On their latest release, "Back Then," Texas band Mamoth, a duo of longtime songwriting partners Matt Barnette and Michael Moore, deliver a beautifully broken-in, heartbreaking ballad that is as much a recollection as a song. After more than two decades of songwriting together, the duo has crafted something that feels lived-in, much like a garrulous late-night conversation between old friends, as they reminisce about their callow teenage years with both fondness and a hint of disbelief.
Starting with a raw, stripped-back arrangement, "Back Then" stretches out across its 3/4 waltz-time signature like a slow prom dance in the dim lights. Driven by a warm baritone vocal, a limber two-chord progression, and fingerpicked guitar and brushed percussion that left plenty of room to reflect and resonate. The production is relatively low-key and tasteful, neither getting in the way of the story nor allowing the emotions to settle without their weight being felt.
As a song, lyrically and emotionally, "Back Then" celebrates the messy, impulsive love that is youth. All about two fifteen-year-olds who made all the mistakes there were to make and stayed together anyway. It's for the stubborn, sentimental hearts who've made choices that didn't make total sense at the time, only to realize years later that they'd found something real. That honesty, wistful and bruised, results in this song feeling less like a performance and more like a whispered, from-the-heart recollection by someone who's been there.
Mamoth isn't looking for a viral moment. On "Back Then," they're just serving up a touching homage to a love that endured through a myriad of wrong turns. And sometimes, that's all one needs to hear. Whether soundtracking the quiet moments in a film, appearing on an introspective playlist, or just playing in the background of a rainy Sunday afternoon, "Back Then" is at home. It's a song that says some of our most beautiful stories start as beautiful messes.