Welcome all to ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐บโ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐๐ด๐ผ๐ป, a one-off (perhaps) multi-faceted feature where Pancham reviews our normal reviewerโs own music releases. Here, Pancham delves into Charlesโ latest single, featured on the ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ playlists.
๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ฃ - ๐พ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐๐จ ๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ค๐ก๐ก๐ฎ
Loneliness can be fun tooโฆ
And the piano that opens this track is oh so lonely. A cold breeze through a late autumn window. Ten seconds in, and Iโm already floating on that breeze, before Charlesโ voice comes in on what sounds like a cue from Maxwellโs Silver Hammer. His lover is away in a different place, and his voice is perfect, understated and sad, hopeful and full of rain, a paean to a distant, but not necessarily lost, romance.
And then that bassline, ah joy, Macca would be so utterly happy. I must confess I had to go back and listen to Band On The Run, and Oh! Darling, and I am not completely assured that Charles did not actually get Paul McCartney to make a brief but secretive cameo on this track. However, I am assured that Sir Paul would completely approve of the increasingly high melodic and compositional standards that Charles Connolly has been setting with each new endeavour, and especially so with To See My Lover Again. But Charles is that rare artist who uses as his primary influences the classicism of the masters of pop songwriting, and yet whose music does not eschew modernity. There are shades of George Michael and Savage Garden in there, there is a pop flamboyance to the vocals, and those programmed beats work perfectly, taking nothing away from the heart and soul of the track. This is good music. Period.
I wonder about the literality of the words. I wonder where this lover is. I wonder who this lover could be. The lyrics are almost willfully fragmented, painting impressions of pictures, of relationships, of loneliness. There is companionship in this mutual solitude, and there is hopefulness, and yet, I canโt help but wonder if there is a winking understanding of the human condition layered into the tune. Empty days, phone conversations, the ultimate realization that โweโre on our own nowโ. The shared nature of the pain of separation, โDonโt forget I feel the sameโ. The bridge is hopeful, the dawn as a vanquisher of darkness, and yet, there is trepidation โwill our love survive?โ, before the second-long silence, and the song explodes into stars, rising and rising, a swell of strings, reaching for that rarefied area of space, somewhere between acceptance and yearning.
Everything quietens down in the end, as it is wont to do, and we are back to that oh so lonely piano, shimmering and echoing itself into silence. Charles Connolly knows how to write a song, and it is clear that he is looking for something beyond the immediate exquisite prettiness of the tune, and he is willing to let us in on that journey, and it is a privilege. To See My Lover Again is essential listening, for those looking to lubricate their souls and lose themselves in quietly brilliant craft.
Listen to ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ฃ HERE!
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As a song writer myself "To See My Lover Again" is a confronting piece of music because it is really good. Immaculately written, produced, arranged, and sung it ticks all the boxes. And it evolves so it takes you on a journey and paints a picture in your head. It is worthy of a lot of success because it will stand the test of time. Am I in admiration or am I jealous? I would say both. I wish I could have written that... Very well done CC..
Beautifully written. Have had this song stuck in my head for a while. I think it may be my favorite CC tune so far! And this is definitely my favorite PP so far!
Oh dearest sweet Pancham, this is so absolutely beautiful. It is meticulously written and utterly flawless. I cannot thank you enough. Really made me smile, and indeed almost weep. I am touched. Honoured to be in your Polygon. <3
All things lovely! from the writing to the song! :)