Vince Leigh’s Single Review: Just Go by Phil Edward’s Band
By Vince Leigh (Ex drummer of Pseudo Echo, Tina Arena and John Farnham) of Australian Radio Promotion for Sheldon Ang Media
The Phil Edwards Band’s latest follows a string of tracks following the group’s debut Cabin in the Woods in 2017. The band has continued to release songs that utilise an alt-folk rock slash alt-country sensibility, with Phil’s voice the focal point and the various narratives helping to create a complete, vivid picture.
The new track, Just Go, is lyric-centred though that’s not to say that any musical elements has been sacrificed. In fact, the production is as refined and clear as any of the band’s previous releases. This is an important quality to maintain. Considering the aim of Just Go, one can almost predict this narrative without hearing the song—from the title. It revolves around a relationship that is perhaps past turmoil and into the realm of harsh reality. The point is, on Just Go, this harsh reality is dealt with in a way that suggests otherwise, that suggests a reckoning that is more like a rebirth.
Although the concept might appear to have its fair share of melancholy attached, the track sounds somewhat optimistic; the shuffling, almost joyous pulse belies its true nature—that of separation, disengagement, and disconnection. Treating the concept in this manner gives the song more power. And with Phil’s up close and personal vocal style, it’s a resonant kind of style that draws us in, keeping us still while this tender tale of dissolution weaves its way through us.
The overall sound of the record continues the template the band began on previous releases, including the outfit’s break-out song, As It Goes, and with years of touring internationally and nationally behind them, it is perhaps why such a style has been so finely honed. Just Go is intimate yet features universal aspects not limited to the traditional sonic landscape and derived from the lyric’s undoubtedly bittersweet focus.
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