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about
Tara, the first original song released by Last Legs, is a perfect introduction to the band. If you’ve seen them live, you’ve probably heard vocalist John Gleason explain: “These are songs of love, loss, and desperation. And every word is true”.
Tara’s lyrics set the template for much of Last Legs’ music. They tell a story that is rooted in the real experience of American youth. “When I was Young, I ran away…” Running away from home. Overhearing your parents fight. A therapist prescribes a journal. The song is visceral and specific. You feel the desperation of a life that is out of your control and going all wrong. The need to escape is real and earned when you hear the chorus, “You can take me anywhere, as long as it’s away from here”.
Musically, Tara is a two-parter. Synth-driven the whole way through, the band is surprisingly intricate and facile. The personal and detailed lyrics would lead you to expect a country-folk arrangement, but the 80’s influence here is undeniable. This is New-Wave Americana. The first half is catchy, syncopated, and almost dance-able. At the bridge, the band opens up into a rolling, expansive vamp as John drives home the helplessness of childhood and the end of naivety. “Tara” is that time in our lives when we lose the sensitive, vibrant life-force of childhood and become grey, unfeeling adults. “You can watch the way I crumble, watch the way I disappear.”
lyrics
When I was young
I ran away.
Slept in a dugout
of the visiting team.
Till the cops found me.
They drove me back home.
I laid on the couch
and watched 120 Minutes
in the living room by myself.
You can take me anywhere
as long as it's away from here
As long as it's away from here
Later that night...
My mother told my father
She was finished.
Let's let the kids choose
who they want to live with.
They thought I was asleep.
They thought I couldn't hear it.
So I turned up Ned's Atomic,
"Grey Cell Green".
"You're telling me it's in the trees,
It's not, it's inside me".
You can take me anywhere
as long as it's away from here
As long as it's away from here
I snuck out the back door
to find my friends
behind the local pharmacy.
They were rolling shopping carts
right into each others' bodies.
The doctor told me
I should write in a journal.
Just for a few years.
We can watch the way I crumble,
Watch the way I disappear.
Watch the way I crumble, watch the way I disappear.
As long as it's away from here.
credits
released January 5, 2024
Recorded, mixed and mastered at Cako Studios
With “In Silver Halides,” Lowpines have created a collection of rich, textured, deeply-felt rock songs abounding in small sonic details. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 26, 2018
