Week 486: “Long May It Sustain” by A Winged Victory For The Sullen

I grew up in a house that was mostly free of junk food, and where treats were few and far between. So on the rare occasion that I was granted something decadent, I would eat it as slowly and deliberately as I could, drawing out the experience to almost ludicrous lengths.

Doing this was especially efficient with things like arrowroot cookies, because (in case you forgot what they look like) they have tiny holes laid out in precise lines, making the astute eater all the more aware of what percentage of cookie was left to be eaten.

This should tell you two things: first, that my household was truly strict about treats if I considered an arrowroot cookie to be decadent. Second, I like to make good things last.

Or maybe, I have a hard time seeing good things come to an end.

If you’re at the end of a good thing, if your cookie has finally turned to crumbs, take a moment to say goodbye while listening to a wonderfully placid track by an elaborately-named band.

A Winged Victory For The Sullen is an ambient duo comprising two very talented musicians, both of whom have been featured on this blog as members of different projects: Dustin O’Halloran (week 451) and Adam Wiltzie (week 460). This song was released as part of their record label’s tenth anniversary record in 2018.

What makes this a beautiful song:

1. It opens with a long, echoing tone that sounds vaguely like the distant fog horn of a ship. Whether the ship is leaving or arriving is up to you.

2. The piano rises and falls in slow waves, never really seeming to settle on a home base.

3. There’s not much instrumentation other than the piano, but somehow the sonic landscape created by O’Halloran and Wiltzie on this song feels both minimal and lush at the same time.

Recommended listening activity:

Eating half a cookie, and saving the rest for later.

Buy it here.