Somethin’ ’bout that vague lyrical content…
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[6.38]
Anthony Easton: The choral fanning out of a singular voice and the reigning of that desire back to a refrain — especially a chorus with an axiomatic one liner — is a trick that makes a text sound more profound than it is (it’s been used by all sorts of people, including Dylan). But this is a really good example, and he seems to have learned the lessons from California in the 1970s; it doesn’t go on for a thousand years. Excellent, if profoundly unoriginal, work.
[7]
Alfred Soto: He’s got a nasal voice like Mike Cooley’s, but boy, these days he’s enunciating more clearly than the premier writer of Southern Gothic rock-lit. He’s got less to say, though, which is why he lets the guitars speak his bad intentions.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: The vagueness of the situation laid out by the lyrics raises a few eyebrows, but Robert Ellis at least has the musical smarts to make everything around them sound as unsettling as possible. He takes it a little too far with the sparse interlude in the middle… Ellis’ more subtle unnerving touches, from the guitars that just trail off to the less-than-fun shuffle, worked way better. Not much more than something to make you feel a little weird, but it does that well.
[5]
Brad Shoup: Muted rhythm guitar, hunched-over snare, a bashful Buckingham-style solo: the track is taut so he can unpack an unsettling aura. It’s vague in a retro way, where the faith’s in the feel. But the sudden switch to an even quieter drop-out section jars, like the radio edit got put on the record by mistake. It’s far too meditative (to say nothing of slight) for what is essentially an accusatory track.
[6]
Edward Okulicz: For all the irony of the title and the prowling bass line that gives it away, it’s interesting that the most sinister part of the song is that out-of-nowhere “you wanna play” over bristling guitars just before the second chorus. The song omits the conclusion, opting for the economy of being punchy at under 3 minutes, which is also its cleverest touch.
[8]
Rebecca A. Gowns: I got it stuck in my head before I started to really hear the words and feel weird about it. Like, does he mean “sister” or “sister“? Or the exclamation, “sister!” Sure, it’s nice and poetic, but without any further explanation, it leaves me with nothing learned, only a vague wisp of a bad feeling. It’s a narrative without any journey; a character without any context.
[5]
Megan Harrington: Perhaps it’s in his label’s best interest to introduce Robert Ellis to the Flowers in the Attic series. Or maybe my brain is permanently tarnished, but I can’t hear lines like “I don’t care how wrong it is/ I’ve got good intentions” paired with “Don’t do this to me sister” and not see a glittering, all caps, flashing sign that reads: INCEST. I’m not sure the subtext is any better if she’s not immediate family, but I do like his Townes Van Zandt impression.
[7]
Will Adams: A smoky ode to the internal conflict of someone too tempting to resist. The cliffhanger ending either frustrates or intrigues, depending on the mood.
[6]