And day one closes with a duet selected by Abby Waysdorf…
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[6.80]
Abby Waysdorf: 2014 was, for me, the year of Bright Light Bright Light. It’s not only that I listened to him — Bright Light Bright Light is just Rod Thomas, a Welshman based in NYC — more than most, and certainly more than most “new” artists, but that he felt the most like mine of anything that I listened to. It wasn’t something I felt like I had to listen to in order to be relevant or “part of the conversation” or whatever, it was just what I liked — something for me, something kind of personal. His style lends itself to that kind of feeling, bedroom-intimate synth-pop with clear narratives and a lushness and danceability that’s basically all my tastes. “I Wish We Were Leaving” is very much that, a double-vocaled breakup song with a certain specificity of emotion and moment. It’s sometimes gracious, sometimes self-pitying, sometimes triumphant, but always with the sense that a story is unraveling both within and behind the lyrics and earnest, soaring vocals. One of which, of course, is provided by Sir Elton John himself, but to the song’s credit he doesn’t overpower things — this is clearly a Bright Light Bright Light song — and turns in an excellent counterpoint vocal to Thomas. I’m not sure anyone else will respond to this the way I do, but sometimes things are just personal.
[9]
Brad Shoup: It’s not a towering achievement in one-man human centipedery like “Say Something,” but we only need one of those every Olympiad or so. I can actually hear past the self-service in this ostensibly magnanimous portrait of someone who knows it’s over. The boy actually figures here; the synthbells can glimpse his future. Still, the high road’s paved with eggshells. Messrs. Bright Light and John opt for languorous sighs, interrupted with a gorgeous melodic shiver in the refrain. A little bit of sadness might have made this transcendent, but there’s barely a crack in their stiff lips.
[7]
Scott Mildenhall: Bright Light Bright Light has a beautiful tone, one with the dustless quality of Guy Garvey, a pure clarity that aids rather than inhibits expression. The most delicate of movements can tell the story without strain, and that’s made all the easier with such a lyrical song. Adding the interplay with Elton — a man always pleasantly eager to get involved with things he’s interested in, however niche — the result is musical-esque, only in no way tedious. A less showy “I Know Him So Well“; defeat with a breakbeat.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: An electro-pop approximation of “Someone Like You” with Elton John thrown in presumably as a move to get this more attention. Well, hope it makes somebody happy.
[4]
Josh Langhoff: Turns “God Only Knows” on its head — and it’s almost as pretty!
[8]
Edward Okulicz: The chorus takes little bites from “God Only Knows” though if it had devolved into a long, ornate instrumental section it might have been even better. Actually, that the middle-eight sounds like it’s uninterested in Brian Wilson and very interested in old Disney animated musical films. In a world with aggressive and passive-aggressive songs about love that’s not to be, the novelty of a completely passive-passive pop song on the subject makes it stand out… and I kind of like old Disney movies.
[7]
Alfred Soto: With Elton’s last Odd Guest Appearance on a Kate Bush track about snow, what’s next is a track whose freeze-dried percussion and strings could percolate over the closing credits of one of those late nineties Disney movies you missed. A shame to say this, but it’s true: Elton can’t sing these days without pouring creamed corn over a verse.
[3]
Will Adams: Sounds like a bootleg remix of an Elton John song that wasn’t used for The Lion King. The drums are appreciated, though; think of how histrionic this would be without them.
[5]
Anthony Easton: Sometimes a hack accidentally just collapses into a slump that is so exhausted, that refuses so much previous pleasure, that the mask slips, and some kind of genius slips through. John is so astonishingly good at parasitically connecting to more interesting talent, and has become such a hack, that when something this good comes along, it makes me believe in showbiz again.
[10]
Thomas Inskeep: So early-’90s Pet Shop Boys (the obvious touchstone is Behaviour) in every possible good way. Not to mention that late-period Elton’s voice has gotten warmer and richer, so his vocal here isn’t a cameo; it actually augments and betters the song. Wistful and sad-but-hopeful like the best PSB love songs, but this never comes off as PSB manqué: Rod Thomas has his own distinct identity, crafting a gorgeous midtempo electronic pop song that is absolutely all his. “I Wish We Were Leaving” is heartbreaking, but I want to hear it again and again.
[8]