I remember having a conversation with someone shortly after I came back from London, when I was settling down to life in Perth. She said “You can have more than one home; some places will always feel like home”. There was comfort in that. I didn’t want to feel that just because I had left a place of great importance in my life, that it would never feel like home again. I guess more than anything, home is a feeling more than a place.
Dan Croll‘s song ‘Home’ from 2014’s Sweet Disarray, is the final song on his debut album. It’s perfect in this spot as it sends you off with a warm, cosy feeling. And that’s what we’re all about here at Blank Instrument.
The thing that stands out the most for me in this song is the guitar. I’m a sucker for some good sounding guitar in many of its forms – jangly, chorusy, twangy, sweet – in this case there’s several warm layers, keeping the rhythm and recorded to retain the distinct sound of fingers moving on the strings. The first few seconds before the guitar have some kind of fuzzy room sound or tape hiss, which give a subtle backdrop to what unfolds.
The verse comes in with Dan’s cheery voice talking about warm and cosy feelings of home. The word home is used to great effect here, with a catchy “Oh-oh-oh-oh” melody. There’s just a hint of some backing vocals under there, but nothing too strong.
I’ve forgotten how it feels with the carpet under my seat
It’s the polyester fibres that wrap around my feet
Feels like home, home
When the cold shakes my bones, it’s the rug that warms my soul
It’s the textile to the skin, and the sensation alone
Feels like home, home
This is a song that knows how to use dynamics, starting light and holding back but knowing when it let everything soar. It’s chorus part is repeated but not really traditional in that its 3 lines. There’s an awesome backing vocal under here, which sounds like a guy with a really deep voice with other layered voices. In this chorus, we’re being told to take our shoes off lest we damage Dan’s floor. Is there some trauma there perhaps, Dan? Someone didn’t get their bond back due to the sorry state of the floor? Maybe a stiletto was involved!
The next verse brings some brushes on the drums and a warm bass line building up the momentum, along with bigger backing vocals over that home melody. This verse ends in a slightly different way, with the last line hanging to make way for a drop down instrumental part. This sets us up beautifully for the full force of the band when it comes in. Lush backing vocal layers, some calypso drums and more percussion leads us to another beautiful moment where the chorus lines are sung while the music drops back a bit, only to pick up again after the backing vocals come in. At this time, the song feels like a warm blanket you want to pull over yourself and make the pillow fort of your dreams.
The song ends much as it began – the warm guitars and the background hiss – and the listener with a bittersweet feeling. It’s been a beautiful album, but maybe we didn’t want to it end so soon. There’s an art to not overstaying your welcome, musically speaking. To give the listener the sense of not having quite filled their cup with the music just yet. If you’ve not had the listening pleasure of Dan Croll, maybe it’s time.