Will Stewart‘s “Southern Raphael” is both confronting and comforting. There’s a certain warm-toned allure to the tension within the first track from Stewart’s mini-album Way Gone. Fueled by steady and sliding guitar riffs, a rush of synth, and the gentle ascensions of Stewart’s voice, the song unravels a late night flirtation in a bar with equal parts romantic notions and doses of reality. While much of the track’s lyrics describe the scene itself, Stewart laces in unmissable, pointed lines like: “Heaven’s just a place where they always serve dessert and Hell’s a double feature with a projector that don’t work.” Pulsating with purpose, “Southern Raphael” captures the essence of a fleeting and familiar moment in a balmy current of country, folk, and rock. It’s the kind of song that sinks in deeper with every listen.
Listen to all of Way Gone and more from Will Stewart here.
