Following a few bars of strummed guitar Kierst declares “it’s nothing more than a crush but / I’m holding my breath” and I believe her. For one thing she repeats the second line four times in a row and indeed crushes are nothing if not obsessive, and while singing the line four times whilst holding one’s breath defies logic, crushes are nothing if not illogical. Check and check.
A pathway to love turned into a a cul-de-sac of hopeless hope: “Tinged blue in the face no it’s not too late.” A distressing new fetish for emotional distress: “An unwanted switch that’s leaving me reeling.” Check and check.
Keirst’s lyrics here scan perfectly in a song that slowly and steadily and almost imperceptibly builds tension–but crucially never achieves release. Layer by layer you hear the addition of ride cymbal flourishes, plaintive guitar wails, hints of bass and perhaps keyboard and finally some insistent drumming over a late-in-the-game declaration to “love you to death.” And then like that it’s over. And you want it to start all over again. (Jason Lee)