| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Track Structure | 9 |
| Interest | 8 |
| Melody | 9 |
| Performance | 9 |
| Lyrics | 9 |
| Enjoyment | 9 |
| Recording Quality | 8 |
| Commercial Appeal | 5 |
| Overall | 8.3 |
The Foreboding - Wasted Wings
Musings
Before anything else is written - yes! The Foreboding's vocal style does resemble Lou Reid to a certain extent (perhaps with echoes of Nick Cave and Edwyn Collins).
It's a voice that is seldom heard in this modern, plastic-fantastic age of throw-away boy band minipops! where vocals styles are conditioned, trained, and digitally altered to resemble a generalised, polypropylene, generic 'white soul', complete with forced high notes and reach for the stars warbling!
The deep, rich, sensual tones that present themselves within 'Wasted Wings' are shockingly different! - because we have forgotten what an individually performed, 'personal' and real voice sounds like...it's hauntingly familiar of course, but evoking a bygone, and plentiful age, never to be reclaimed. A time when it was common to actually listen to music for the sake of itself!
In this manner alone; The Foreboding reminds us of our own mortality, and the death of so much that was truly emotional, and plain decent within music. He's like royalty in exile! Timeless, yet somehow already distant and untouchable, as if the polluted Funpool beach of time and tide is already sweeping us away into another realm Wimpy bar neverland of coin operated background music, leaving him behind on another shore...only this one last, sad lament remains.
In terms of track specifics; The Foreboding, well know for his gentle-but-deep acoustic work, thoughtful songs and metaphoric lyrics has, in this case, attempted something a little more ambitious. 'Wasted Wings' is (to quote the author) "The last word. And the last mix for a final fine tweaking of levels...till I notice something else". This alone demonstrates a certain restlessness within his art. Something is never fully 'completed', and always remains open for change and enhancement.
Everything about this song urges us to listen, and listen good! The track has been produced at a low volume, forcing me to crank up the volume on my sound card, the voice is uncompressed, high and present (yet remote) within the mix, and the fact that there's a great deal going on behind the scenes does not detract from this fact.
A loose, reggae like quality is established from the very beginning. Beats that sound somehow metallic and spontaneous, and a freeflowing staccato bass accompany a short, sharp series guitar chords; all underlined by a sublime Hammond.
Everything is very subdued, blended, carefully thought out in advance, and almost - but not quite- restful. The emotion within the song comes from it's inner strength, and it's confidence. There's no need to shout! No need to 'belt out' the lyrics in the home of driving them home.
The words themselves are chosen with equal care and attention to detail.
That 'other place' in which The Foreboding belongs, is presented to us in terms of escaping to that very place. He is leaving us - the base, grey world behind! Although from many aspects personal - the concept perhaps being a 'wasted' relationship, and a bitter lesson learned, hence the need to fly to cleaner skies, beyond the clamoring hands that hold him to the ground; there is clearly more at stake here than one failed attempt to gain something for himself.
The wings are wasted, because they could have been shared. The evidence suggests that this selfless offer was scorned - by one - or by the multitude. So be it! you cannot reach me now. 'wasted wings', can still carry me away!
More fool us.
It is ironic, yet unsurprising in the extreme that the musical lift; in which the secondary distorted, and acoustic lead guitar takes precedence and things take up a fraught quality , is presented alongside the sense of resignation hopeless acceptance within the second verse. See what you could have had?
This complex instrumentation represents the actual flight sequence, and with a single, odd acoustic chord as the epitaph - he is gone.
The bitter jest here, is the (likely) fact that if 'Wasted Wings' were to be given to the modern equivalent of a 'pop star' such as Robbie Williams to perform, it would likely be lauded as a triumph of songwriting, go to number one, and Robbie would be acclaimed for daring to release something that is so obviously downbeat and different from the mainstream.
If The Foreboding were suddenly signed he would likely be told to 'lighten up a bit, and make some nice, pleasant songs about happy love - 'cos music's about makin' peeps happy an. stuff; dont ya know?'
We can all perhaps breath a sigh of relief that this has not happened, and I sense strongly that if The Foreboding were to be signed, it would almost certainly be on his terms.
The Foreboding
- one to keep in mind....To listen to the track Click Here