“We’ll never have to be like them again,” Amy Boone of The Delines promises in their latest single, “Past the Shadows”. It’s tantalizing, a dream of differentness tinged with desire, but as anyone past their twenties knows, it’s self-destructive.
That sentiment of seduction and hidden scars is exactly what The Delines wanted to convey through the tempting lines pleading for you to “disappear past the shadows” with them. The smokey alto voice whispering out of both sides of her mouth. “if you love me, it’s the only way,” she says. But she also says this place is only “where the damaged stay.”
And if that isn’t enough to reveal the truth, woven into the lyrics, she builds on that negative: scarred-up, failed. Yet we still want to go with her. From the slow, rhythmic beat to the smooth, inviting brass, the complex harmony feels simple and welcoming. You know it’s bad for you, but you still want more.
As the second single from their new album, The Sea Drift, it’s just one example of the brilliant collaboration of The Deline’s evocative sound with Willy Vlautin’s vivid storytelling.
Stream “Past the Shadows” below.
Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
