"Self Check-Out" begins where many of the EP songs take place, namely in the inner soliloquy of the protagonists: "You say you / look happy / and I guess you're right". As the title suggests, the protagonists meet in a supermarket. They are former lovers who haven't seen each other for a long time - after the great first love came the first big heartbreak, and since then we have completely lost sight of each other.
Long Tall Jefferson and Odd Beholder play around with format of the classic duet and explore duet themes – but the big feelings play out mostly within the nervous mental space of the two protagonists. Seen from the outside, the two people are simply exchanging niceties with the shopping basket in their hands. Inside of them, however, big feelings are raging, and when one person finally discovers the diapers in the other's basket, only a quick exit (or self-checkout) prevents their tears from running all over their faces.
One can sense how the two artists' fun enjoy writing emotional melodies and playing around with heartwarming clichés - and as is so often the case, the lines hit the hardest where they are most laconic. A classic love song between instant soup and canned beef, so to speak.
lyrics
You say you
Look happy
And I guess you’re right
Good to know you
Still know me
After all this time
You don’t look
Much older
Than in '99
The freckles
On your shoulder
Take me back in time
We thought our love would never die
In your car singing harmonies
With the future on our mind
In the past that never leaves
I never
Meant to leave you
Still I did somehow
I know it’s
Too late to
Say I’m sorry now
Who’d have thought we’d meet again
With our hands full of groceries
Self-checkout at 5 p.m.
And a past that never leaves
Your shopping cart says children
Mine doesn’t say the same
I hope they’ve got your freckles
Guess I'll be on my way
Now we’re here sincere goodbyes
Home for dinner with the family
With the twinkle in our eyes
Of a past that never leaves
An anonymous electronic music project mixes funky 70s elements with modern production for a stylish, retro-futuristic sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 27, 2024