Taste Test: Gareth Inkster finds true peace on new song, ‘Long Time Now’
The Canadian singer-songwriter works between desire and need on his delicate new ballad.
Welcome to Taste Test, a song/video review series of SubmitHub-only gemstones
What we think we need and what we actually need are contrasting poles to how we handle life. In our minds, locked away from our desires, we stack up expectations that may not be truthful to the reality bubbling at our feet. And so, when it comes crashing down, we lose complete control. But there can be stunning poetry in that same space, too. Out of Ontario, folksy singer-songwriter Gareth Inkster dips his feet back into such a spinning pool of want versus need. His delicate new ballad called “Long Time Now,” in which he playfully paints with lilting melodies and phrasing, wafts on the breeze of his own tight-knit experiences. “Baby, slow it down / Just notice today,” he urges the listener. Inkster’s voice elicits a honeysuckle sweetness, even as the melody heaves overwhelming melancholy that we feel in those moments of raw, unruly despair. The production wails in the background, switching between the glistening rush to our cheeks when hope sets in and gloom that is often of our own making. Amidst it all, Inkster finds peace within himself.
Listen below:
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