Ever heard of The Mysterines? Of course you have, but for new listeners, it’s handy that their newest single ‘The Last Dance’ is the perfect introduction to the less discovered (but rather brilliant) alt rock band. Formed way back in 2015, the group of four have – in this track – thrown together juxtaposing themes of love and hate into a place that should seem dark but is not; all this managed in one subtle rock song.
This cleverly confusing mix is introduced through a deep, thronging bassline reminiscent of whirring film in an olde world cinema. As memories swirl all around, we’re plunged into the double entendre lyrics where the overwhelming desire to be accepted both as lovers and individuals comes to the fore. In “I crave the world through your fingertips” for example the persona both wants to feel the world through an accepted version of themself and through their lover. Spurred on by the pleading chorus (beautifully sung by Lia Metcalfe) we are encouraged to see how we all should just see each other based on our inner beauty, not who the stereotypes force us to see. Then the melody – especially the guitar solo, with its purposely wavering notes – seems to understand too, replicating the imperfections we all at least think we have, to show how nobody is perfect but also how we are all insecure about ourselves. A by-product of the human condition perhaps?
Even the greyscale nature of the music video encapsulates perfectly the way that the persona can’t fully express themselves, almost like they are locked behind the lens of a camera, or an eye for that matter. All this nuanced meaning is – like colour would be for the masked characters in the music video – refreshing! It’s almost like poetry, and is another great addition to the bands back catalogue that will come in handy when they start their tour in the UK at HMV in Manchester on the 25th of June. Safe to say it won’t be the last dance for this lot.
Words by Matthew Carter
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