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title: “It's Forgetting that would Beat it All” (the 2007-11-23 Friday Fetch-it) date: 2007-11-23 16:04 series: the Friday Fetch-it

tags: Don't Falter, Lauren Laverne, Matt Pond PA, Mint Royale, So Much Trouble

<p>“So Much Trouble” (by Matt Pond PA) has surprisingly little in the way of chorus…-age, for what's otherwise a very straightforwardly upbeat, cheery pop song. I just noticed that recently.</p>
<p>Maybe it's <em>because</em> it's so generally singalong-able throughout that you don't notice the choruslessness. And there's extensive bridge…-iness, which sounds rather like a chorus in most songs would (“I don't think I want to think about it”—that bit); but it definitely approximates the tune of a verse, with a little bit more tension and less resolution in the voice.</p>
<p>(Hey, let's assume the guy singing is actually called Matt Pond, whether or not this is really the case. You can never properly tell with ostensibly-eponymous bands.)</p>
<p>… So it's <em>not</em> a chorus. The <em>chorus</em> starts “You're in so much trouble; you can't hide in your covers”—it even has the title in it. (Yeah, I know, but lyrics almost <em>always</em> sound silly taken out of the music.) And that bit only occurs <em>once</em>, right at the start (well, after the first verse).</p>
<p>Then there are four—count 'em: four—bridge-like bits: they alternate between the bit I called the bridge earlier (and shall continue to so call); and another bit (with the words “We don't want to make mistakes”) to which I <em>could</em> dryly refer as “the second bridge”, but shall instead dub “the tunnel”. Not only does this make for a pleasing automotive-architecture–based pun, it's also kind of apt: bridges and tunnels are often one and the same thing, appear together and complement each other.</p>
<p>I digress. In the middle of the two bridge-and-tunnel pairs there's an instrumental break, where the song slows to a dawdle. It's as if Matt Pond and his merry posse of accompaniment-ists (collectively known as “PA”) have been sauntering along in an autumnal park and gradually and pensively come to a halt while they decide which way to go next. (Maybe Matt Pond just has a personal assistant to help him with all the music?)</p>
<p>Anyhow, they end up deciding to carry on in the same direction, but have somehow returned to where they were a full minute ago. (Maybe they were going in circles?) <em>This</em> time, however, they have a few extra deep, reassuring guitar tones as companions, and the journey's a lot more familiar—despite not being a verse or a chorus.</p>
<p>It soon transpires that the verse was just the other side of a hedge all along <i>(metaphor becoming tenuous, I know)</i>, and it's back sooner than expected, with a couple of extra drum flourishes for effect. There's even a glimmer of hope for the chorus, as this new verse borrows some of its lyrics.</p>
<p>Another contemplative pause later (will this song <em>ever</em> gain any momentum?), the bridge returns in full swing; by now it's grown up into a chorus in its own right. Nonetheless, it soon gives way to the chorus-proper, the first half of which—only—repeats satisfyingly.</p>
<p>Loath to satiate, though, the song ends on a <em>minor</em> note. It's as if they <em>want</em> you to play it again.</p>
<p><strong>If you download one song this week, make it <a href="http://gkn.me.uk/thefridayfetchit/20071123.mp3">So Much Trouble</a></strong>—it's like a wistful stroll through an autumnal park (with a personal assistant).</p>
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<p>(How do you follow <em>that</em>? Try “Don't Falter” by Mint Royale &amp; Lauren Laverne.)</p>