“Bury your head in the dirt, gazing at the root of a tree. And there’s a hemisphere now to consider. A city of trees digesting to your liver”. It is an interesting concept to try wrap your mind around.The irony of taking the old ‘bury your head in the sand’ sentiment and turning it on itself to suggest it is an act of discovery rather than cowardice. To explore the world of the introvert in such a beautiful manner is something to admire, and as he has proved with Tail before Liam Gordon knows damn well how to craft a cracker of a song.
Liam Gordon returns with his beautifully written new Tail single City of Trees; a tale of the introvert and their journey to seek truth in the world.
Tail’s previous effort Tell Love was (excuse the pun) a telling look at the diverse nature of love and the phenomenon it causes. The follow up to that single City of Trees is in spirit a worthy successor to that track. The familiar traits are present; Liam’s relaxed, droning voice, the melancholy guitars and the spacious drumming. But don’t you worry kids, City of Trees is by no means a carbon copy of Tell Love. Conceptually it is much broader and picking apart the various imagery used throughout is quite enthralling.
The city of trees image is reminiscent of the film Pan’s Labyrinth, whether Liam was inspired by the film isn’t known, but if you have the seen it you’ll understand the similarities between the two. The idea of escaping into a world that is separate from reality yet runs parallel to it in order to closely inspect the world we inhabit is a sentiment that is clear in both. Terrifying children’s fantasy stories aside, City of Trees is a song that attempts to delve into one’s inner world. Does the narrative mean one is literally plunging their head into the ground to find a city of trees? Not quite. It is one that examines the city within the mind, the city that is reflected within one’s self and how they choose to quietly pick apart the world around them.
The music is wonderfully composed. The sparse guitar in the beginning coupled with Liam’s lonely voice sets the introspective mood. The added guitar licks layered on top build towards a rocking crescendo, a feat that may catch the listener by surprise. It’s a creeping song, a slow build song that completely disguises its nature. Equally impressive is Liam’s vocal delivery. The way he breaks up his pronunciation of words allows him to control the pace of the song and how we engage with lyrics in a dynamic way. Listen out for how he sings “digesting” and you’ll understand.
Tail is certainly doing all the right things at the moment, and if you want to know more pop on over to his social pages.
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