In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week, we’re talking about songs that take a look at the future.
Iron Chic, “Time Keeps On Slipping Into The (Cosmic) Future” (2010)
For a band that moves at a slow, deliberate pace all its own, Iron Chic is obsessed with the concept of time. Though it may not tour or release records on the schedule most bands ascribe to, it keeps an eye on the future, pondering just how much control one has over everyday life. This obsession is clear on every song of the band’s debut full-length, Not Like This, an album that sees vocalist Jason Lubrano fixated on his past, an unfulfilling present, and the certain death that awaits him in the future. But, for all his worrying, it’s the way he accepts his inevitable end that makes “Time Keeps On Slipping Into The (Cosmic) Future” such an uplifting experience.
For most of the song Lubrano washes one hand with the other, admitting his fears and then brushing them off just a line later, but it’s the song’s climax that puts everything into focus. After a dour bass line carries the song toward its end, Lubrano’s perspective shifts and he begins to take comfort in his demise. Even as he goes on to state that he’s just a collection of “blood and dirt and bones and mud,” it’s a poignant reminder that no matter what the future holds it’s all going to end in a similar fashion. It may be a fatalistic take, but it’s also a not-so-subtle reminder to shake off those nagging worries about the future and just enjoy the ride.