Andrew Combs: 4×10

Chanced across Andrew Combs, and got hooked into his EP 5 Covers and a Song. His cover of “Reptilia” (originally by The Strokes) was pretty slick – but the song I got hooked on was 4×10.

I wasn’t aware of the original (by Loudon Wainwright III)). But the song was really quite catchy, and I found myself playing it on repeat.

The chord changes are quite wonderful, verse to verse. But when I stopped to look over the lyrics – I found the third verse troubling – and it only somewhat resolved for me in the subsequent verse.

My takeaway from the song overall is that the singer is talking about a kind of cyclical thing, passed on from parent to children in a kind of Larkin-esque manner. But that third verse is still gives me some pause.

I’m curious now to listen to more of Wainwright’s work. And now also quite enamored with Combs’ voice and style.