The following is not intended to be a dirty question:
What traverses sonic peaks, plateaus, and valleys, going from forlorn weariness to the sublime while gathering a barely controlled intensity under the span of three minutes?
If you were astute enough to answer with the title of this review, please proceed to the next paragraph and pay no heed to the grime on the way there. The rest of you may feel free to move past the beaded curtains, just beyond the Gary Wilson shrine and the posters of Prince in a speedo to atone for your sins on the Tiny Mix Tapes “Extra Credit Couch.” It’ll be hotter than it sounds, trust me.
Today’s song in question: the dusky and gorgeous “Ex-Girlfriend” by San Francisco critical darlings American Music Club, which features expert (song)craftsmanship in a suitably concise running time of 2:48. Where other groups might take about five minutes to pack in all the dramatic shifts in tension and mood alone, AMC pares it down to make the most of their limited time. Their record Everclear featured a U-turn in production aesthetic, burying the spare qualities of their 1980s output in favor of bigger, lushly layered, rockier arrangements that coalesce most seamlessly on “Ex-Girlfriend.” Only the booming, heavily gated snare drums date this song, but not to its detriment. Somber synthesizer chords positioned directly behind the drums set a decidedly wistful and worn-down mood while spare guitar notes and acoustic strumming augment a chugging, percussive bassline worthy of Will Heggie (Cocteau Twins, Lowlife).
Mark Eitzel’s conversational lyrics detail his concern for a friend — and how Eitzel learned of his troubles through the friend’s ex-girlfriend — in a refined and direct manner, with occasional critical observations: “Maybe you’re just trying to get her to come back to you/ or work your way out of cynical attitudes that protect you.” Eitzel’s richly expressive voice nails the song, sounding alternately worn by drudgery (see the line about how “day-to-day life shouldn’t be what it’s all about”) and assured while still maintaining a palpable sense of worry. After a key change during a driving interlude, the song mellows down to its most musically crepuscular passage as he (appropriately) observes, “It’s not even closing time/ And already stars are falling out of the sky,” and promises, “You gotta do something/ I’ll help you try.” The song returns to its normal pace thereafter and Eitzel appears to develop a change of heart about his friend’s condition in the final verse: “Your ex-girlfriend told me you spent all yesterday crying/ Now do you believe the stories that your life’s not buying?” As the song climaxes, his voice shifts upward in a heart-rending manner as he repeats, “I guess you got no one/ I guess you got no one/ I guess you got no one/ to take care of you.” In that final line, the music halts and the echoes of the guitars and synthesizer evanesce into silence.
In this reviewer’s opinion, “Ex-Girlfriend” might be one of the best cases for tight songcraft ever committed to a record. Aspiring songwriters and arrangers, take note yet again of how the band compressed all that drama in a mere 168 seconds. Even though American Music Club never released “Ex-Girlfriend” as a single, it’s a clear stand out that, for me, illustrates why most singles run at similar lengths. Other AMC songs like “Rise” (which WAS the single on Everclear, but inexplicably never charted) and “Challenger” achieve almost as much as “Ex-Girlfriend” does within a similarly limited span of time. Maybe economy really is the key to creating something that high-caliber.
