Just to get in a quick negative: this is probably one of the most inappropriately titled singles of the year. Right, carry on.
Glasgow’s Attic Lights indulge us with a bit of time travel as they drag us willingly back to a simpler time, a happier time, a randier time. Only this time we’ve got the last forty or so years of musical history at our disposal as well – like that bit in Back To The Future 2 when Biff gets the sporting almanac. Now we’re on the level.
Actually, without dressing it up, this is a very accomplished piece of pop epicry, ideal for a summer of love. The gently plucked solo electric intro blossoms into a full blown indie ballad, complete with Manics-inspired rhythms and Kev’s timid Glasgow brogue. The chorus ups the ante adopting a Proclaimers sing along sensibility with Beach Boy harmonies and the bridge dips into musical theatre, sixties psychedelia and mariarchi before thundering down the home straight in a flurry of strings and cleverly worded puns: “I’m hopelessly devoted and I’m voting for the hopeless.” It never goes over the top, though, and bears comparison to Arthur Lee’s Love and Willie Dowling’s Jackdaw 4. It’s like taking a bite into an apple and discovering it tastes of apple, chocolate, pear, wine and cake but in the kinda way that doesn’t make you sick. Kev and the gang have got an ear for a pop song, a head for structure and a heart to make the whole thing believable.
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