Atom Bomb by Anna May

Very much not a Christmas single from folk siren Anna May.

I have already written a lot about Anna may this year. You can catch up on the previous pieces below. Her latest single, Atom Bomb, is another ten-minute wonder.

He dropped another atom bomb
Straight through sunny skies
They are raining down day and night
I wonder if we’ll survive

Anna May’s songs are often about former boyfriends, most of them profoundly unimpressive specimens. A lot of folk and country songs are actually. But Anna’s willingness to write longer songs, or perhaps an unwillingness to conform to that unwritten (and outdated) three-minute rule, allows her to consider the topic more deeply.

This ship carries precious cargo
Who knows how far we’d go
With chaos and derision
Without provisions
With these deep incisions
To a wounded heart
You pulled me towards you
Just to pull me apart
Like atoms
Like what you couldn’t fathom

There can be few metaphors as powerful or destructive as the atom bomb. This leads to some fun musings in a scientific direction, considering humans as atoms and molecules. It’s an unusual way to analyse a past relationship but it really works.

There are ghosts and weeds, and antarctic blasts. It really pays to listen hard. Yes, there is fear and distrust, dust and bones and death. She’s a deep thinker. But over-riding all of that, this is still an acoustic folk song, sung beautifully. Were it a poem it might feel unseasonal, but the music lifts it. It is very much a song for winter without being a Christmas single.

You can grab Atom Bomb to own outright on Bandcamp or stream in all the usual places. You can also hear her interview with Louella Arrows on Dreamgaze Overtone here.