Saint John’s Papal Visit is back with “The Opposite Heart,” the first singles to be released from their upcoming album, Five Fathom Hole.
“The Opposite Heart” is a punchy song, it’s over and done in just a minute and a half. The band makes good use of that time, treating us to a thick crunchy rhythm guitar, a lead guitar hook that suggests the vocal melody while adding its own layer. When the band kicks in with the bass and drums, the song gets yet another lift, and the energy stays up from that point on. This song could be a case study on efficiency with all that gets done in its brief time.
Lead singer Adam Mowery delivers, as usual, on “The Opposite Heart.” His inimitable vocals are immediately recognizable, even with distortion layered on them. Mowery paints a picture of a woman at the point of decision, and it seems things just aren’t going to go the way anyone but herself wishes. In keeping with the rest of the song, this is established with lyrical restraint, there isn’t a spare word or note in this track.
“The Opposite heart” and its accompanying video were released along with a second track, “Fuzz Tone Opera” on the single. Call it a B-side and flip your phone over for a sample of the experience the vinyl will give you.
The accompanying video—shot in one of Saint John’s oldest rehearsal spaces, colloquially known as The Space—is a fun visual to accompany the song. It gives a window into a normal rehearsal; an entirely (once) common-place occurrence that has formed a pillar in the city’s music community that often bleeds out into the surrounding streets. Well-shot and edited, simple but effective, it makes me want to see the band live for the sake of more than just nostalgia.
Five Fathom Hole is being released via Monopolized Records on November 12, 2021, and will be available for digital purchase as well as on vinyl for all the record collectors among us.