EP Premiere: "P.S" by Conor Wallace
We all need sweet sounds we can put on and be serenaded with--songs that take us to a place of relaxation and nostalgia. Conor Wallace’s new EP P.S, which stands for “Please Sleep,” offers just that. This is a trio of tunes to chill out to. It’s a mix of tones that evoke the idea of “the golden days,” or long lost youth: all those shiny memories that take us back, mixed in with the moments we let fade away. The EP’s use of violin by Geoffrey Paul Taylor adds a unique element to the sound of the tracks, sometimes taking the the tones deeper and other times adding a fluid effect. Adrien Wallace’s accompanying vocals and Corbin Childs’ assistance on various instruments flesh the songs out into full, whole pieces.
“Friend Guitar” is a track you can bob your head to. The pace of the song is just right for winding down, and you can’t help but tap your foot to the contagious beat. A tinge of longing is present throughout the lyrics: “You can take as much from me as I will from you,” Wallace sings. This song is a meditation on those feelings that are never allowed to come to full fruition--on those people who come in and out of our lives, leaving their own mark. The lyrics evoke the wonder, curiosity, and awe of opportunities to connect that sometimes slip away. There is a touch of darkness in this song that’s lined with loss: “Hey, it’s what you want to do,” Wallace says. But the track is full of that spark between kindred souls.
“Missed the Rock” drips with nostalgia. With each strum of the guitar, the song looks back at a path that didn’t go where it was expected to. “Song’s I’ll never hear / Because they broke up last year” stirs up memories of those bands we grew up listening to in garages and parks, maybe those projects from college--before people got big-kid jobs and everyone started down their own lives. The sadness of the fiddle between each chorus and bridge seems to mourn the feeling of youth, the feeling of what felt so within-reach when things were simpler. But “All I can think / Is that I missed the rock” transforms the feel of the song into one of progression, learning and discovering.
“Wyrd Fate” was written collaboratively, and the darker tone of this song versus the others is ever-present, especially in the lyrics. Witchy in nature, this song reflects on the darkness that can seep into our lives and selves while also acknowledging the light that breaks through. Again the fiddle adds a somber edge to the song, a raw edge that isn’t as apparent in the rest of the EP. “Coffin, maybe not to open / Blood moon, maybe not to rise” lingers in the mind of the listener, prompting thoughts on what it means to grow and rise.
P.S is available for only $3 on Wallace’s Bandcamp page. Listen below and then buy the three tracks! You can see him perform at Band Together Denton this weekend--he plays at Nebulae at 9 PM on Friday.
Header image design by Brittany Keeton