For Breakfast – Longer Than Spring
I should know better. But, I guess I’m just another hopeful romantic in the same way that the majority of devoted pop-rock listeners happen to be. All of us hope, despite evidence to the contrary, that the people singing and writing the songs that mean so much to us might know a little more than we do.
We follow them around like they’re some kind of magicians, we offer to take care of their daily chores as if they’re as important as owners of colossal businesses, and we promise them riches reserved, typically for kings. Once in a while, however, our trust is rewarded, as has happened with the music of For Breakfast.
On “Longer Than Spring”, this British band echoes a folk-inspired sound that feels as if it were just floating above some thick forest, and an artist with the right qualities managed to make sense of it. There’s something ancient-sounding here, alright. But it’s also a song about the human race fighting to move out of the troubles in which it has gotten itself tangled. With For Breakfast able to access such truths, don’t you want to believe it’s all going to be alright?
Dubh Lee – FUFO
There are only so many songs that are going to grab your attention. The vast majority just sort of sneak inside your mind until you forget to chase them out. Last night I watched a guy in a mask shout over a drum machine for half an hour, and most of the time it didn’t even feel like I was there. I was preparing spaghetti at home, in my head.
I say just because Dubh Lee’s got that rare knack for songwriting, and the courage to upset you, that is required to get you to focus on her music from the first seconds until the end. Nah, there’s no shouting and no drum machine trying to make you feel like The Devil’s just arrived from Berlin and signing up volunteers for a rave.
“FUFO” is clever, and heartbreakingly cynical. It’s also marvellously funny, which saves it from merely being a song about how bad the times are, or how rotten to the singer’s luck has become. Every single one of Lee’s rhymes is instantly quotable, and each line is sung confidently. “FUFO” is a song about things falling apart, and it’s mighty charming.
