Manley has ever written: The song sees the Kingston, NY-based artist reflecting on his life’s journey through young adulthood, addiction and loss. Thematically, the song explores Manley’s need to desperately take control of his life, a message directed at himself as he continues to navigate adulthood and sobriety. Initially dismissed as a rambling note to himself, the song’s words resurfaced after Manley’s father died from COVID in 2022. And in some way, the song unexpectedly echoes his feelings of grief and loss.

Ultimately, the song captures the complexity of adult life, of maneuvering through a life of sobriety and the grief of loss with lived-in bitterness, heartache and resolve.