“THIS is the best song I’ve written, I think; real simple and clean,” says Sing Leaf’s David Como of the single he’s just released, “Easy On You”.
“I wrote it while still living in the city [Toronto], an apartment in the trees near High Park.
“People below us would howl and rage at each other all hours, almost set the place on fire one night; left a pizza box burning on their deck; my wife and I had to kick in their door.”
Who are we to disagree with the architect of a song as lovely and direct and connected as this, lyrically comforting and concerning the strength of a really rock-solid relationship in the face of the irritation of humdrum, domestic adversity. You’ve got that, you’ve really got something.
Take a listen to those lyrics: “Darkness leading into the light / The underwater time of night / Downstairs they’re fighting in Apartment 2 / I’ll make it easy, easy on you.”
It all unfolds over a simple bass figure, which puts me in mind of the humanist simplicity of Spiritualized’s Will Carruthers; there’s space and lazy guitars and harmonies at just the right moment and you know you can curl up inside this song with a summer cold and it’s going to be OK.
Watch the accompanying video, below. It marches in absolute aesthetic step with the lovely little oxbow which Sing Leaf are evolving: wide-eyed in wonder, defiantly curious, a little primitivist, marrying light psychedelia and indie and folk and just firing that arrow off at your breast. Kabam.
Actually, I will risk it for a biscuit and say David may, just may, be off the money, on saying it’s the best song he’s written – but only because we’ve had a good while to get our brains around the album from whence “Make It Easy” stems, Not Earth, which is out at the end of next month; look out for our review on September 21st. It’s rather bursting with easily evolving, multi-instrumental lushness. There. Said.
The album also contains the previously released tracks Sunshine” and “Forever Green”.
Let’s return to David and ask him to elucidate further about the song: “There are many different ways a relationship can work and you should think about that as you move through one, as one.
“Are you something to get around, to get through, or do you make things easier, simpler, more joyful? Do you take the pressure off or do you add weight?
“Life can be quite hard, quite sad; I’m trying to not be the cause of that to anyone anymore.
“The song has changed for me, my wife, as we move on in our lives, out of the city, into country, nature, parenthood … keep it easy, keep it childlike, keep the wonder and the joy. This is a song I hope somebody else might sing sometime, too.”
Come on you cynics. Let’s have a little fundamental wonder and joy in our lives, too.
Sing Leaf’s Not Earth will be released by Tin Angel Records on September 25th. Order yours at Bandcamp.
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