Single Review: Closer

Here is yet another track that takes me back to the early-90;s. The days of our family following Vince Leatherby, the Happy Wanderer, around the Kiwi country music circuit.

Only, they didn’t sound like this back then.

Tony Lee’s new single Closer takes the classic country rock, strips it to the bare bones, and slows it down. The result is as bittersweet and melancholic as the lyrics, which a lot of country music secretly is beneath the veneer of a wailing pedal steel guitar.

This ballad is a quiet cry for help and calm, relevant in these, the dying days of extended lockdowns. It is a far cry from the trucking tales of ageing crooners in those halcyon days in Oakura.

There are a few clever moments, where the music and lyrics flirt with each other, no doubt misinterpretations and over-thoughts on my part. The spiraling scales in the chorus reflecting spiraling thoughts in a troubled mind. The note ringing out after the line “There is ringing in my head.” The song fading away on the line “Until it goes away.” It’s an obscure example of diegesis – the music being part of the narration – and a nice change in a world where music and lyrics are different entities.

Relatable lyrics, inoffensive music, enjoyable by young and old. 5 stars of 5.

You can find Tony Lee on Spotify. You can find the video for Closer on YouTube.