Grasp the hands of the giant clock and unwind time to an unhappier and more confusing era…

Walking on a narrow road scratched into the coral substrate of an unnamed island. An automobile has been abandoned in a patch of viny vegetation. The salty air, the rain, the sun have reduced the car to a heap of rust and unconnected remnants. The machine had ceased to be a car years before. Yet the oxidized pile is still recognizable as a car.

The liaison on which I was marooned had deteriorated into dysfunction the previous year. But a passerby, seeing the couple ponder the corroded car, might point to us and say, ‘They are in a relationship.’ That’s what it said on Facebook, anyway. It would require another five years of decay before the pairing became unrecognizable as a relationship, even to its participants.

In ‘When We Turn to Dust’ Dan Brodie contemplates a connection in which the metaphysical molecules have lost their chemical attraction. Someday it will exist, like the abandoned car, not in a physical sense but only as a memory. But, unlike the thoughts carried into the present by the unnamed couple on the island, the singer’s future reminiscences will perhaps be pleasant in a wistfully what if? sort of way.

When we turn to dust
Don’t cry no tears for me
And if we start to rust
It’s only a memory

‘When We Turn to Dust’ is a gently-spoken statement carried by a piano that alternately mirrors the melody then wanders free to create a beautiful fill. The shimmering guitars and muted drums remain in the background. Listen for the sparse strings and the second voice that enhance the atmosphere without clouding the mix.

Dan Brodie is based in Melbourne, Australia. ‘When We Turn to Dust’ appears on his new album, Funerária do Vale. Recorded by Mic Hubbard, ‘Funerária do Vale showcases Brodie’s musical influences which have shaped his world to date; at times tender and haunting, at other times loose and spirited.’ Dan has gained significant traction, touring the world and releasing a succession of well-received albums.

Dan Brodie’s music is available on his website, and on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music. And be sure to follow Dan on Instagram and Facebook.