Composing original music that is actually original is very difficult, especially within the jazz genre.
In pop, people kind of expect everything to sound the same, but fans of jazz seem to be pickier than most. Play it safe and you end up sounding like a cheap imitation of all the jazz greats of the mid-twentieth century. Try sounding different and you end up being filed under “interesting but unlistenable”.
Thankfully, Canadian quartet The Outlanders have found a comfortable spot midway along this spectrum, and provide music that’s different enough to be interesting, but safe enough not to offend your dinner guests.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The Rhodes piano. This has to be one of the most perfect-sounding instruments ever invented. The musical equivalent of the chocolate-covered strawberry. I love the main line it plays in this song; it somehow sounds relaxed and slightly anxious at the same time.
2. The guitar line. It’s not often that a guitar lick makes you want to hum along.
3. The build-up towards the end. It makes the feel of the song live up to the parenthetical half of its title.
Recommended listening activity:
Watching birds flutter around a hanging bird feeder.