"Oh no, this couldn't be more unexpected,
And I can tell that I've been moving in so slow
Don't let it throw you off too far,
Cause I'll be running right behind you."
Acceptance is back! Which is cool, because I really enjoyed this band back in the day. "Phantoms" is a very definitive "high school" album for me, because it wasn't one I really ever revisited or continued to listen to beyond its moments of first discovery and obsession. But hearing these songs now, wow, they're better than I remember. This track, anyway, is a fantastic declaration of instant, obsessive love. A slow-tempo take with a loopy, moody guitar part primed for chorus sing-a-longs and patient interludes make this one of the more classic pop punk ballads of the early 2000s, and I'm pleased, upon rediscovering it today, that it holds up over time.
Something about the vocals on this track are so representative of the era's trends toward desperation, but the song itself has a very standard alt-rock feel that keeps it from feeling too dated. Lyrically, it's a heartsick little gem on a record that is full of smart, sharp songs. Something about that "only one I would take a shot on" line always stuck with me in some mysterious, private way, though not one necessarily associated to any particular relationship. I never sang it to anyone, I never swore it to anyone, I don't think I over-used it in an away message or something like that. But what a wonderful sentiment to round out a chorus. I don't think I fully embraced this song on a personal scale the way I maybe did with some others from Acceptance back when, so what a nice find it was to come across today. What a nice feeling it was to find a sad, full little love song with words and notes familiar to me but new again after all these years. What a wonderful commemoration to that first-sight, light-headed love when it first sweeps you off your feet and convinces that you'll do anything - anything - to stay in that moment for as long as you can.
"Could this be out of line, could this be out of line?
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this
You're the only one I would take a shot on
Keep me hanging on so contagiously
Oh, when I'm around you I'm predictable,
Cause I believe in loving you with first sight
I know it's crazy but I'm hoping to
To take a hold of you.
Could this be out of line, could this be out of line?
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this,
You're the only one I would take a shot on
Keep me hanging on so contagiously.
Oh you're everything I'm wanting
Come to think of it, I'm aching
On account of my transgression
Will you welcome this confession?
Could this be out of line, could this be out of line?
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this
You're the only one I would take a shot on,
Keep me hanging on so contagiously."
~So Contagiously
Acceptance, Phantoms
