Charting a path from pain to liberation and self-worth, Course’s new single “Nick of Time” is a dreamy, wistful, and wondrous indie pop reflection full of intimacy and vulnerability.
Stream: “Nick of Time” – Course
Beautifully blending tender music with aching emotion, Chicago’s Course have struck gold in their latest single. Charting a path from pain to liberation and self-worth, “Nick of Time” is a dreamy, wistful, and wondrous indie pop reflection full of intimacy and vulnerability.
I was falling,
You were standing still,
And you never took my hand.
Our love was a carousel
That spun us to the end.
Though the more I think about it,
The more I see the truth,
That falling was me flying out on you.
You were coming down coming down
coming on down the line.
I was getting out getting out
In the nick of time.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Nick of Time,” Course’s third single and the latest release off their forthcoming album, A Late Hour (independently out May 21, 2021). Consisting of lead singer Jess Robbins, drummer Chris Dye, and synth/keys player Dan Ingenthron, along with new additions guitarist Mikey Russell and bassist Brian Weekly, Course debuted just this past March with the single “Give It All Away,” and followed up with their second release “Sixteen” – a buoyant, nostalgic, and glistening pop song – in April.
In contrast to the spirited, uplifting sounds on “Sixteen,” “Nick of Time” is a soft and bittersweet serenade.
A wash of warm guitars shine light in dark space, atop which Jess Robbins sings a poignant, poetic story of connection and self-discovery. Toxic relationships can be hard to spot in the moment, and it’s the pain of this realization dawning in the moment that drives Robbins’ stunning voice throughout Course’s song. Her performance aches with visceral feeling, spellbinding with a haunting charm:
You were hiding
From the thunderstorm spinning in my head.
You turned away and all the flooding waters,
brought you to me instead.
Though the more we fought about it,
The more I came to see,
That flooding was you setting me free.
You were coming down coming down
coming on down the line.
I was getting out getting out
In the nick of time.
“‘Nick of Time’ is about being in a toxic relationship and the freedom and realization of being in a happy/safe place because you acted and got out in time,” Robbins tells Atwood Magazine. “I wrote the chorus of this song and the chord progression of the verses and chorus and then worked with my good friend and fellow songwriter Kevin Prchal, who filled in the lyrics to the verses and the bridge. I had originally given him a short essay about an experience I had been in and he used that to help inform the lyrics. It was a great process and helped me see the song in a different way. It then fully came together in the studio with the band. This song paired with the short story is a progression from pain to liberation and self-worth.”
With only three songs released over the past three months, Course have set themselves apart as an intimately expressive alternative band brimming with irresistibly catchy tunes, cathartic emotions, and utterly stunning energy. There is no doubt something special is coming out of Chicago this year, and only time will tell what more excitements the band have in store for us next.
Course’s debut album A Late Hour is out May 21, 2021. Stream “Nick of Time” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
I was a danger to the rules,
You were a stranger through and through,
Falling was easy, Life was good,
Until the day I heard you…
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Stream: “Nick of Time” – Course
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