This Happens To Everyone Once Or Twice

The Long Blondes “Guilt” – In the world of the Long Blondes, infidelity is an entirely inevitable by-product of all romantic and sexual relationships. There’s no trust and no illusions; just a steady belief that people are only loyal when they have no options, and that they will bolt or stray whenever they are offered the opportunity to either trade up or enter a relationship that flatters their ego. This cynicism was apparent on their previous album and run of singles, but it’s grown darker and deeper on “Couples.” Whereas Someone To Drive You Home was mainly comprised of songs in which Kate Jackson offered knowing advice to younger women, the new record finds her more confused and vulnerable, and less aggressive. She’s still a keen observer of human behavior, but her interpretations are skewed by paranoia, pessimism, loneliness, and distrust. In “Guilt,” she’s doing everything she can to break off an affair and remain true to her presumably clueless boyfriend, but every time she yields to temptation, she slips deeper into her delusion of righteousness. Like most everything on the record, the song is slinky and sexy, but also rather melancholy and aloof, which tips the listener off to the crucial subtext of the entire album: Jackson’s characters have become aware of their complicity in their own unhappiness. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)