Fear is funny. Not “ha ha” funny though, rather the kind where your mind gets so used to being anxious, or in constant mode of being ready for anything, the fear itelf becomes the norm, or rather, comfort. Kind of like the really irritating person who just doesn’t want to leave your place, although they aren’t paying any rent. It feels weird to get them out.
“The Shadow Remains” deals with this. The latest, from Joseph Turner & The Dudes of Hazard, is what the situation looks like, when the struggle for survival stops being an event and becomes a part of you. It’s about carrying your fear until you forget what life was like before it came and the music feels substantial enough to bear this amount of emotional luggage.
“The Shadow Remains,” from the very beginning, doesn’t focus on any particular kind of song structure but on mood. The drums seem to be going in a circle around the whole track, whereas the vocals come and go in the shape of a mantra. The sound of horns appear like a kind of alarm that’s telling you that trouble’s around the corner, though the song doesn’t really try to achieve any big resolution with them.
The music never truly resolves, as the narrator isn’t trying to do that either. Everything feels like it’s in a state of restless movement, as if the song itself were wandering around, trying to quiet a mind that’s running around in circles.
The song lands in a space somewhere between indie rock, dark Americana and that kind of cinematic alternative where atmosphere comes before impact. If you are looking for a big chorus you can sing along to then you’ll be disappointed. But if you want something that will work its way into your skin slowly and not leave until the next day, well, that’s another thing.
The thing about “The Shadow Remains” is that it’s about subtlety. Turner isn’t about presenting your psychological battle as a theatrical piece of fiction, it’s about simply existing in the mood. There aren’t any really grand statements in there, there aren’t any flares and fireworks, just this and nothing more.
Hypnotic, atmospheric, in some way the song could be described as slightly eerie, but it succeeds in highlighting what many songs about anxiety fail to address; it’s not about dealing with fear, but about learning to live with the version of yourself it leaves you with.
For many people with anxious tendencies, Joseph Turner & The Dudes of Hazard’s “The Shadow Remains” may feel a bit too much like the person they are and this is exactly why it works.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
