As much as the landscape of dating has changed in the past 40 years or so, nothing can yet stymie the sting from a former lover’s kiss-off. So even when Tinder or OK Cupid can deliver dozens of potential flings to your fingertips, the break-up song remains a psychic hub for anyone who’s loved and lost. The slow-focus shimmer of Marshmallow Coast’s “Take You On” might hint of stylish twilights long gone, but Andy Gonzales doesn’t hide behind any conceit: “I could go out with anyone… but it’s not the same.” Chances are, Brian Eno or John Foxx of Ultravox would’ve scoffed at such simplicity four decades ago.
But who’s judging today? And anyway, you can’t cramp the M Coast’s style. “Take You On” exemplifies the sort of alternative fey future that Gonzales introduced in 2015’s Vangelis Rides Again, and which lights up again in the upcoming Memory Girl: it’s not a world free of conflict, but no barriers separate expression from aesthetic. Those steep riffs may feel as cool as marble, but no one trying to act that cool would admit how much they miss the heat from their old flame. Nor, for that matter, would any self-respecting artiste tarnish their prestige with the phrase “shoop shoop, shoobie-do-wah-do-wah.” Sometimes you go with the flow, eh? And sometimes, when love doesn’t pan out, you just need a place to hide where you can sing along with someone who knows the score.
Memory Girl is out Nov. 9 via HHBTM Records. Pre-orders are available here.
Marshmallow Coast will perform on Sat., Oct. 27 at Flicker Bar alongside Don Chambers, Joe Rowe, MOTHS, and Tears for the Dying. Evening includes a rare screening of the 2007 documentary Tracking the Gorilla. Doors open at 10 p.m.
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