Monday, May 15, 2006
in the fire of my youth, we were racing with the sun
download: the Constantines - On To You
If you had asked me 6 months ago to name my favourite song by the Constantines, I would've probably said "Arizona" or maybe "Soon Enough." I don't know exactly what struck me last January during the Cons' two night stand in Vancouver, but for some reason this track, that I've always thought was one of the bands finer moments, transcended the rest of their glorious catalogue during those shows.
If for nothing other than the fact that the Springsteen comparisons that follow around Bry Webb like a lost puppy are so very apt during the song's four and a half minutes, it sounds immediately like the Constantines. At the same time though, there are so many subtle differences that make it an anomoly when put side by side with the rest of their work. "On To You" has those (Fugazi) trademark (infringing) dueling, hard panned guitars, but rather than cut at eachother, the dynamic riffs seem to speed along together, bound by Dallas Wherle's growling bass lines. And, while they've never sounded out of place, Wil Kidman's keys are absolutely perfect on Shine A Light's seventh track. The nature of the song, in essence a power ballad, so easily invites itself to be drenched in rich organ. It's restraint, however, that produces such winning results; a restraint that only breaks open at the songs end, finishing things off with a deep hum. And then there's those backing vocals. It's not that they haven't utilized extra voices before, but here they sound "pop" in the finest essence of the word. The Cons have always had an amiable ragged quality to them, and those "oohs" and "sha-la-las" that pop up throughout "On To You" are like the backups of some joyfilled teenage boys who didn't get the memo that they couldn't be a girl group.
I've read different interpretations of the lyrics, but most seem to conclude that its "romantic." Judging by Bry's usual live intro of, "I've got girrrrlllll trouble, out the ass," I'm not sure "romantic" is the correct descriptor, though. It's a love song, for sure - a love song that's sung with an almost ferocious, yet ironically subdued, tenacity - but it seems like the sound of failure, or impending failure. That last set of vocal lines, especially - when they crash over the chugging guitars - seem to dwell on the past: "I knew a righteous woman."
In retrospect, I think I do know what it was about January that pulled me towards "On To You." I was in the midst of "relationship" of sorts, though I have friends who would probably object to the term. But that's just it. We both wanted it to work, and it probably should have. But it just wouldn't. There's a process that leads two people to come to that sort of realization...
Ohhhh, I'm on to you.
now playing: the Constantines - On To You
in the fire of my youth, we were racing with the sun
One Song: Perfect Songs for an Imperfect World
download: the Constantines - On To You
If you had asked me 6 months ago to name my favourite song by the Constantines, I would've probably said "Arizona" or maybe "Soon Enough." I don't know exactly what struck me last January during the Cons' two night stand in Vancouver, but for some reason this track, that I've always thought was one of the bands finer moments, transcended the rest of their glorious catalogue during those shows.
If for nothing other than the fact that the Springsteen comparisons that follow around Bry Webb like a lost puppy are so very apt during the song's four and a half minutes, it sounds immediately like the Constantines. At the same time though, there are so many subtle differences that make it an anomoly when put side by side with the rest of their work. "On To You" has those (Fugazi) trademark (infringing) dueling, hard panned guitars, but rather than cut at eachother, the dynamic riffs seem to speed along together, bound by Dallas Wherle's growling bass lines. And, while they've never sounded out of place, Wil Kidman's keys are absolutely perfect on Shine A Light's seventh track. The nature of the song, in essence a power ballad, so easily invites itself to be drenched in rich organ. It's restraint, however, that produces such winning results; a restraint that only breaks open at the songs end, finishing things off with a deep hum. And then there's those backing vocals. It's not that they haven't utilized extra voices before, but here they sound "pop" in the finest essence of the word. The Cons have always had an amiable ragged quality to them, and those "oohs" and "sha-la-las" that pop up throughout "On To You" are like the backups of some joyfilled teenage boys who didn't get the memo that they couldn't be a girl group.
I've read different interpretations of the lyrics, but most seem to conclude that its "romantic." Judging by Bry's usual live intro of, "I've got girrrrlllll trouble, out the ass," I'm not sure "romantic" is the correct descriptor, though. It's a love song, for sure - a love song that's sung with an almost ferocious, yet ironically subdued, tenacity - but it seems like the sound of failure, or impending failure. That last set of vocal lines, especially - when they crash over the chugging guitars - seem to dwell on the past: "I knew a righteous woman."
In retrospect, I think I do know what it was about January that pulled me towards "On To You." I was in the midst of "relationship" of sorts, though I have friends who would probably object to the term. But that's just it. We both wanted it to work, and it probably should have. But it just wouldn't. There's a process that leads two people to come to that sort of realization...
Ohhhh, I'm on to you.
now playing: the Constantines - On To You
Labels: constantines, one song
