4 out of 5

Label: Murailles Music

Produced by: Antoine Lacoste (recorded by)

I’d normally knock a 7″ or single for being… one song, but I think this merits the highlight. Not because I’m a huge Ramona Córdova fan – an artist working approximately in the weird folk / pop realm, doing an emo spin on that (think later era Bright Eyes) with a unique, high-pitched vocal affectation – but because this is a solid song, and its pairing with an alternate version offers an interesting comparison.

“Spring,” as a title, brings to mind the renewal of the season; the song, to me, is about breakups, and the cycle of emotions that are causing one to feel angry, or hurt, or brave, or excited in their wake. Material that’s fueled songs for ages, but as played and presented here, it bounces between innocence and deftness quite nicely, as the music proceeds from dainty to flourished. So it’s a solid song that stands on its own.

We’re hearing the “single” version. The album version is… much frailer. I’m probably making all of this up, but the album starts from such a shaky position, both in vocals and the music, that it makes the build up to confident playing that much more stirring, and there’s something about the subject matter being prepped as a bold version for the public – the single – and then more intimate and emotional for the B-side album version.

But… this single costs almost half as much as the album. So there’s that, too.