The Kerosene Hours Lovingly Captures the Mix of Affection and Compassionate Agony at Seeing a Loved One in Denial About Coming Apart on “Hang On”

TheKeroseneHours_HangOn1_crop — The Kerosene Hours “Hang On” cover (cropped)

“Hang On” by The Kerosene Hours initially sounds a bit like a more corrupted version of that Elvis hologram in Blade Runner 2049. Like someone constructing an imperfect image of how they want to present a myth of themselves without being able to conceal all the flaws and demons. Blend together some strands of Roy Orbison, Suicide and chillwave and you get a song about a sibling who is crumbling under the strain of their troubled psyche but wants to maintain a veneer of competence and strength when vulnerability and honesty about their inability to keep it together would be easier to take and more understandable than the intense discomfort of that completely ineffective deceit grounded in ego and a need to keep up airs of normalcy when the time for such gestures have long passed because you’re fooling no one and trying to keep doing so is actually preventing getting help and hopefully getting better. It’s a bittersweet, nostalgic take on a complex subject that perfectly balances the feelings of love and compassion for the discomfort and agony sensed if not fully acknowledged. Listen to “Hang On” on Soundcloud and follow The Kerosene Hours at the links below including Spotify where you can listen to the rest of the Desperate Perilous Virtue EP.