Every so often you’ll hear a song that reminds you of why you love music.
Such songs are more than just a piece of music; they create an atmosphere. A song perfectly woven from beginning to end.
“Tested and Tried” by Berlin-based Irish band All The Luck In The World is one of those songs.
The acoustic guitar loop which opens the track is the heart that beats this song along. It’s a simple riff, but an instant hook that reels you into the trio’s dreamlike atmosphere. It plays throughout the song, dropping in and out of prominence.
“Tested and Tried” tells a tale of betrayed trust and hazy dreams.
Through the rain parade
I couldn’t soak it in.
The “rain parade” conjures melancholy imagery; the singer is drenched in his sadness but can’t process it properly.
I thought I heard the figures forming in the wind
to overwhelm,
to close me in.
I’m a sleepwalker – this is sleepwalking.
Here, the singer feels a sense of anxiety. He is trapped in his dream, an unknown claustrophobic space from which he cannot wake.
We’re all familiar with the haziness of dreams. The ambiguity in the song’s lyrics accurately mirrors the disorientation you feel in dreams, where reality is warped and beyond our grasp.
However, the singer soon rises from his slumber and lucidity clears his mind.
My faith in you
has been tested and tried one too many times.
My faith in you
has been tested and tried one too many times.
The chorus is a mesmeric blend of feathery vocals, a sombre bass line, and a whimpering electric guitar. It’s the loveliest part of this composition.
The singer’s voice gracefully rises and falls like the waves of the ocean, sweeping you into a wakeful daze.
The singer laments the way in which his trust has constantly been betrayed by a lover. When you love someone, you often give them more chances than you ought to because it’s harder to let them go.
In the middle of the song, the instrumentals gently dissipate, leaving behind a subtle guitar line and vocal echoes.
Learning to murmur it
til you’re just another figure
so I surrender to this rain.
The repetition of “one too many” emphasizes the singer’s resentment towards his former lover for continually betraying his faith.
He has to repeat this phrase until she means nothing to him anymore.
We can all relate to the feeling of being betrayed by those we love and the inner struggle that accompanies it. More than harbouring contempt for them, we feel anger at ourselves for overlooking their faults.
“Tested and Tried” is a simple yet elegant song. The band forgoes complex lyrics and focuses on conveying mood through their music instead. The delicacy of their instrumentals combined with their obscure lyrics makes this song feel like a dream. It is a soothing pleasure.
It’s the same feeling you get on rainy days, where the sweet scent of rain pervades your room and the chill in the air blankets you with comfort.
“Tested and Tried” is a dream you’ll want to have again and again.
