We're not going to lie to you, Rhineland is a band that has been on our radar for a few years. We loved their flamboyant indie-pop from the album "Heard It in a Dream, Love", released last year.
Back after a year's absence, the band coming from Virginia, which communicates very little on social media, risks surprising its fans. But in a good way! They come back with a single with a much more melancholic atmosphere than its predecessors. And above all, with a very different mood from what you may have heard previously, and it falls more into indie-folk than indie-pop.
"Halifax" is steeped in nostalgia. As the band says, the song "uses visceral imagery to describe moving back home & reflecting on strange nuances of growing up in a small-town/remote area & how different it can feel from others' childhood and adolescent years".
More generally, the song can speak to anyone who thinks that time passes too quickly, as we can guess from our favorite line in the song: "The more I age, the less I feel, maybe I'll grow up this year".
With a minimalist and atmospheric production, the band succeeds in convincing us with touching writing, delicately posed on a melody that gives shivers, even if it is not ultra-powerful. But each little element, even the most discreet, whether it's the electric guitar in the background or the banjo at the end, contributes to the creation of an inevitable and enjoyable melancholy.
If we had to find a single fault with this song, it might be its length. When you are fully immersed in this very pleasant cotton cocoon, the song is already over. We would have taken an extra minute. But nothing prevents playing it on repeat.