jens – Before You Let Me Down

“That squeaky string noise is infuriating. Absolutely infuriating.”

Tim: Here’s one you might initially want to file under ‘irritatingly jaunty’, but keep with it because (a) it gets better and (b) it’s only 2:22 long in any case.

Tom: That squeaky string noise is infuriating. Absolutely infuriating. Occasional use as a stylistic choice, fine, but this is like Matt Bellamy breathing in on early Muse tracks: it’s all you can bloody hear! Which is a shame, because I… actually… think I like the rest of this? I know, that’s unusual for something irritatingly jaunty.

Tim: Verses: I can take them or leave them, but after a few listens I’ve largely come around to them. Chorus: yes, I like that, as it’s halfway between the verses and the best bit. The middle eight and beyond: ooh, very much so indeed please yes, because it’s that initial chirpy bit with a whole load of extra stuff on top of it, and it’s right at that point that I’m annoyed it’s such a short song, because I’d happily take at least another thirty seconds or so of it. As it is, there’s only really just enough of it to lift the rest of it above a rating of ‘hmm, so so’, for me at least.

Tom: For once, I’m actually charmed by this rather than put off. But you know what it needs? One more note. I realise that doesn’t play into the theme of the lyrics, but I’d be a lot happier if we just got a closing guiar note to resolve that open-ended bit at the end.

Well, that and less guitar squeak.