Hey Jack, this is a truly precious track. I listened several days ago and a few times since, but it was not something I wanted to rush out a comment on... it felt too good for that.
First up - totally loved the title, even before hearing the song. It immediately provokes curiosity. As a kid I used to love going to deserted places in the evenings, that were normally busy in the daytime... I remember walking through Bracknell town centre to the library in the evening with my dad and loving looking in all the dark windows of the closed shops, like it was a parallel empty world. Somehow your song title provoked that memory. And you can tell from the title it is going to be a song about youth somehow (that's when we normally spend most time on football pitches, right? When we're young.)
So onto the song itself - I really like the sparse arrangement with just the voice and guitar (and hardly anything else). It has a timelessness, and a loneliness, like some of the best folk music. I've been listening to Vashti Bunyan a bit recently and it reminded me of her stuff... doesn't really sound like her directly, but like her stuff, this has a quality about it that could have come from any time. The acoustic guitars are great, very fluid and natural - did you play them yourself? Awesome.
Then, the lyrics... pretty much knocked me for six. I always like the way your tracks paint little pictures - disparate parts and images - almost throwaway details that are just enough for the listener to be able to piece together a much bigger story. Like, in here, the reference to the Mother saying "Dad should be dead"... there's a whole other backstory in that one line from that one 'supporting actor' in the story. Plus you have some knock out lines that are touching and devastating in the space of a few words - "Kiss me now, return to dust"... wow.
I don't think I'd have got the post-apocalyptic setting too strongly if you hadn't mentioned it (although of course I can see it in references to the crater etc... but I'm curious you can still get pizza after the apocalypse... ;-) ). Anyway though, personally I don't think it needs that apocalyptic dimension to be super engaging... for me it was a great song about youth and longing.
Melodies - gorgeous.
Vocals - pristine.
Smashing ending when you bring in some other instruments (strings?) as a parting gift.
Apologies if I've "gushed" a bit here but I really, really liked this so couldn't help myself. Thought this was one of the best tracks I've ever heard on the forum.
