All good things must come to an end. After a month-long run at DigBoston, Bent Knee are flicking on the lights and sending you out to fight over cabs today with the fourth and final installment of their video residency. At least they let us down gently: “Good Girl” is a stunning, moody lullaby, or maybe it’s an allegory for World War I (see below). Either way, what a way to go out.
Vince Welch (Production & Sound Design)
“Good Girl” is my second favorite song that Bent Knee’s ever written. Of all the songs we’ve done, it might have been the easiest for the band to arrange. The lyrics and melody were so strong that an arrangement came together with very little effort.
My favorite part of the song, and I imagine this is true of most people, is Jessica’s vocal solo. The part where it’s just her and the keyboard. I used to wear a gas mask on stage when we would perform, and for some reason during this section I would always imagine myself as a soldier in World War 1; wearing a gas mask, dying in a muddy trench. Someone trying to replace thoughts of death and horror with those of peace and beauty. Art can do a lot of amazing things, but maybe its highest purpose is showing us how to reconcile the ugliness of this world with the beauty of it. I like this song so much because it does that.
Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth (Drums)
This is a very special song for us, and came together quite easily as Vince mentioned. We realized pretty early on that it just isn’t a song that drums would have benefitted, it needed that floaty feeling without any percussion anchoring it down.
It’s nice to have a section in the set (we typically close with it, or do it as the second to last song) where I just get to sit back and listen. I also get to drink water, which is vital for human survival.