I’ve already spent time with Scarlet Mill before, so I didn’t come into their new single “Pharisee” blind. Still, this one caught me off guard a bit. It’s close to 5 minutes, but it didn’t feel long while I was in it. I kind of lost track somewhere in the middle. Not in a boring way but more like when you stare out a car window and forget how far you’ve gone. The track just keeps moving at its own pace and not rushing to get anywhere and that is the secret.
There’s this soft glow around the whole thing. The synths lean into that late 70s – early 80s space, but it doesn’t sound old or like a copy. It’s more like stepping into a room where that era is still alive. Humming peacefully in the background. The rhythm is steady and the guitars slide in without making a big deal out of it.
The lyrics are honest and meaningful, and they mesh with the melodies in a great way. Her voice is what held me the longest. It’s captivating like it’s coming from another corner of the room. That worked for me. It matched the mood of this song perfectly. Around the 3-minute mark, I remember just sitting back and letting it play without thinking about writing anything. That doesn’t happen a lot.
They’ve impressed me before and they’re still doing it. Maybe even more now, because this one felt easier, like they know exactly what they want to sound like. I’ll probably go back to this again when I’m not planning to write at all.
