The Needles The Space

Asked about "Soon We'll Be Living in the Future," the emotionally charged first single off Straylight Run's forthcoming album, The Needles The Space, John confides: "I'm really happy with how that song turned out because I was finally able to put a finger on a feeling I have about living and dying. It's a frustrating and terrifying experience living with the full knowledge that at any point in any day you could die, and what would your life have meant? Everything you're doing - what does it actually mean in the context of your life as a whole? It's something I probably think about too much. It's not a good idea to be too thoughtful about such things."

"The Miracle That Never Came," meanwhile, is perhaps an even more distinctive example of Straylight's brand of thinking-man's pop. It flies out of the starting gate without warning, galloping along on Shaun's insistent bass line, Will's four-four beat and Michelle's fevered vocal, the unexpected ring of glockenspiel spurring it further. Just as the see-sawing melody has lodged itself intractably in your cerebellum, "Miracle" gives way to a swooning, two-tempo waltz bridge that finds Michelle singing, "Oh, look what I've done here/ Let these thoughts creep in/ Let them seep right in." Another standout, the lovely, accordion-laced "The Words We Say," begins with "We'll wait in line for most our lives."

Says John of Straylight Run's evolving sound, which he concedes is difficult to pigeonhole: "I love pop music; I love hearing a well-written pop song. And I like a lot of music that's experimental and weird. I'm always looking for ways to take a pop song and rearrange it into something interesting and fresh and original." Michelle remarks: "We're very lucky because our fans seem to be open to whatever we do. That gives us the freedom to explore any idea we have."