Before we even get to the music, the lyrics of this song resonate with anyone who has been around the block several times. That feeling that you are only needed by someone when it suits them, that you are some accessory, the “Novelty” that the title suggests. It’s always great when a song, especially one about relationships, is honest and authentic rather than another addition to the tsunami of rose-tinted dross, people rhyming moon with June and writing saccharine lyrics to try and shift “units” for the record company. This is not that; not by a long way. This is the real deal.
Then we come to the song itself; again, there is a lot to like. The slow build from acoustic, lulling lowlands to anthemic, sky-searing, guitar-fuelled crescendos in just over three minutes. The subtle and supple string washes which thread through and behind and beyond the main body of the music. The slow-burning, ever-building sonics that are done with such deftness and delicacy that it is only when you look back do you realize how much this song is stepping up its sonic game in small but effective increments. Everything found here is done in a tasteful and tactile way.
“Novelty” feels like a master class in song crafting, and Riding With Killers (great name, by the way) is a song that any serious rock band or any band for that matter, should study closely. It’s all very well sucker-punching the listener with a big impact or a jarring sonic trick, and I’m sure Riding With Killers can do that too. But is it not better to take them along with you on a sonic journey (I hate that phrase, but this is actually one of those times where it is okay to use it), one that builds, evolves, transitions, and expands with each step?
Do that, and you will have the basis of a great song, perhaps even one as great as “Novelty.”
