Free and legal MP3 from Gold Motel (new Chicago band with a '60s flair)

"Don't Send the Searchlights" - Gold Motel
     With a clipped, fleet Motown beat, an expansive girl-group-style sing-along chorus, and an oh-so-classic length of two minutes fifty seconds, "Don't Send the Searchlights" has one eye quite obviously on our musical past. But at the same time there's something lovely and casual going on that allows the music to transcend its influences; Greta Morgan, the band's singer, songwriter, and keyboard player, has the sound of someone just kind of happening upon this song rather than sweating the historical details, and "Don't Send the Searchlights" jumps and swings accordingly.
     I think a good part of the song's flair arises from the melodic intervals Morgan builds into both the verse and the chorus. You can hear an example when she sings "before we hit the dawn" at 0:18--from the "we" she jumps down a fifth to "hit" and then back up a fifth to "dawn." This larger-than-normal interval creates a sense of movement and freedom, and in so doing reflects the lyrics, which on the surface extol the benefits of breaking off a relationship so it won't turn sour ("Always leave before tomorrow comes/All the greatest loves are the unfinished ones"). But don't believe everything she says. There's something wistful playing at the edges of the song's breeziness, and once again a melodic interval comes into play: the leaps she takes while singing both "goodbye" and "good guy" turn on the half-step difference between the first and second "good," which turns the chord from major to minor. She may not be as happy as she'd like to believe she is. And the chorus ends musically unresolved--not typically a sign that all is well.
     Formerly of the Hush Sounds (2005-2008), Morgan assembled the five-piece Gold Motel in 2009. "Don't Send the Searchlights" is one of five songs on the band's self-released, self-titled debut EP, which came out in December. Expect a full length in June. MP3 via the band's site.