Died Pretty

Died Pretty - State of Graceful Mourning

I think I only heard this song a few times when it came out in the ninties before it disappeared from view but it remained with me for some reason. There are things I dislike about this song - the clinical production evident on latter period Died Pretty records saps any dynamic from their sound. And the separation between each instrument in the mix together with that mid-tempo beat doesn't give me, I don't know, let's call it the intimacy that I think the song could have benefitted from.

The more I listen to this song, though, the more I understand why I have come back to it. There's something special going on here in Ron's vocal. The lyric suggests a friend took their own life but I don't really know. I can hear his sense of loss. His singing is restrained but heartfelt, the lyric demanding but tender: " Hold your tongue and hear this sound - someone else just fell. Helpless here and sing this song - Heaven holds its own". What this song does have is a formality, a dignity that is sometimes hard to find in popular music these days.
[info]