Ball of Wax 49 Songs: The Heligoats – “Little Gain”

It starts quietly enough, crisp acoustic guitars strumming stereo left and right, then the vocals come in, plaintively wondering where the time went (tell me about it?). Two and a half minutes later, The Heligoats‘ “Little Gain” has gained quite a lot: cut time drums and bass relentlessly pushing; arpeggiated counterpoint in guitar stereo left and what sounds like a toy piano stereo right, building up, building up; then a child’s voice finally harmonizing as the singer, who sounds a fair amount like Eef Barzelay, agrees, “I know what you mean, I know how you’re feeling, I know what you feel, I know what you’re meaning.” But not before a cutting line, “so you made your point: below freezing.” Amazing. I love how this song has no chorus, just a series of exclamations and affirmations ’til it’s said enough. Perfection.