Written during the most tumultuous time on the road with his one-time band, Whiskey Shivers, San Gabriel wears his own journey through heartache and infuses it into an alt-country song that is at once personal and universal. What had started as visions of growth and success through touring had dulled into a hazy whirlwind of excess and disconnection, just like the emotional unraveling described in this track.
"Close 2 U" captures the warmth of memory but also the coldness of reality in present form. The song reads as a diary entry played back in sound, transitioning through confusion, worship, and resignation. It is a sub-chorus, but a more bittersweet time changes some memories. It serves as a small comfort to remember this line that, whatever the insufferability or intensity of any kind of relationship, it eventually just becomes stories we tell rather than live with one another.
Encompassing elements of jewel-toned synths and 1980s-driven guitar riffs, the song effectively captures an uplifting and buoyant atmosphere with a sound that fuses traditional indie rock honesty in its vocals with ethereal synthpop layers between big beats. The sultry-led tracks drift by, creating a dreamy backdrop to the poignant narrative, which involves love coming undone and reality fading away.
That heartwrenching message is felt throughout San Gabriel's "Close 2 U," an atmospheric assemblage of poignant singing, avant-pop production, and a direct look into the raw emotional journey that follows after heartbreak. Through their clear, singular writing and powerful soundscape, they tell a tale that forces you to reconcile the past with an uncertain future, examining what it means to make life plans while still holding onto pieces of our memories. A song for anyone who has ached quietly over any such loss, and found peace in that bittersweet remembering.
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