The Band: Willoughby
The Song: "Intentions"
The Album: I Know What You're Up To
Fifteen Word Description: The casually beautiful off-hours soundtrack of a seedy burlesque club frequented by silent, melancholy types.
Notesplosions: We live in a paranoid time, and the music world is no exception. Youngsters cling to their broken, beaten copies of Unknown Pleasures like unsure, off-their-rocker addicts; protest songs hit the market easier than bubblegum pop; She Wants Revenge sell more records than God. Whatever the symptoms, whatever the reasoning, we've become increasingly self-obsessed and tight-assed in the post-9/11 scene. Which is why, when listening to Willoughby's stand-out track, "Intentions," what stands out is not the fairly paranoid lyrical mysteries, but rather the lackadaisical, rebellious mellow that drips off the twinkling guitar like caramel off an apple.
This is music for dark rooms of wafting smoke, lonely songs for lonely hearts. But don't confuse this lack of energy for a lack of focus. The tripping rhythms and groaning vocals may threaten to slow to a halt at any moment, but they never even break stride; it may be a song of warning, but it is just as much the rantings of a sleep-deprived maniac. Even as it builds, the song seems to flutter its eyelids momentarily (and repeatedly), betraying an obvious desire for rest that never comes. When the song eventually trips out into the ether, disappearing to darkness, it is not so much an ending as a concession. "I give up," says the intrepid songwriter, and he's gone before he hits the ground. At least his struggle was beautiful.
Gus Seyffert (the man behind the Will) and his live band are currently on tour with Sia. Check 'em out, and listen to the beautiful mp3s linked below.
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