Stoat ‘Let’s Be Strangers’ delivers bittersweet indie with plenty of humour.
Stoat – Let’s Be Strangers
‘I don’t need much, just my machine’ sing the opening lines of ‘Let’s Be Strangers’ by Stoat. (I’m assuming it’s referring to something like a laptop or a mobile phone, but hey, maybe it’s a blender that’s getting them through the tough times’). But it’s an example of the wry, understated humour that characterises this song and makes it shine.
Stoat describe themselves as ‘quirky fun rock music, from Ireland’, and it’s a project that’s spanned multiple decades, marriages, relocations and haircuts. Having had brushes with recognition though seemingly never hitting the big time, nevertheless, they continue for the love of the music – and I’m glad they do.
‘Let’s Be Strangers’ is an indie-rock jam with a rollicking groove that could fill a gig’s dancefloor, and a bittersweet take on a breakup.
‘You can picture me alone on an island…I can picture you with every guy that ever looked your way’ notes the song dryly, as the couple call it quits and agree to ‘be strangers again’. There’s sweetness here too, as the singer concedes ‘But I will smile’, and plenty of brilliant lines filled with character – ‘Fell asleep on the desk again, I dreamed that I was you dreaming of me’ – delivered in conversational yet confident vocals.
The production combines melodic guitar lines and upbeat drums that saves the breakup theme from weighing the song down too heavily. There are some infectious riffs and harmonies that give the whole thing a classic feel. Anyone looking for some new indie rock jams could do a lot worse than to check this out, and Stoat’s catalogue.
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Eden Tredwell
