Nature’s Child are likely to get you hooked to their sound pretty quickly if you were once in any way connected to the alternative rock bands of the nineties and early noughties. Think Brand New, Jimmy Eat World – the former in particular when it comes to this single.
Nature’s Child have presented this song with simple beauty – a crisp yet rhythmic guitar layer, raw and solo for the most part, accompanied by a gorgeously smart and clean leading voice. All of this is just stylistic of course, but then you get the song’s subject matter – the story-line, the details, the scene-setting. The song goes deep with its topic and refuses to hold anything back.
While the lyrics appear to be directed at a significant other, there’s something about the writing style and the vulnerability in the vocal tone that suggests we may all benefit from considering these ideas in relation to ourselves. That’s what this sort of music always did back in the day – it laid out the scene, familiar and letting you feel less alone in your isolation, then it prompted you to consider the ways of the world and your roll within it; your relationships, your attitude. Dull has those very same qualities and makes for a brilliant moment of considerate escapism at the same time.
All of this is great, but what makes this song so distinctive and memorable is the way it slowly but surely gathers momentum. The acoustic introduction leads gradually up towards a much brighter resolve – a latter half loaded with optimism and energy. This is also about the time the song redirects the lyrics and includes the self – becoming less objective, more reflective.
It’s time to leave yourself and face this world…
At just over four minutes long, you get more than enough time to let yourself completely fall under the spell of the song and sit thinking far too deeply. Despite its nostalgic aura, there’s a beautiful freshness and contemporary authenticity to this song. Nature’s Child have done a fine job putting it together – lyrically, musically, and indeed performance-wise. The whole thing sounds perfect for what it is. An absolute pleasure to stumble upon and I look forward to a longer project that will really let you disappear into the moment for a significant amount of time.
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