Leeds band Van Houten are planning to release a new EP called Home Alone Pt. 2 on September 10, following up last year’s Home Alone. The new EP features recent gem “IDK” and today’s new track, “Now and Then”. Songwriter Louis Sadler reveals:
“This tune is about willingly being hurt by somebody, and dealing with being unfulfilled or neglected in order to keep this person around. It’s about feeling alone whilst being with somebody romantically, but not really doing anything to change the situation because you need them beyond your control or logic. I like to contrast sad themes in the lyrics with more hopeful and easy going instrumentals and I think this is a good example of doing so. I was listening to loads of old South American bossa nova tunes and I wanted to try and combine parts of the relaxed and effortless sound with our usual style and give it a light and poppy twist.”
Van Houten draw us right into this malaise with a swaying, sashaying slacker sound, underscoring Sadler’s reflections that “now and then I start again on you” and, less wholesomely, “You’re no good to me / But I crave your cruelty”. Those bossa nova accents that Sadler mentions above are certainly detectable in the lightness of the percussion and the ease of the rhythm, and they seem to reflect the idyllic coupling he has in mind. While he doesn’t explicitly say what he desires, the song’s gleaming sound suggests dreams of quietly slow-dancing in the bedroom, taking long strolls in the sunshine, cuddling on the couch. It’s no wonder that he keeps re-starting his opinion of this person, hoping that, perhaps, this time they’ll reciprocate, and nirvana awaits. If it doesn’t happen, “Now and Then” at least provides the perfect soundtrack for slipping hopelessly into those loved-up reveries.
Check out the video for “Now and Then” below, or listen to it on streaming platforms.
Van Houten’s Home Alone Pt. 2 arrives on September 10 through Clue (pre-save). You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
