If you have ever felt that something has left you chasing your own tail, then you know the continuous loop of panic and confusion that is sure to follow. Your pursuit of this goal could leave you with more questions than answers, leading to a downward spiral with no end. Unfortunately, there’s no road map, no GPS coordinates that draws a straight line to your happy ever after. Belfast-based indie rock band The Continentals show us on their latest single, “Without You,” that it’s not an easy path forward, but rather a befuddling maze that turns you around with each corner until you lose your bearings altogether.
“Without You” awakens with a sharp, menacing riff that eventually leads into a united, raging melody. The all-around frantic pace is enough to leave you breathless. From the cymbal crashing to the driving guitar to the manic vocals, there’s enough disorientation to go around. It wants to build this directionless feeling within you that, try as you might, you cannot shake. At the same time, there’s a constricting, breathless quality to this sprinting jaunt of a track.
Keeping with the lost theme, lead singer Nathan Donaghy asks “where are we going” before acknowledging that he’s been “lost for far too long.” Before long, everything’s obscured by the fog of both the waking mind and sleep state. Donaghy can envision someone, but doesn’t know who they are yet. It’s a picture in your head, a figment in a dream. Both are designed by your subconscious to leave you mystified by what they could mean.
“Without You” grabs your attention straight away only to shake you up, spin you around and leave you wobbly in the process. The Continentals’ latest installment is a raging jam turned up to eleven on the frenzy scale.
Written by Travis Boyer
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