According to the PR, GLIMTVIS “live in the schizophrenic borderland between shameless pop, raw honest country and the unpolished voice of rock.” Blimey, that’s quite a grand canyon of ranges but I think I can simplify it down to “country”, certainly where this song is concerned. Let’s just say it is more Nashville than Nyhavn.
The song is about, as the title suggests, a feeling of inadequacy, and the search for and the hope of finding “the perfect self” but always being a little bit off and aware that this perfect version probably only exists in a parallel universe.
I get the impression positive outlook songs generally are coming back into fashion. Prior to the pandemic it was all about looking in the mirror, Jackson-like and finding whatever fault you could with yourself before going on social media to advertise your inadequacies to the world.
But I do sense more of the “I am what I am” to quote Gloria and “I did it my way” to reference Frank since the lockdowns as people take pride in having come through it all in one piece, both physically and mentally.
However, this song is only partly positive and I suppose you could argue that it falls somewhere between the two outlooks, which is where most people are, most of the time.
The story, as with most of their work, is told in the language of songs where the parts of adult life that aren’t usually shared on social media are discussed. They offer interesting examples: That divorce hurts (especially when the decree absolute arrives through the letter box). The uncertainty of trying to find another “one and only.” Being the last wedding reception guest, stood alone at the closing bar, while all the others are slowly smooching to Elvis’ ’Can’t help falling in love.’
Intriguingly, the publicity image they use is suggestive of the ultimate imperfection as the duo (Rikke Egholm Ravn and Rasmus Pedersen) seem to have been banged up together in a town jail, Bonnie & Clyde like.
The opening lyrics say it all, “Somewhere in my darkness/my picture seems so bright/But in the morning sunshine/it’s fading in the light.” It’s not often a song opens with a pair of oxymorons. Clever stuff.
Replete with Americana themes it might be something Dolly Parton had cobbled together if Dollywood hadn’t worked out for her and there’s some enterprising use of instrumentation such as a bass line that marks out time as succinctly as did the snare drum in Lauper’s ‘Time after time’ and a notably strident piano in parts.
And their harmonies are just so.
‘Almost perfect me’ was written in collaboration with Danish songwriters Ivan Pedersen and Peter Busborg.
The rest of the band:
Lucas Illanes: Electric guitar
Sten “Larm” Rasmussen: Drums
Christian Horty Stenrøjl: Bass.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glimtvis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glimtvis.music/
