If last year’s “goodbye” slipped comfortably into the shoegaze realm because of its raw-edged yet hazy tones, its dynamic flows, and its dreamlike lulls, “With/Without” takes a significant step towards a more alt-rock sound. Not that labels are that important and much of what made the previous single so great is still found here, but the groovy drums and more solid guitar lines speak very much to that world; at the very least, they are deftly walking along the dividing line between genres. Why not? The fringes and liminal spaces are always more fun places to make music.
This is the first taste of the forthcoming EP, My Own Backyard, and it is no accident that it sits at the centre of the record, the sonic heart, the musical hub. It’s a perfect place for a song that muses on that generational middle ground, the in-between years, the space where youth collides with the dawning reality of adulthood. “With/Without” isn’t just about the passage of time; it’s about the difficulties of that journey, the tug of war between who you were and who you’re supposed to become.
Blackberry Crush has always been a band not quite of one genre or another, and so a song about the turbulence and challenges faced at each step that takes you from the safety and simplicity of childhood into the adult realm of responsibility and expectation makes for the perfect match of music and message.
It’s a song for anyone who’s ever stood at that crossroads, wishing they could have it both ways—grown-up enough to dream of freedom, but still young enough to dodge the weight of consequence. Sadly, as we all realise sooner or later, that place doesn’t really exist!
