Listen: Daniel Rossen - "Not Coming Back"

It's not really something that comes up that often but one of my favorite things is when an artist releases an old song or demo or unused b-side or musical fragment. It's the rare instance when you get to actually see the artist at work. How a catchy hook blossoms into a whole song or even just a peek into the mind of someone you don't have access to. So of course Daniel Rossen's recent releases of demos have been a complete and utter treat for me. Before he dressed up his songs in a sea of ear-catching arrangements or completely solidified where he wanted to go lyrically. It's take a very secure musician to grant you such access to their unfinished work.

"Not Coming Back" is a track that gestated around the same time many of the tracks from the Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP did although apparently it's function was more as a means to get from point A to point B but surprising functions as a nice little addition to Rossen's rather minuscule collection of tunes. While he's shipped out parts of it to other songs (The EP's "Golden Mile" "Silent Song" and Shields' "Sun in Your Eyes"), it still remains a pretty interesting look at Rossen's process as well as just a great track. Despite it's dissemination, Rossen's proud of it and for good reason. It's catchy as hell and a shimmering example of just how talented he is even when he's not at his best (by his estimations, not mine). It's a track I know I'm going to be  bumping a positively unhealthy amount.

Here's hoping there's more to come in Daniel Rossen's unused b-sides and demos series.
 Not Coming Back by drossenbro