Image by Sam San Román via PR
Yesterday, emo pop duo Now, Now released "AZ," the first new track from their upcoming album Saved, which will be released on 18 May. The song's hook goes "Back to the summer we all drove out to Arizona / Back to the heart of it all," and maybe it's just the power of suggestion, but to me, it sounds exactly like an aural representation of a roadtrip.From the sleepy acoustic guitar of the opening and subsequent verses, which remind me of the meandering, crawling hours spent slowly combing through back-roads, to the synthy rush of the chorus, the song feels like it's carried on the sort of breeze that's created by a car's forward motion, in more ways than one. There's hope in the promise of summer, and the feeling of going somewhere, anywhere, elsewhere. For UK-dwellers especially, it's a great song to have dropped in our laps this week, considering the arctic conditions outside the country over. It's a reminder that we won't always be concerned that our fingers are literally going to snap off with cold; that later in the year, we might stretch those fingers warmly over a steering wheel, and take ourselves wherever we'd like.For me, that mood is encapsulated especially by the chorus, the sound of which puts me in mind of putting my head back, and moving away at speed. "AZ," while solidly emo, of course, is a song that emphasises possibility. Right now, tired out by cold and longing for the languor of summer, that's exactly what I want to hear.Follow Noisey on Twitter.