Scrapping a European headline tour in favour of, seemingly, returning to the studio to follow up Talkin’ to the Trees, Neil Young has set a high bar for Second Song. Hundreds of thousands of disappointed fans left refunded and Young-free for 2026, or so they thought. A new album release goes a little way towards goodwill, though the last two decades of Young in the studio, be it by himself or with his new band The Chrome Hearts, are a mixed bag to say the least. Big Change, the lead single of Talkin’ to the Trees, promised some mighty and vicious changes to his style, but this was only partly delivered. We must, as a result, take Second Song with several grains of salt and the sour taste of realising European fans were robbed of the chance to hear Rockin’ in the Free World this year. Does Second Song make up for that? An eleven-minute, acoustic-led heartbreaker sure does soften the blow.
Young’s vocal strength remains and aids this wandering, acoustic musing incredibly well. He takes a leaf from Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, thinking on age and experience. Young is still dreaming of a fix to the world’s problems, but this hope has been stretched just a little too thin. He calls for listeners to take that slow walk; to consider their actions and accept that the world around them is changing and not much can be done about it. A delicate sentiment to present to audiences, sure, but a necessary one. Young is right in his observations of what we must do to slow ourselves down, even if it goes against the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Beautiful harmonica and instrumental breaks with those soft taps of percussion give listeners a chance to reflect, should they afford the time to do so in an always-moving world. Young may be one of the few artists still earnestly championing country living. He does not use it as a tool for stardom or a nostalgic bait as other artists do.
What Second Song offers is a tender moment of contemplation. Young is delighted to share his thoughts on the world around him and how information can be misconstrued to make it feel like everything is worse than it is. But he also maintains that there are broad imperfections, ongoing as they are, that make the working world and time away from it such a struggle. Pair that with some sweet and charming, slowed-down country instrumental classics, and you have a tremendous emotional core from Young’s latest. Second Song promises hope where there may be an incredible lack of it, and that alone is more than worth hearing. One of the greats is back with a comfortable classic, a laid-back hint that to care is to consider the world around us. Young ends the song with a little jab at those who took the Second Song journey.
He implies that he doesn’t care after all, that the volume of life is too loud to bear and we should simply give in to it, pretence be damned. Young doesn’t believe that. Just listen to any album, from his self-titled debut to now, and you’ll know that just isn’t the case. Second Song nails the overwhelming nature of the modern world, and Young highlights the only way to disconnect from all that is, simply, to do so. There’s no getting around it. No alternate option to alleviate the pressure and pain. Just disconnect when the going gets tough if you can afford to do so. A tremendous experience that proves Young can still hang with the best of them. Not that was in doubt or anything, but it’s always a wonderful surprise to hear he still has what it takes to draw on decades of experience in a manner befitting of the broken, modern world.
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