Letting go isn’t as innocuous as tossing out garbage. All of the spring cleanings of once fond memories cannot remove the shiny, sentimental glow of what was. Drawn in like a moth to a flame, you become dazzled by the luminous past that promised more than it gave. Instead of allowing it to fade from memory, its fire is sentimentally stoked. Alt rock band Brother Swan are not willing to let the past be the past on their latest single, “When’s The Last Time.” Ahead of the October 3 release of their debut album, “Loom,” this final single release is emblematic of the wistful style that the L.A. band has previously honed in.
“When’s The Last Time” is built around a swirling, swaying melody that is effortlessly hypnotic. Once caught up in its dreamy guitar vortex, you might find a hollow echo byproduct ring out from underneath the chords. This residual emptiness represents the travels down the empty corridors of your mind while chasing down a memory. Scouring through the memory banks, you uncover what you’ve searched, however fleeting it may be.
The story of “When’s The Last TIme” is about living vicariously through our own memories. Or as lead singer Chris Matthews puts it, “to be drunk on a memory.” However, instead of reliving old glories, it’s about rewriting the story in the form of “someone else.” Because, who doesn’t want to hit the edit button on their memories? In the end, it’s revisionist with heaps of regret about how the final act unfolded.
On “When’s The Last Time,” Brother Swan would like nothing more than to live out their past, but with a different result. It’s in keeping with how the band always has an eye trained at the rear view. However, with a full-length release on the horizon, Brother Swan have established their niche as a band that mines the depths of where you’ve been in order to see yourself through to where you’re going.
Written by Travis Boyer
FOLLOW BROTHER SWAN:
