Fulton Lights’ new album The Way We Ride is the soundtrack to that moment when you’re standing at the airport wondering what the fuck to do next.
Fulton Lights – The Way We Ride
Ever stepped off an airplane, grabbed your bag, walked outside of the airport and thought, “Ok, now what?” If you’re a package holiday type of person, the idea of landing in a strange country with no hotel booked, no idea of where to go or what to do can seem daunting at least, if not terrifying, but for others that bizarre feeling you get, which is a mixture of fear and nervous excitement, is precisely the reason to travel. To discover something, a place, a bar, a person – anything that will make the trip memorable. Hotels, room service and other luxuries allow you to see a city and feel comfortable. Guided tours will allow you to see the sights, which is all well and good, but you never really get to experience what the place you’re in is really like when you do that. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, but it does feel a little false.
For example, do you think wandering around The Louvre, going up The Eiffel Tower, sailing down the Seine in a tourist boat and getting your caricature drawn at Place du Tetre will really give you an idea of what Paris is like? Those things will make your trip enjoyable, of course they will, but Paris is more than a bunch of monuments. The same goes for London, Amsterdam, New York or any other big city for that matter.
There’s something wonderful about standing on a city street at night with cars bumper to bumper on the road next to you, waiting for traffic lights to change, people moving backwards and forwards all around you, determinedly heading for… where exactly? You don’t know, but you know that somewhere there’s something cool happening and it’s up to you to find it. You know that whatever door you choose to enter, be it a shop, a bar, a nightclub, a restaurant or even a public lavatory, you’re taking a small risk with each step. That sense of exploration, the way you have to rely on your gut instinct to get anything sorted is a truly life affirming feeling. Things can’t go to plan because you don’t have one, so you just have to go with the flow and see what happens. It’s exciting, it’s confusing and it’s what makes you really experience a city.
Fulton Lights’ new album The Way We Ride is the soundtrack to that moment when you’re standing at the airport wondering what the fuck to do next. It may take you a while to get under its spell, but if you’ve got the patience to just give it some time, then it will instantly remind you of every exciting thing that’s happened in your life while at the same time it’ll make you eager to experience more. It’s a true, honest, compelling and rock solid piece of work that continues to reward you with each and every listen.
It’s not the soundtrack to a hot date, it’s the soundtrack you have in your head as you make your way to the bar or restaurant or wherever you’ve arranged to meet. It’s the sound of the city, and it’s full of nerves, excitement, fear, apprehension and, ultimately, hope and confidence. This is The Way We Ride and it should be the way we all travel.
Words: Damian Leslie