Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Jay-Z once rapped, “They say ‘They never really miss you ‘til you dead or you gone / So on that note, I’m leaving after the song.’” This notion of wanting and craving to be recognized and affirmed is one that occurs frequently in music. Often times lyricists describe the lengths that are willing, or have gone, to gain the love/respect/attention of others, and other times, they will discuss how they are no longer willing or able to put forth the effort to gain the love/respect/attention from those they desire it from. In his song “All the Time,” Canadian alternative artist Afie Jurvanen, known by his stage name Bahamas, expresses the latter, as well as the consequences that can come along with making the choice to no longer put forth effort towards his relationship with the one he desires.

With a musical style that could be described as similar to a calmed down version of the White Stripes, “All the Time” features slow, simple guitar and percussion rhythms that serve as time keepers for Jurvanen’s unblemished quasi-falsetto voice. Interjections of legato, yet purposeful, guitar solos punctuate the relatively structured three-verse track and provide a soulful element that helps bring out the emotion in Jurvanen’s vocals. As he recognizes that putting your interests ahead of your significant others’ will bring satisfaction to no one, Bahamas helps bring us to the conclusion that relationships take work and that giving up when it doesn’t go exactly the way you want it to can be a grave mistake.