Music Review // Northcote "Alternate Universe"

 

Northcote has managed to create a familiar sound with the song "Alternate Universe", but yet somehow not one we hear enough these days and most likely would associate more with the past.   From the opening lines, the first verse sings about "You put on my jean jacket / And danced across the floor" which very much sets the mood for how much this song can remind me, musically, of both Bruce Springsteen and John Cougar Mellencamp.   Though this might feel like a throwback on the surface, it also feels like that's intentional which makes it also feel modern.

With acoustics and electric guitars, Northcote brings out lyrics about "the summers past I wish it would stay" and it just feels like this song not only about longing for different times in a nostalgic way, but also in a what could have been way.  After all, isn't that what an "Alternative Universe" is any way?  It's that idea of instead of living the life you're living now, what if you were someone else or perhaps more importantly what if something happened differently and someone else affected your life in a different way.

One of my favorite parts of this song is the bridge in which the lyrics say "So just put all these emotions in a bottle and just send it out to sea" because far too often it feels like we have to supress how we really feel.  It's also important to recognize that a lot of those times, we aren't censoring ourselves for others but rather because if we thought about how things could be different or sometimes just remember events in general, we might not make it through the day.

Somehow in this anthem about escapism, Northcote finds a way to not only draw you in but make you feel like a part of it.  With sounds similar to The Replacements, there is a part of the chorus which says "Hey yeah yeah" and that might be one of the easiest things to sing along with immediately.   Even on the first listen you can sing along with the "my alternate universe" hook, but eventually, if we keep listening, we'll keep singing and overall we will all hopefully begin to heal.