Bobby and the Crew’s “Let the Candle Burn”

There’s something strangely surreal about the new music contained within Bobby and the Crew’s single “Let the Candle Burn,” but unlike some of the other releases I would describe similarly, there’s nothing particularly self-indulgent about the confessions transpiring in this piece.

The cerebral undertow that follows the band from the jump is mostly curbed by the poppy sensibilities lying just beneath the surface-level cosmetics of the arrangement – after all, anyone who has listened to Bobby and the Crew before now knows their sound is a lot more indie pop and AM rock-inspired than it is anything else in the alternative universe.

“Let the Candle Burn” sees them offering the world their most multidimensional work thus far inside of a fleeting new single, and although it doesn’t necessarily expand on the skillset they’d already introduced us to with “Without You” or the recently released “Prince of Charm,” it gives greater insight into their aesthetical depth as it has grown this past year. This has been an unconventional era for the pop genre, and rightly, this unconventional band is finding its way to the top of the heap this late winter.  

The sax parts in this single are more the canvas than the paint, but I wouldn’t look at this as an act of rebellion against the concept of loud and proud riffing ala classic rock. Frankly, the lyrics are so deeply emotional when we isolate them from the instrumental elements in this song that trying to force a riff or even a mild string part to compete with their grand level of communication simply wouldn’t be fair.

I didn’t need to break down the finer points of the arrangement to appreciate the postmodern element in the narrative, but after taking its structure in and framing it against the theme I was already picking up in “Let the Candle Burn,” there’s no getting around just how powerful a message they’re trying to send here. They’ve got something to say about emotion that isn’t packaged in the typical fashion at all whatsoever, and it can be translated in both the contrast and the consistency they’re including in this performance.  

If you weren’t listening to Bobby and the Crew before hearing “Let the Candle Burn” for the first time this February, something tells me you’re going to be a fan by the time 2023 has shifted into 2024. This isn’t the only song by this group to have given me some excitement in 2023 – the other being “Prince of Charm,” which is also worth a spin if you’re into contemporary pop/rock – and my gut tells me that they’re going to be even more active in the next year than they were in the past few months. I can’t wait to see them live on stage sometime soon, and if they’re wise, Bobby and the Crew won’t wait on touring in favor of dropping a proper LP; theirs is a momentum that requires action, and after this latest release, I think they’re ready to take this show on the road.  

Mindy McCall

The music of Bobby and the Crew has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division.  Learn more https://musikandfilm.com