It may saunter through well-trodden sonic landscapes, but does it as a respectful pilgrim, not a clueless tourist.
There is a comforting familiarity in Sugarlimes’ dream-pop stylings. It doesn’t rattle any cages, doesn’t ruffle any feathers. In fact, it drives resolutely within its lane at modest speed: a mid-tier car ambling along, minding its own unfettered business. In other words, they’re perfectly fine paying fan service to their heroes (incidentally, Orange & Lemons is counted among them) while wearing their hearts very much on their sleeves.
Sugarlimes’ first Lilystars single, the sweet, calming “No Other Way,” is their humble contribution to that ever-growing canon of tunes you can put on and allow to paint a mood on your behalf, setting the tone of your day and adjusting the tenor of your ways.
If I may be permitted to spin a yarn, topically, it’s a song that’s both a mission and an admission: it’s about wronging the person who’s been the rightest to you, in the end being left with no recourse but recover at your own maddening pace to eternity. Admittedly, the band says, they’re aware of how this “sad love story” is a “common idea,” but one that deserves retooling and reframing.
“[It’s] about missing someone dear to you, admitting all your mistakes and realizing that the person will no longer come back,” the band says in an advance statement, though to be perfectly honest, the form is the star of the show here, the content a necessary accoutrement.
“No Other Way” may sport a well-worn cloak and may come off as cookie-cutter indie pop, but it’s one of those instances when familiarity isn’t a flaw but a virtue. With shimmering guitars, airy keys, and an affective vocal delivery, the track makes its way through well-trodden sonic landscapes – not as a clueless tourist but as a respectful pilgrim.
It’s all in the execution: the meticulous production, the tempered bricklaying in audio, the palpable emotional bargaining. Written by singer-guitarist Mike Lozarito and arranged by guitarist-singer Markgen Abella, the song’s fifteen-year journey (from Mike’s college-era attempts to Markgen’s studio stewardship) has finally reached consummation today.
“Lonely hours make me blue / Make me wonder how are you / All the sorrows we had two / Thinkin’ [of] the pain the I’ve caused you,” the verses amble on, certain and uncertain, broken but single-mindedly driven.
Stream “No Other Way” today.