This is the second release from Su, I Think – the first being ‘pipedream’ (read our review) – and, boy, is this something wonderful.
Putting this song into some sort of niche is, to say the least, difficult. On the one hand it’s sort of a pop electronica ballad, but on the other it has echoes of early 70s’ West Coast, and on the other it’s rather pastoral in an English sense. I hope you can sense my difficulty here.
Perhaps, or not, it may help if I list the things it reminds of me – in passing, if you see what I mean. Firstly it has something of an early electro-pop feel. Then there’s this nagging Pink Floyd thing that keeps floating across my mind; it’s the guitar, it’s a bit ‘Echoes’ like. And there are, heavily abstracted, hints of the blues. It also, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, whispers art-rock at me.
So you see it’s not niche-able music. But I love music that can’t be put into a niche, that isn’t jumping onto a bandwagon, that brings together things you wouldn’t expect.
The whole, and this is the important thing, is evocative and emotional. It’s beautifully and unexpectedly put together. Sounds float in the mix. The drums and guitar take centre stage, the vocals sit behind them but without losing impact. It’s a pared down and sparse sound.
Su explains what the song is about “‘Time’ is a track written about realising your worth in a relationship and knowing that no matter how hard you try, the other party will just not change. It is about confronting your own worst fears and accepting you have to move on. It’s about being bitter and putting yourself first in order to feel content. It’s endless self love; with a bratty twist.
‘I wanted to write about this situation from a different perspective, focusing in on the
desperate side of wanting more for yourself; yet not knowing how to leave and move on to better things’.
Reflecting this the song spirals around itself, the vocals are, let’s say, bitterly introspective. There’s a sense of pain and, yes, desperation.
This is something timeless, something beautiful and precious, something to be treasured.
The info
Su says ‘The music video is a co-directed project with film-maker Charles Maddocks, who worked closely with me to enforce a vision that we both saw was fitting for this track. The video is a picturesque dance video with smooth movements throughout the edit. We shot the video in a canal in Essex and just went nuts. Charles has such an eye for cinematography and it was a blessing to work with him. We wanted a humorous take on the feeling of being one with something but completely apart at the same time. This is what happens when you don’t take charge of your own wellness. You ignore your self worth and eventually fall in on yourself; thus eventually find yourself bitter and loathing. Co-directing the visual was so essential for me as it allowed another narrative to sit amongst the track itself’.
