When I was young, I read lots of sci-fi books, anything and everything; there was no filter, no discerning consideration; all authors were welcome, and all were consumed with equal fever. Decades later, as an older, wiser person, I returned to the genre with a keener eye, immersing myself in only the best writers rather than the pulp scribblers of before. I mention this because I am undergoing a similar process with music. With more years behind me than left ahead and time now a precious commodity, I am choosing only that music which does its job well to indulge myself in, the Iain M. Banks rather than the L. Ron Hubbard of the music world. In such an analogy, The Scarlet Goodbye is Ursula K. LeGuin. (For the uninitiated – that’s good, really good. And thanks for bearing with my convoluted ramble; it went on longer than I intended.)
“Speedway,” their new single, is the perfect example of why I hold them in such high esteem. A song about young love written with the deftness that only comes with age, it is the best of both worlds: a jangling slice of Americana, a power-pop ballad replete with lush harmonies, spacious drifting riffs, and a brilliant, nostalgia-infused set of lyrics. The sites and sounds and sentiments of youth captured by an older, wiser pen.
The single is a precursor for their next album, El Camino Adios a sort of concept album, or at least a collection of sonic stories set in that mythical town somewhere in America and underlining the fact that “in this lifetime, change will be life’s only constant, especially if you’ve been around awhile.”
“Speedway” is The Scarlet Goodbye at its finest: deft and delicate, pop-aware, accessible music that will both appeal to the casual listener and the discerning muso alike. And both will claim it as their own.
