Synth Single Review: “In The Rearview Mirror" by Timecop1983 & Josh Dally
by Karl Magi
Timecop1983 & Josh Dally’s “In The Rearview Mirror" pierces with fiery emotional expression as it unfolds. The song opens as soothingly deep bass flows and a thread of radiant synth is joined by Josh Dally’s intensely engaging voice. The melody burns with agonized, lost passion as the bass continues to rumble.
Josh Dally’s immediate and intense vocal performance pulls me into the words, forging feelings within me. Brilliant synth begins to spill out as the sharp edges of the bass are joined by a drum beat that adds propulsive force to the vocal strength. The rhythm erupts as Josh Dally’s raw performance springs out and soft tones flicker with light.
The underpinnings are muscled and clean while bells glimmer and the vocals fly with fervent expression. Josh Dally has an unerring ability to transmute lyrics into unadulterated sensation, while in the background Timecop1983 creates a universe of soft illumination and swirling colours. The drums cut out and velvet synth billows like clouds before silence falls.
“Neon fades into the night” as the storyteller and the song’s subject pass through the glowing lights. He observes, “We were chasing something pure, but now I’m not so sure,” as they wander through vacant streets and silver rain. He could swear the radio just said the other person’s name and “every song just pulls me there to everything that brought me here.”
“I keep driving through the echoes of the life we left behind,” and all of the colours start to run together “right back in time.” He points out that “everything looks better in the rearview mirror,” where all of the pain transmutes into gold and all of the nights seem to grow clearer. The further away he gets, the closer he feels, because the rearview mirror softens the truth until everything glows.
The storyteller can still see the song subject’s face in chrome, though their reflection has long disappeared. If he could turn the car around, maybe they could rebound but the distance keeps rolling away. He guesses “the moment’s come and gone,” yet still keeps chasing what they were. “Through the blur, I saw your shadow on the line, fading out between the signs.”
He concludes that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. He knows it’s crazy, but he had to go and now “it’s just you and me, lost in a memory.”
