Buck Meek is releasing his new solo album Two Saviors next Friday, January 15, and this week he has shared one final teaser. “Candle” was co-written with his Big Thief bandmate Adrianne Lenker, and Buck has this quote about it:
“I was making my escape, when the siren’s song caught me a mile up the road… My nose started bleeding by the second note, so I lit a candle to keep moving. I may have died and woke in heaven’s motel, with a telephone seashell at the bedside. It rang in waves and waves spoke, and waves heard through me.”
Much of the imagery from the above quote appears in “Candle”, which is a song that seems to have one foot in reality and another in fantasy, blurring the lines beautifully, quickly captivating with its soft-focused lens. It seems like Buck is trying to escape someone he loves – or once loved – but as he says above, he is ensnared by the siren’s call – an idea that is effectively reproduced by the gorgeous pedal steel that flows through the song. Pulled helplessly back into the orbit of this mysterious person, Buck takes us into intimate territory with the simple but evocative observation “did your eyes change? / I remember them blue / Or were they always hazel? / Still the same face with a line or two / the same love I always knew.” A desperately besotted track that easily gets under your skin, “Candle” is another shining example of Buck’s countrified wizardry.
Buck Meek’s new album Two Saviors arrives next Friday, January 15, via Keeled Scales. You can find him on Facebook, Bandcamp, Twitter and Instagram.
