Premiere: The Imaginaries conjure up darkness with ‘Crossroads’
The duo’s new song is perfect for spooky season.
It’s officially October – the season of cooler weather, faded leaves, and tricks ‘n treats. To conjure up a bit of mystical darkness, indie-folk duo The Imaginaries get down in the mud with “Crossroads,” a swampy number co-starring blues/rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. “Devil wanna get a little piece of my soul,” crow Shane Henry and Maggie McClure. Their voices are tattered and bruised, as they clatter and bang across a devilish rhythm that shakes to the core. There’s no escaping their grasp. All you can do is lie back and let them perform their (musical) black magic on you.
“Crossroads” (written with Bradford Loomis) wraps its gnarled fingers around a special blue infusion. As it riffs off Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues” (often called simply “Crossroads”), The Imaginaries’ own creation performs a unique incantation on the listener. You become hypnotized and entrapped by the mood and atmosphere so perfectly crafted from their bodies. In place of the original story, the duo “flipped the sentiment around choosing light instead of dark,” they share to B-Sides & Badlands over email. “We’ve been long-time friends with Joe, and it’s really great to finally collaborate on a track together.”
Guitars stick together like a spider’s web. Their voices claw through the dark and twisted forest, leaving you feeling a bit tormented in the process. “Break the chains, let me be, devil can’t get his hands on me / I ain’t gonna let him get a hold,” the duo croaks. “Those dirty lies he’s selling me been done in at Calvary / I ain’t going down, I ain’t going down to the crossroads.”
While the lyrics may be hopeful, lined with silver light, the song’s musicality is unapologetically wicked and mischievous. McClure and Henry poke their vocal cords through wiry blankets of sound and drain the listener dry. It’s a surefire way to get into the Halloween spirit.
Watch the “Crossroads” music video below.
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