It’s been a while since Lyric of Two’s music landed in the review pile; can the majestic Let’s Make This Earth From House to Home be five years old? (Checks notes…indeed it is.) And if that track was a gentle, life-affirming anthem for a better world, Now’s The Time is brimming with the same positivity, albeit aimed more at the individual rather than the global village as a whole.
It takes a more country vibe, a mid-paced ballad but one shot through with upbeat guitar lines and an infectious groove. But, as is the band’s trademark, the lyrics take centre stage, not just in the vocal delivery but also in the message of hope, of embracing life and wringing the most you out of it in the persuit of happiness.
With Marie Helen Abramyan responsible for the lyrics and song arrangement, it is another showcase of her steady hand on the band’s creative rudder. Now’s The Time is built on understatement, the music seeming only to underline and punctuate rather than dominate the song. And it is this space that is the power behind the music. Not only does it frame the sounds and sonics being conjured within it, but it is in such spaces that new and unexpected atmospheres can percolate and pool, bringing fresh, unforeseen dimensions to the soundscape, some planned, others perhaps created by the acoustic forces beyond our control.
I’m pretty sure that I said as much last time around, but it is something that the band seem to naturally be able to do, so worth repeating.
And as a contrast to the earlier aforementioned single, it shows you just what a musical spectrum the band operate on, able to run between hushed anthemics and more robust but still supple and subtly delivered songs. But the common factor is that the lyrical content is always powerful and poignant, and increasingly so with every additional spin.
