A long-overdue MotD debut today for the utterly unique UK band Squeeze. “As one of the most traditional pop bands of the new wave,” AllMusic details, “Squeeze provided one of the links between classic British guitar pop and post-punk. Inspired heavily by the Beatles and the Kinks, Squeeze were the vehicle for the songwriting of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, who were hailed as the heirs to Lennon and McCartney‘s throne during their heyday in the early ’80s … Squeeze never came close to matching the popularity of the Beatles, but the reason for that is part of their charm. Difford and Tilbrook were wry, subtle songwriters who subscribed to traditional pop songwriting values, but subverted them with literate lyrics and clever musical references.”
“Last Time Forever” (1985) has an unsettled harmonic setting which fits the film noir mood of the lyrics: although it sounds like an account of a garden variety breakup at first, the eerie midsection takes us somewhere else entirely:
I’ve said goodnight tonight
The last time forever
It all went wrong when I grew jealous
I didn’t realize my strength
Could take the life of one so precious
Together we were known as good friends
Although each verse starts in C major, the harmonic dominoes soon start falling (for the first time at 0:33).
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