Milan McAlevey follows up recent single ‘Don’t Push a Man’ with ‘Time Has Passed Me By’, a sensitive reflection on life. Gently swaying percussion and deeply tuneful bass move beneath some delightful flourishes of lap steel guitar. The highlight is McAlevey’s weary but melodic vocal delivery, sharing intimate feelings through smartly written lyrics: “These days it’s getting harder to love me.”
The song is on the theme of growing older, something we can all associate with. McAlevey hopes he’s “…capturing a universal sentiment that will become relevant for each one of us sooner or later, that feeling of ennui that only comes with the realisation that the younger generation has their own passions, summed up in the first verse lyric, ‘…all the shit I thought was cool, well, it ain’t cool no more.'”
The single is from McAlevey’s latest album ‘Bucksport Motel’, which is out now. The album extends the theme of getting older, looking back at life and all its loss and joy, serendipity and sadness. There’s love and pain and McAlevey particularly reflects on the impact alcohol has had on his life. McAlevey used a Magnatone lap steel guitar with matching amplifier from the 1950s to capture the sound he was looking for. Learning to play the lap steel for himself was a meditative experience and it eventually featured on nine of the ten songs.
He says of the album: “These songs began as sketches I recorded at my project space, which is named Blue Cream Studio, after my dilute tortoiseshell cat. Early in the process I enlisted two kids local to my neighborhood in South Portland, Maine, except they’re not kids anymore; my nephew Chris DiRocco played those classic Yamaha DX7 electric pianos and his friend Sam Patnode Andersen played the drums. I really wanted some steel guitar and quickly realised I’d have to do it myself. Thankfully my oldest, dearest friend Walter Martin (The Walkmen) came to my rescue once again and contributed a bunch of instruments and backup vocals from his studio in upstate New York. He can play any instrument, but it’s always his unique and musically sensitive voice. Lastly, my nephew Chris and two old friends from the heady days of the teens, Nina Donghia and Eric Gagne contributed lovely backup vocals so the record sounds a bit more well-rounded and not just another one-man show.” This is a dreamy, laid-back song that will remain in your thoughts.
