B-Side Guys

Late for the Train’s “Henry & Robin” unfurls like a sepia-toned daguerreotype, capturing a moment of love stretched across miles and seasons. This fourth single from their upcoming album “The Flowers of Yesteryear” eschews the typical tropes of Americana, opting instead for a nuanced exploration of separation and longing.

The song’s narrative weaves between two perspectives, Henry in the city and Robin tending the homestead, their connection maintained through sensory memories and written correspondence. Lyrics like “Please just let it simmer, like coffee on the stove” serve as both practical advice and metaphorical wisdom, suggesting that love, like a good brew, requires patience and a steady hand.

Musically, “Henry & Robin” showcases Late for the Train’s deft touch with traditional instruments. The interplay between David Pascoe’s guitar and Laura Benson’s fiddle creates a sonic landscape as vast and varied as the distance between the song’s protagonists. Tom Relling’s guest appearance on resonator guitar adds a layer of wistful twang, while Kasey Warner’s drums provide a steady heartbeat to the track.

The chorus, with its acknowledgment that “it might not last forever,” injects a bittersweet realism into the romance. This isn’t a fairy tale, but a clear-eyed look at love’s endurance in the face of separation. The repeated imagery of nature – swaying laurel, fields of heather, swinging birches – grounds the song in a tactile world, one that exists beyond the urban/rural divide at the heart of the narrative.

“Henry & Robin” showcases Late for the Train’s songwriting prowess, demonstrating that even well-trodden musical paths can yield fresh insights when approached with sincerity and skill. As the final notes fade, listeners are left with a vivid portrait of two lives intertwined despite distance, a love story told not in grand gestures, but in the quiet determination to keep the home fires burning.