Together In October

Strawberry Generation “When You Were Here And I Was Sad”

There’s never been any shortage of fey indie-pop bands aiming for a sunny-yet-melancholy twee sensibility, but there has been a relatively low number of bands who I feel have the songwriting skill to nail this type of song rather than just sort of set a vibe and call it a day. “When You Were Here and I Was Sad” is nearly perfect iteration of this type of song, from the contrast of the bright and crisp lead guitar lines and the more hazy ambiance of the chords in the chorus to the particular lilt in Valerie Zhu’s voice as she sings her instantly memorable verse melodies. This band is clearly steeped in the history of their subgenre and have learned all the right lessons from all the right bands – I would be pretty surprised if these people are not Velocity Girl fans – yielding an expertly crafted song within a tradition.

Buy it from Bandcamp.