“London Buses” is the second single from Andy Bassett’s Surface Noise EP. Returning to the more guitar-pop-oriented sound of his earlier work, he forgoes the orchestral arrangements featured heavily on the EP’s title track and its predecessor, his 2022 album The Orchid Thief.
Playing all the instruments himself, augmented by creamy smooth harmonies from fellow Taranaki singer-songwriter Liana Hart, Bassett describes a “Sliding Doors” moment, where life could have gone one of two ways, and celebrates the path he ultimately took – without revealing what that was!“It was a good gig,We had a good time,And good things Arrive in threes Like London buses
”SPOILER ALERT: The specific moment – the third good thing - that inspired this song was when he asked his now-wife Sue Page on a date
.“Starting out with just acoustic guitar, bass, and drums, the song opens up at the first chorus. A beautiful vocal harmony accompanies the chorus vocals, and some tasty electric guitar parts begin to complement the instrumentation. The end of the second chorus gives way to a change in feel, the chord progression and lead guitar creating a tension that resolves back into a call-and-response style rendering of the first verse, with lush vocal harmonies contributing to the beauty of the song.”– Peter K Malthus, muzic.net.nz