Music Review // The Great Emu War Casualties "Wanna See You"

 

I am a firm believer that the test of a truly great band name is how it would look on a t-shirt and The Great Emu War Casualties definitely passes that check.  This band also reminds me a bit of a quirky indie rock band, perhaps along the lines of Weezer or Wheatus, but it's just the way that this is at a chill pace with these start and stop guitar parts which makes it so much fun.  This is just that type of song you'd hear come on at a party or in a store perhaps and want to know who it was by.

There has also always been this special place in my music collection for artists from the mid to late 1990's who came along after grunge, maybe had one radio hit and then people have sort of forgotten about them with the passage of time.  Artists like Matthew Sweet and Supergrass come to mind, when listening to this song, and so if you have that shared appreciation for all things rock in the 1990's after grunge then this is also going to be a song you'll put into your playlist and just vibe with all around.

Lyrically this song is about a want, a longing.  The chorus says: "I wanna see you / Every time we call" and it makes me think about being a teenager, on the phone with someone and wishing we were face to face instead.  But, as lyrics in this song dive into and as you can sense from being a band, there is also just that feeling of missing someone because you're on the road touring.   This can also be taken in other ways, such as maybe you're deployed in the military.  But just anyone who has been away from home and missed those at home will feel this one.

As much as I enjoy the guitar work on this song, which also can remind me of The Beatles, I also really like that there are lines in here such as: "Check my conscious / but it said to leave a message at the tone".  There is clever, understated way that lyrics can be which I don't feel like enough people take into consideration these days.  It's great to have that ability to write music, but writing lyrics can also feel like such a big factor in what makes a good song become a great song.  And this is a great song.