We’re Meant To Be But Not Yet

Faye Webster “But Not Kiss”

“But Not Kiss” fakes you out within 14 seconds, shifting from angsty lo-fi indie intimacy to grand melodramatic romance as the piano and rhythm kick in. The song is musically and lyrically about that contradiction, the push and pull of wanting someone badly but retreating into a comfort zone of solitude and inaction. Webster spends a lot of the song rationalizing it all away – they’re meant to be but not yet, she doesn’t want to regret anything, she doesn’t want to mess with them if they’re in a good place, on and on. She never sounds like she’s lying to herself, every neurotic thought is deeply felt and her desire not to screw things up is just as strong as her yearning for this other person. It’s all very fraught but extremely lovely, particularly when pedal steel enters the arrangement and seems to glide between the extremes. It’s a very graceful and relaxing sound, and I think in context it feels like the solution to her inner conflict: Let it all go, and just trust the feeling that feels the best.

Buy it from Bandcamp.