Reading the writing on the wall in the dying days of a relationship is neither an easy nor a pleasant task. Sometimes you don't want to face the truth, other times you use it as a reason to behave badly. Both reactions only ever exacerbate the issue, something Irish playwright Dion Boucicault knew when he wrote The Colleen Brawn in the nineteenth century, and it's still true today, as evidenced in the new single from five-piece indie band Bokito, which drops tomorrow (April 19).
On their new single of the same name as Boucicault's play, they let that exact scenario play out over colourful bursts of indie guitars, taut rhythms and a generous helping of chart-destined funk. It's a surprisingly upbeat setting for what is essentially a sad tale, but hey, we're human and sometimes we need to have the pill sugared before we're prepared to swallow it.
Speaking with Complex via email, Bokito explained the story behind the track: "'The Colleen Bawn' is an Irish play by Dion Boucicault which is full to the brim with love and lies and sat with secrets. I thought it fitted nicely with the themes of the song. The lyrics are all about fooling yourself in a relationship. Whether it be that the relationship can work or that it is doomed before you really try, 'Colleen Bawn' is something that I, and I feel some previous partners, have done at some stage to either salvage or sabotage something that we had and as a result, trapping ourselves in a sort of middle ground because no one can use the real truth as leverage to wedge themselves out. "
