When the city lights dim...I usually like to have a nap

Oh hey. Long-time no see guys. It’s been tough to find the time and the inspiration to post on here (as it seems to go every year really), but there’s nothing like the random, instant inspiration that hits you at those strangest of moments. In this case, it was while I napped on Saturday afternoon, half-asleep, with CBC Radio3 soothing my unexpected weariness. Even though I was barely lucid, my ears perked up when I heard Cold Specks’ “When The City Lights Dim”.

The song’s been on Radio3’s playlist for more than a month now and has even reached number one on their weekly countdown, but I can’t help but feel like in that moment, I came to appreciate it in an entirely new way. You know how it is when you’re drifting in and out of sleep and suddenly the most benign thoughts can turn into profound realizations about life, love, and everything in-between? At that particular moment Saturday afternoon, I can vividly recall rolling over and thinking “wow…this is a great song”. And the italics don’t even do that sentiment justice. I had a deep, meaningful feeling that “When The City Lights Dim” was some kind of spectacular marvel of musical genius. And Al Spx (totally a fake name, because I’ve read that her family isn’t exactly welcoming of her newly-found spotlight) of Cold Specks does everything in her power to bring that sensational statement to fruition.

When jotting down notes for this song, I wrote one thing: the three separate parts. I’m a fan of ‘compartmentalized’ music, but not in the traditional “verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus” sense. I like songs that mix things up; that throw you for a loop - one of my all-time favorites is Broken Social Scene's "It's All Gonna Break": nine minutes of horns, guitar, and what seems like five wholly different songs. In this case, Cold Specks starts the ballad off with a plaintive wind-chiming sound backing her soulful vocals and non-sensical lyrics (“the CN tower will blow (glow?) into me/guide my brother home/I was as calm as a child”), transitioning into the subtly-powerful chorus.

After that? A respite of silence, then cue the drums, the faintest of choirs in the background, and more impassioned singing from Al. This all leads to the second chorus, a gospel-like rendition with the dark sway of funeral procession, and the horn section of the most depressing morning Reverie the military could concoct. Finally, the tune slows down again; the percussion retreating for a bit, the horns turning tuba-like (if only for a few beats), and the entire thing just grinding to a halt.

Now, what stands out most for me about Cold Specks is the commendable way in which she mixes the darkest subject matter (see: her first single “Holland”, basically about how we’re all just dust [no, not in the wind, but good try]) with the right amount of excitement and vibrant instrumentation to balance any perceived doom and gloom. This is an area – as a friend and I discussed last week – where Emily Haines of Metric failed greatly on “Youth Without Youth” a dark ballad told just like that: so deadpan, monotone, and dark that I shudder when I hear it and have to change the station.

So, do you want to watch a film noir literally in black-and-white, with dark lighting and horrible characters? Or do you want to watch a black comedy rife with interesting characters and odd colour palates and mind-bending scenery (yes, I’m drawing on what I know of “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind”)? That’s the fundamental choice between “When The City Lights Dim” and a song like “Youth Without Youth” -- and I’d personally prefer the jolting, weird dream than the staid nightmare the next time I’m having my afternoon weekend nap.