IMC Listening guide

Best weather to enjoy this song

Sunny day

Best time to listen

Dusk reflections

Best place to listen

At home

Does this song haunt the silence?

Melody lingers

Goosebumps scale

Maximum goosebumps

Our thoughts

First of all, let’s be honest. We haven’t heard many guitar intros like this one. The fingerpicking is absolutely stunning. The rhythm is steady but still brings a kind of softness and lightness. It creates a beautiful cradle for the lyrics to land on.

And that’s the second reason why this song completely won us over. The vocals. That high note at 1:23 seals the deal. It’s one of those moments that tells you not to skip this track. Not now. Not ever.

We really can call it a masterpiece, because as the artist explained, this song was born from a very personal confrontation with mortality. “Disguised as a love song”, he said. At just 35, Scott faced serious heart issues, and which forced him to rethink a lot of things.

So, who’s behind this beautiful piece of music? Scott Goldbaum is a multi-instrumentalist from L.A. who often works behind the scenes for big names like Sting, LAUV, David Kushner, Keith Urban, and Skylar Grey. No wonder the vocals are so sharp, the instrumentation so precise, and the production so clean. Artists who’ve spent years in the background know how much the smallest details matter.

For us, this song came at a time when health has been a little uncertain, and it felt very relatable. But more than that, it touched something deep. It gave us exactly what we came to IMC for. That shiver.

Scott Goldbaum's take on "Taste and Tame"

Disguised as a love song, "Taste and Tame" reflects on my relationship to mortality after a severe heart arrhythmia diagnosis. "Taste and tame my heart so torn, it's been beaten but it's still beating for more" is a mantra that begets forward motion instead of leaving life behind.

A bit more about Scott Goldbaum

LA-based multi-instrumentalist Scott Goldbaum, whose credits include Sting, LAUV, David Kushner, Keith Urban, Skylar Grey, Charlotte Lawrence, and Maddie Poppe, Scott's collision with mortality, after being diagnosed with a heart condition at 35, led to self-dispossession, deeply personal songwriting, and two surgeries. The seven-song EP is slated to be released over the course of Winter and Spring in 2025, beginning with "Emergence" which creates a space that pulses with the fragility and hope of recovery. A minimalist 90-second exploration, the song weaves haunting questions like "Are your forebears weeping, head-hunting? No signs of aging, wild caught," which echo the disorienting sensations of waking from general anesthesia after heart surgery. It’s a mood piece, capturing the disembodied, surreal experience of emerging from the shadow of a medical procedure, and it’s an intimate reflection on both the body’s vulnerability and its resilience.

Reach out to Scott Goldbaum

Lyrics

Is this where I face my failure
I can feel it in this song
Asking me for a favor
To treat it like it's done nothing wrong

And is this when the mirror's held up
A portrait I am forced to see
And a person I could not have made up
A hostage in our history

Try to open my mouth
See what comes out
Say I want this enough
To battle my doubt

Taste and tame my
Heart so torn
It's been beaten
But it's still beating for more

I did well without a savior
Who sacrifices everything
I couldn't keep up with the labor
Is every sin worth mentioning

You used to be my run-on sentence
I couldn't fit you on the page
Now you're on my list of good intentions
So before our road to hell is paved

Try to open your mouth
See what comes out
Say you want me enough
To hinder my doubt

Taste and tame my
Heart so torn
It's been beaten
But it's still beating for more

Taste and tame my
Heart so torn
It's been beaten
But it's still beating for more
Yeah it's still beating for more
It's still beating for more

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