After 3 years of patient work, Connecticut 4-piece, St. Johnny were ready to burst into national attention. With a recommendation from Thurston Moore in their top pockets, they were attracting major-label attention which would see them eventually sign to DGC Records. Before that though, came the release of Go to Sleep as a precursor to the High as a Kite LP. Peel reckoned it was the second St. Johnny record he owned, the other may have been an an eponymous EP from 1990.
The hype seemed partially justified on the basis of Go to Sleep, which after a delayed opening bursts forward to overwhelm the listener with its charms. The theme of the song appears to be the over-reach between glossy dreams and sordid realities. In the opening verse, singer Bill Whitten outlines his aspirations: This is a story/This is a film. He wants to be seen and admired like a model in my Chevrolet. But the live fast/live free mood of the opening verse is undercut by the hazy sentiments of the second verse, which seems to suggest that Whitten is in a situation where he is surrounded by people who are cramping his style and causing him headaches through their misbehaviour and lack of trustworthiness. It’s small stakes stuff, but important to enough to strangle the grand aspirations before they have time to grow. The music goes the same way as the energy and bite of the track finally splutters to a halt like someone mislaying their credit card after booking a Mardi Gras. All the same, an enjoyable enough ride until the energy runs out of the meter.
Video courtesy of cryptickeeper.
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