Sounds of Spring: Three Songs For When The Ice Begins To Thaw
Spring is the season of rebirth, new beginnings, optimism, and the promise of warmth after a long winter chill.
For those who don’t know, I’m from Western New York (originally Rochester and now Buffalo), where it’s essentially winter for six months out of the year, almost as if the greater area struck the same deal Hades and Persephone made in the classic Ovidian myth with Mother Earth herself.
I’m also meticulous about my Spotify and the art of crafting playlists, titles, order of the songs, transitions, image aesthetics, date of creation…you name it, it’s all done with purpose.
Every spring, I search for songs (both new and familiar) to create a list that sonically represents the ice melting & sight of green grass popping up through a withering white blanket of snow.
Now, without further ado….
1. “Olympia” — Sundara Karma
“Olympia,” released in 2017 off Sundara Karma’s debut album Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of walking out into a balmy spring air, beaming with the anxious warmth of a new romance — with a story beautifully crafted from a historical art piece.
Inspired by the Manet painting of the same name, Olympia tells the story of a sex worker who has fallen in love with one of her clients, perhaps to the downfall of them both, but despite their nerves are going to see what happens next.
Beaming with upbeat, sparkling acoustic guitar riffs overlayed by harmonious synth and frontman Oscar Pollock’s passionate and commanding vocals, the track’s lyrics stand out.
Told from the perspective of the man Olympia has fallen for, he references ‘marquis’ (the title for European noblemen of the time and presumably would have been her regular clients) and a shred of surprise from her confession.
Oh no, Olympia said she loves me
Olympia said she needs me
But what about all the marquis?
No, not them
Because they’re all so autocratic
There’s something pale underneath the beat
A white innocence marked by lecherous men
I thought I’d suffer in the city heat
I thought I’d suffer, now let’s hope to begin again
With a touch of bittersweetness, as Olympia’s love may be unrequited, the song leaves the characters’ fates up to the listeners’ interpretation. Regardless, its central theme is its new beginning for them both, wherever that may lead them, making it a perfect song for spring to begin anew.
Additionally, Sundara Karma’s namesake translates in Sanskrit to “beautiful karma,” which also wonderfully captures the nature of this song and a recurring motif throughout their discography.
Listen to “Olympia” HERE:
2. “Bee Sting” — The Wombats
The Wombats have been a band who have somehow always dropped albums/singles during formative years in my life, and this dance-pop-laced Brit-rock track was no exception: “Bee Sting” was looped an innumerable amount of times during my 2018 spring/summer upon its release.
The track opens with punchy and energetic electric guitars, supplemented by dance-infused drum beats that just immediately scratch the brain in all the right ways. The lyrics are the cherry on top for their signature Wombat-esque similies and linguistic playfulness in describing what appears to be a whirlwind romance:
Jumping like a dog on Prozac
And fishing with dynamite
I thought that I was in the green
But it turns red every timeYou drive me crazier than a wingless bee
You drive me crazier than I wanna be
Oh put your best dress on, better make it black
I’m going out but I’m not coming back
I’m not coming back
Initially released as a single before earning a B-side placement on 2019’s Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, “Bee Sting” captures the urgency and excitement that comes with a new and/or blossoming relationship, sonically and lyrically feeling like the predecessor to 2015’s “Greek Tragedy,” which details a crumbling relationship being held together by a thread. Overall, “Bee Sting” is just so much fun; it’s a perfect little gem on any indie/pop-rock playlist and a great boost of serotonin for the spring months.
Listen to “Bee Sting” HERE:
3. “Farewell To The Fairground”— White Lies
It’d be criminal not to include the song and band whose lyrics directly inspired my title for this piece. White Lies, a post-punk revival trio hailing from London, released this absolute masterclass of a song (and accompanying music video, more on that in a second…) as a single off their debut album, To Lose My Life (2009), which shot to №1 on the UK albums chart that same year for all the reasons below.
Lyrically, the song captures one of the most sincere and melancholic coming-of-age auras, in my opinion. Lead singer Harry McVeigh illustrates the protagonist’s journey through metaphors of fairgrounds, circuses and the freezing/thawing of ice — the former two representing the bright lights and wonder of youth and childhood — while the latter seems to imply that that stage of life is now frozen in time, preserved as a memory that we can keep but life can only continue forward.
The “rides not working anymore” line especially resonates because the simpler, quick healing mechanisms we used as children often fail to have the same effect as adults, a sign of growth but a bittersweet realization nonetheless.
The light still in our eyes
We’re leaving this whole fairground behind
It’s a dream that’s growing cold
The circus never dies
The act forever haunts these skies
I know we cannot stayFarewell to the fairground
These rides aren’t working anymore
Goodbye to this dead town
Until the ice begins to thaw
Sonically, the track beautifully integrates the darkness and grit of Brit-rock while infusing strings (the entire album was recorded in a studio with a 20-piece orchestra!) and a bit of keyboard/synth to soften and melodically flesh it out, adding a bittersweet depth to the song that just tears at my heartstrings. Rounded out by McVeigh’s vocals, which are the perfect emulsion of power and raw emotion, the song leaves me covered in goosebumps upon every listen.
Now the music video…
The video, shot in Russia, shows McVeigh in a black winter coat walking through a blue-gray filtered desolate, snow-covered city, interspersed with cutaway shots of civilians working out, children in a junkyard beating cars with bats and rocks, and a couple simultaneously exuding a gleam of optimism and a tinge of sadness in their eyes.
Watch and listen to “Farewell To The Fairground” HERE:
As far as the relation to spring goes, the video for me was what really solidified the seasonal metaphor…walking away from the deep freeze of winter into warmth and the promise of a new beginning.
Initially, I debated adding this because, on the surface, the central theme would appear to counter that, with the typical representation of childhood being the warmth and adulthood being the cold, but a line in the post-chorus solidified its entry here:
We’ll head south, just hold my hand now
I feel like I’m casting off my clothes
And I’m running through the snow towards the sunset
And I’m always with you
White Lies will remain one of my most played artists in late winter/early spring, capturing the bittersweetness of melancholia with the beauty of new beginnings.
Writer’s note: Thank you to all the writers and editors at The Riff for all of your insightful work and for allowing me to be a part of this community of music and pop-culture aficionados.
While you’re here, check out Kevin Alexander, Charlie Cole, Terry Barr, Nicole Brown, Ariane Malfait, Lainey Powers, J.P. Williams, If You’re Ever Listening, Alexander Razin, Jeffrey Harvey, Mic Check Newsletter, Anthony Overs, Buddy Gott, Jeffrey Harvey, Christine Carmichael, Steve Goldberg, Charles in San Francisco, and Chris Zappa.
