B-Side Guys

Alexander Grandjean’s “Babylon” unfurls like an ancient scroll, its lyrics etched with modern ecological anxieties. This folk offering, born from a collaboration with Nashville’s Evan Gibb, doesn’t so much sing as it does whisper dire prophecies into the listener’s ear. Grandjean’s vocals, as weathered as old parchment, carry the weight of civilizations past and present.

The track’s sparse instrumentation creates a sonic landscape as barren as the future it envisions. Acoustic guitar strings quiver like the last leaves on a dying tree, while subtle production elements drift in and out like mirages in a desert of human creation. It’s a musical representation of the very decay the song addresses, each note a grain of sand in an hourglass rapidly running out.

Lyrically, “Babylon” is a tapestry woven with threads of nostalgia and dread. The refrain “back where we belong, where gardens hang like Babylon” serves as both a longing for a mythical past and a stark reminder of humanity’s cyclical nature of rise and fall. It’s a clever play on the famous Hanging Gardens, using the ancient wonder as a metaphor for our modern environmental crisis.

The song’s final question – “who will tell our story when we’re gone, Babylon?” – hangs in the air long after the last note fades. It’s a haunting inquiry that forces listeners to confront their own legacy in the face of global decay. Grandjean isn’t offering solutions, but rather holding up a mirror to our collective inaction.

As a precursor to his upcoming album “Young Man Why You Walking So Fast,” “Babylon” sets a tone of introspective urgency. It’s a musical plea to slow down, to reconnect with nature, and to consider the stories we’re leaving behind. In a world of constant noise and distraction, Grandjean’s “Babylon” stands as a quiet monument to what we’ve lost and what we stand to lose.