Amidst the isolation of quarantine we long for those days of venturing out of our homes to rejoice in life’s pleasures. We’ve lost the connective tissue that binds us together with friends, dispatched to our primal senses to care for ourselves as well as loved ones. Those nights about the town feel so far gone, but within our memories they feel as real as the present.
On the latest entry to our series with Brooklyn’s Giggly Boys, those nights of escape are illustrated so vividly that you can smell the debauchery of friends on the prowl for a good time at a house party. Singer Erik Schwertfeger’s slick delivery combined with the band’s glistening instrumentals provide the backdrop to a hazy memory embedded with hope and disappointment. It’s an ode to those friends hoping to make a change to their lives by making a move to a new place in the attempt to revive a piece of themselves that may have gotten lost in the shuffle of big city living (“Sixteen jobs in as many months / Live with your ex jeez that’s gotta be rough / Last time we spoke you said you’re moving in June”). A hint of unrequited love and self reflection centers the track within the fray of drunken abandonment, the ambitions of “Dorothy Lane” tied to every event.
The intricacy in guitarist Bryan Keller and Mark Craig’s strokes capture the emotional rollercoaster of the night, pushing the brakes to the edge but holding back just enough for thought before descending into the mess again. Drummer Mike Zorman’s rhythmic musings are strewn with earnestness, the weight of the night sitting heavy with each change. The quartet’s introspection turns towards the finale of the track with Schwertfeger calling out, “Thought it’d be cool to die in a bathroom / window open staring at the moon.” Even when social interaction was so plentiful, those moments of solitude provided clarity to our own dreams.
“Dorothy Lane” is out now and you can stream the track below…