Written by: Alex Green
Cormac McCarthy once wrote something to the effect that the best way to to live in California is to be from somewhere else.
Maybe hailing from the Golden State spoils a person or makes them immune to is charms, but either way, it seems that being from somewhere else keeps California as an evergreen romantic ideal.
Matthew Edwards is from Birmingham, England and though its hard to say if he grew up thinking of California in romantic terms, his band Matthew Edwards and the Unfortunates’ new song “California, Can You Wait” captures the wistful tug many feel when imagining the seductive glow of the West.
That’s not to say the song is about that at all–in fact, it perfectly describes the danger of such romanticization. Edwards sings: “It’s been a bad day for the dreamers/We came a long way/For a kiss goodnight.”
A stirring number that’s as elegant as it is melodic, “California, Can You Wait?” is the first single from Edwards’ new album The Birmingham Poets. As catchy as it is woebegone, Edwards pilots the song with effortless command. Put simply, it’s irresistible.
As the poet Dana Gioia once observed: “Every lovesick summer has its song.”
This may very well be it.
Matthew Edwards will be the guest on Stereo Embers: The Podcast next week (June 19).
Stereo Embers reviews Matthew Edwards and the Unfortunates’ Folklore:
