Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Grief is impossible to truly understand, the one emotion we all go through, perhaps many times, but it is the one that can shape our psyche arguably more than any other and it is one that is mostly private. Nobody’s anguish is the same and nobody can know what you are feeling, empathise yes, have compassion for; but to understand or even dare tell you that you should be over it by a certain date, then that is almost giving you a target or a limit on how the mental strength rebounds once the intensity starts to fade.
Art, music in particular can help steal a March on this feeling, a well written song can bring emotions out, help with that experience that you wish to put to the back of the mind but in which only allowing air to breath can help the person see a balance once more, to move forward and appreciate the song even more.
For New Zealand’s DateMonthYear the song is a beautiful expression of both states of mind, grief is not just allowed to be embraced but the polar opposite, acceptance, is positive and alluring, it is the memory that life must and will continue onwards, that we have to keep marching eventually but that we must never also forget.
If there is one powerful reason to admire the times we live in, it is the fact that we now understand that we must show our grief, the old Victorian dogma of keeping a stiff upper lip and showing a so called brave face was damage in its most awful form. It might make others feel better to not see a person suddenly have tears upon their face but for the person with grief in their heart, to be able to shed a tear when they see or hear something that reminds them, then that is the most healthy of all thoughts that goes through the heart.
The drama of the song is full of flavour, one that has no issues with talking to the listener with smoothness and kindness, with empathy and with a high note of reconciliation between the feelings covered. March on, march on, for in the end, time is the greatest healer and DateMonthYear exemplify this wonderfully.
DateMonthYear release March on the 26th January.
Ian D. Hall