Province
The guessing games continue: With no tracklist or
release date available for TVOTR's delayed sophomore LP, how did this
song/demo find a home on hard drives? Maybe a bitter
indie-4-lifer didn't appreciate the band's recent backhanded touch and
go. Maybe a sunglasses-in-winter L train truffle nicked a blank CD-R
from Tunde's shoulder bag during a rush-hour sardine trip. Or
maybe-- just maybe-- the group, wracked by indecision, aired it out
looking for some rigorous internet critiques. While placing bets and
checking your Last.fm stats, you may notice a guy who sounds a lot
like David Bowie singing backup on the chorus of this gushing
stun-gun.
Sonically straddling between Desperate Youth's low-reverb raw and Young Liars' perfecto panache, the galaxy-gazing power ballad tells of heroes embracing eternity while in the throes of apocalyptic abandon. It's uplifting shit, thinly veiled in cool-enough abstracts: "Hold your heart courageously as we walk into this dark place/ Stand steadfast beside me and see that love is the province of the brave." And, try as he might, the guy with the pupils can't hide. Buried underneath stacks of signature Sitek scrapes, his trembling timbre bellows an uneasy counterpart to Tunde's Pluto vox. Interscope publicists, listen close-- it's not a hit but it hits.