I know there’s some sort of unwritten convention that a review kinda works towards a reviewer’s overall opinion of the song but in this case I’m going to go straight there. This song is completely and utterly beautiful. I loved it after the first few seconds. It’s that good. That said, I guess you need more than this to persuade you to listen to it. Well here goes.
‘Two Years This May’ is a big ballad that somehow sounds intimate and like it’s being sung just for you. It has hints of a Country sound, as well as having something of a retro yet timeless feel. It’s sonically rich but at the same time makes the words and Molly’s vocal the focus of the track. And it’s the words and Molly’s voice that make this track.
Part of that intimate feel is that the song tells a personal story. “I’d not long come out of a relationship”, explains Rymer, “and I was sick of being sad about it. Matt (Dunwell the song’s co-writer) and I chatted a lot about how my whole experience of learning to drive had been coloured by that relationship, and decided to write about the mundane things that tie you to people and experiences. At its core, we wanted to turn that sad reminiscence on its head. ‘Two years this May’ is also when I passed my driving test, so this song – about driving home to someone you love and finding them in the little things along the way – it’s a celebration of that too”
The thing is that many songs come out of the writer’s personal experience but the craft of the songwriter is to turn that into words that tell that story in a way that makes you understand what’s behind that story – the feelings and emotions – as well as somehow allowing you to connect with the personal, to understand it in way that connects to your personal experiences. This song does that, boy does it do that.
Musically at the core of the song is the sound of an acoustic guitar. Around this there are carefully put together sounds that reinforce and reflect the emotional feel of the song. This includes some absolutely captivating backing vocals.
But at the centre of this song is Molly’s voice. It is, to be frank, achingly beautiful. She doesn’t just sing the words, she lives the words. I am not embarrassed to admit that her voice brings tears to my eyes.
‘Two Years This May’ is the perfect combination of words, music and voice. It’s emotionally rich and personal. It’s so beautiful it hurts.
The info
Molly will be performing a headline set at The Oporto in Leeds on Thursday the 27th June, supported by Dan Greaves and Case Open. You can buy tickets to the event here: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Leeds/Oporto/Molly-Rymer/39049682/
