The Mellons – “Things Gone By”

With the sweet breeze of summer rapidly approaching, I’m constantly turning towards the perfumed sway of psych-pop and its baroque branches. This year’s already shaping up a banner bunch, draped early with releases from Uni Boys, Green Seagull, and the promise of a Lemon Twigs chart topper on the way. Add to the list (if you haven’t already) the sophomore album from SLC’s The Mellons. The band taps into their most melancholy menagerie for the latest single, strung between the sandbox sighs of Brian Wilson and an equally engrossing orbit of sunshine psych from Yellow Balloon, The Free Design, and The Association. Pianos crack open the doors, but the band embraces the album’s title, In Color, even in their most bittersweet moments. Horns, bells, and a bounty of embellishments underpin the kind of harmonies that tap directly into the sun.

The band Andrew Colin Beck elaborates on the themes, calling ‘”Things Gone By” a celebration of all of the friendships/relationships/hopes/dreams/plans you put your whole heart into that end up not working out: Time we wasted, pain we tasted . . . hearts we’ve broken, love unspoken.  “Things Gone By is an important song for me. It represents one of the only ways I can really deal with pain in my life — translating it into a melody we can sing together.” The new album, In Color, is out June 19th from Earth Libraries.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.