"Every single thing that I want to forget / Projects from my memory / Like it's happening in front of me..."
The hyper kinetic piano indie rock musical theater of "Reprieve" by Pocketboy Solid, the project collab of psychedelic-folk-rock saviors Joe Baughman + The Righteous Few and the dreamy-math-pop-rock duo OK Cool, feels at once like a crush of all genres while also feeling sort of genre agnostic. However you want to describe it (and I would have to include art rock, baroque pop, math rock, emo) the sheer pop rock energy here feels as audaciously inspired as it does thoughtfully melancholy.
These lyrics pummel and hug and move me, even if I can't fully explain why:
"Every single thing that I want to forget / Projects from my memory
Like it's happening in front of me / And every cherished moment
that I want to hold onto / Is like the stem of a flower
Petals plucked out and devoured / Until it is ugly
I don’t want it to get ugly / If we savor this too long
All the texture will be gone / And it will lose its flavor
And I know it is easy / To be deceived by the warming glow
But every moment I know / That it will someday be over / With a little foresight / We can avoid a tragedy..."
Like it's happening in front of me / And every cherished moment
that I want to hold onto / Is like the stem of a flower
Petals plucked out and devoured / Until it is ugly
I don’t want it to get ugly / If we savor this too long
All the texture will be gone / And it will lose its flavor
And I know it is easy / To be deceived by the warming glow
But every moment I know / That it will someday be over / With a little foresight / We can avoid a tragedy..."
The song structures with moments of fierce raucous cheerleading "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!" suggests big struggles against seemingly unsurmountable odds hence the back story:
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[Kind of like thinking about divorce on your wedding day, this song conveys how a pessimistic dwelling on potential negative outcomes prevents a person from experiencing joy in life. Joe started writing this song while suffering from a debilitating neck injury during the pandemic, and playing the piano again was a major motivator in his recovery (which is one reason he made it so difficult to play).]
The Official Video features artist Scarluxx, puppetry by brother Michael Baughman and Lyrical projections by Christopher Studebaker.
An amazing, amazingly unique piece of work (and love).
"I will take any chance I get / To avoid the regret / That I know that I’ll feel
When my fears become real / But I admire your persistence / And your love for existence
But it’s just not enough / No it’s not quite enough / To assure me that we won’t tear down
Everything that we’ve built over time / And I can’t resist / he strong urge to let go of your hand
And float up into space"
-Robb Donker Curtius
When my fears become real / But I admire your persistence / And your love for existence
But it’s just not enough / No it’s not quite enough / To assure me that we won’t tear down
Everything that we’ve built over time / And I can’t resist / he strong urge to let go of your hand
And float up into space"
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/39H1ihcqqnp0lFBJOE8y2o
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-5MxMAs9zfK30BxCm_jyw
https://www.facebook.com/pocketboysolid
https://pocketboysolid.bandcamp.com/album/pocketboy-solid
Pocketboy Solid is the delicious combination of psychedelic-folk-rock saviors Joe Baughman + The Righteous Few and the dreamy-math-pop-rock duo OK Cool. With their powers combined they are an unstoppable force of indie magnificence.
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