The inertia of existence and the constructs of time are something beyond the pale of predictability and outside the calculous of causes and effects. From wild weather patterns, a pandemic that has the entire world on notice, geopolitical tomfoolery, lame ducks, occurrences of hectic happenstance and so forth — life as we have come to comprehend it is not static. No two moments, or days, are ever the same. In many ways, this is the good news that makes room for hope and the possibility of a better life, a greater chance to be the best version of ourselves, with space and room to rise above all the odds. We learn to accept the surprises, which are not always the outcomes we want and sometimes add up to undesired incidents. We look to the lessons learned and what tenets of wisdom can be gleaned in the efforts to afford and enact upon our own motions of advancement as a society.

Reveling in all of these truths and more are the Brighton raised and London based twins of Amelia and Patrick Murray, aka Bentcousin, who roll out the debut of the singles "Time Will Tell" and "Toss of a Coin" courtesy of Team Love. Building upon their family band sound foundation, Amelia and Patrick orchestrate a unified sound of sweet serenity in the face of everything that lies outside of our control. "Time Will Tell" brings a calm and gentle tranquil afternoon vibe to thoughts on the discontinuity of things, meditations on the edges of entropy that are mused about with a sense of peace and acceptance. Amelia makes room for that liminal existential space between being and the absence of self, where the defenses of reluctance are traded for a sublime surrender to the courses of things that cannot be immediately altered by our own actions. "Time" encapsulates the long view of our world and our experiences, a reminder to appreciate and enjoy the gifts we have been given with an understanding of the fleeting and temporal nature of all living and material things.

“Toss of a Coin” brings about a mix of melancholy and shoulder-shrugged sense of c'est la vie in the face of unexpected and unfortunate events. A musical hybrid of elements from “The Wind Beneath My Wings” and the original The Office UK theme song; Bentcousin hone in on the unexpected disruptions and disturbances that cause us to take notice. An ode to being blind sighted to the things that we should have probably paid closer, or better attention to are coupled with thoughts on the sports of amour likened to the metaphor of an exhausting foot race. The Murray family moves the perspectives beyond the stops and starts of track and field analogies to examine a larger picture, one with benign wistfulness that examines the processes of falling in love, the how(s) and why(s) in which we fall out of love and everything of curiosity in between. “Toss of a Coin” brings everything back to Bentcousin’s exploration of the arbitrary nature of things, the moments and situations that seem outside of what we originally had planned that are something other than what we originally hand in mind. Bentcousin embraces the fluid nature of humanity, the routes and detours that are indeterminate and all that we learn and discover along the way as a passenger riding shotgun in the road movie that is our life.

Amelia Murray of Bentcousin provided some reflections on the new singles “Time Will Tell”, “Toss of a Coin” and more:

The sun was setting over Langdon Park. It had been another hazy East London day. The bents were getting together the next day for their annual pilgrimage to Monkey World. The words for “Toss of a Coin” came to me as I sat waiting for the DLR, the melody had been swirling around me head all day. I sang the words into my phone, an elderly Bengali man came over and asked if I was okay, yes I said, thanks for asking. We sang the song the next day on the mini bus on the way to Monkey World. Martin was driving, a tear ran down his face, we knew it was a hit.

”Time Will Tell”

It’s got a lot to do with space, not just apart from the world, but part of it too. I sing that line There’ll be a space but it’s not supposed to be sad! No way! I want to make clear that it’s a happy space. It’s about a relationship of course, but you’ve still got to make an effort. The world isn’t ending yet, but spaces exist everywhere. I want people to think about what they say or do in a relationship but at the back of it all, one day, perhaps sooner not later, it won’t matter. That space is a potential space in all of us. We wanted to move in that bit between fatalism and determinism you know. But in an upbeat way. That’s why the melody is so positive. It’s a positive song and I try to express that. Like if the Kinks gave up on God and had some fun. You know that song, “God’s Children”? It’s like the fun version of that. I’m not fatalistic at all but there is science and there are emotions and that’s where this song parks it’s arse. We all love the flute solo at the end too, if I can say that.

“Toss of a Coin”

Okay, so this one is more of a love gone wrong, straightforward kind of story, but it’s called “Toss of a Coin” because of all the luck that’s always involved, from start to frigging finish. It’s not fatalism again! We have to put in that effort and rejection can hurt, but it’s supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek too — I’m losing the race! That race to get the perfect partner or whatever, we need to step back from that a bit, even though rejection can be a kick in the groin, that’s true, it’s all part of a process, not a race that keeps stopping and starting. It’s all part of the game really. In the delivery, I try to express shock that I didn’t know anything was wrong in the relationship, rather than the leaving and the breakup itself. I’m like, oh wow, I didn’t know. Maybe it’s a bit narcissistic at that point! It’s a slower melody too but it compliments the words really well. I love what the group have done to this song to keep it so mellow. Both songs actually, they are brilliant, big thanks to them for what I think is a great sound.

Bentcousin’s double single Time Will Tell is available now via Team Love and everywhere.