The Romantidote - “Talk & Talk”

Calum Bolland is The Romantidote, the “bastard love-child of Bon Iver, Byron and, bizarrely, the Bee Gees… a musical odyssey into the melancholic mind of a lonely man.” And one cannot merely describe his art as such and not expect a blog feature, so here we are, praising The Romantidote’s latest release, “Talk & Talk.”

The song immediately opens with acoustic guitar and vocals, raw and emotional as they describe the sensation of discovering gifts from a former lover, including letters, a novel, and a drawing. At this point, the song remains quite sparse, making sure that the focal point is this tale of heartbreak, but what is most divine is how deeply it reaches into the listener, provided they have lived with the ghost of a failed relationship and, quite frankly, if you haven’t, then have you ever really loved?

After about a half a minute, “Talk & Talk” opens its musical arms, expanding with a full production, including percussion and some keys, already soaring in comparison to the loneliness exuding from the track’s opening. This could very well be a sort of sonic metaphor for moving on from the past or the healing of ancient wounds, but we aren’t too adept in the psychoanalysis of another’s art, so let’s just say that, at this point, what is going into your ears is simply fantastic.

“Talk & Talk” is one of those indie folk numbers that is not afraid to let you see the human on the giving end of it, and, because of this, we are very grateful for having received it. And who knows– if we’re lucky, it might one day be the gift that an ex hides underneath the mattress.

-TM