After years spent using the name Oh Mercy, Alex Gow has now returned with “Time & Date NY”, the first single under his new musical moniker of Perfect Moment.
For close to 15 years now, Gow has been sharing his musical talents with the world. Having first formed Oh Mercy back in 2006, a number of critically-acclaimed albums soon followed, with 2015’s When We Talk About Love even going on to win an ARIA for Best Adult Contemporary Album.
However, since the release of Café Oblivion in 2018, things have been a little bit quiet. This period of comparable silence soon came to an end a few weeks ago when Gow took to the Oh Mercy Facebook page to reveal he would be sharing some new music soon, but this time using the name Perfect Moment.
“Life is a series of changes. After five Oh Mercy albums, I’m allowing myself a change,” Gow later explained. “For those of you that have invested in my music in some way – you deserve me at my best, or at least in its pursuit.
“Perfect Moment is the sound of me chasing it down. Always a few strides behind, but hey – that’s the way I like it best.”
Now, following the news of this new project, Perfect Moment have shared the video for “Time & Date NY”, the debut single from the project.
“‘The distance between us can be assessed. Pull out your measuring tape. Distance can also be felt,” Gow explained in a statement. “‘Time & Date NY’ sings of that feeling. The longing it inspires. The paranoia it gifts.”
First dreamed up by Gow in a terrace in Melbourne’s Princes Hill, the track soon found itself a new collaborator by way of the Presets’ Kim Moyes, who helped it become the immersive creation it is today.
Accompanied by a video which captures the essence of the vibrant New York City countless people know and love, the video for “Time & Date NY” was recorded just days before COVID-19 lockdowns took effect, nearly emptying the streets of the city that never sleeps, and sending Gow back home to Melbourne.
Despite never having been behind a video camera before, Gow hired one for three days before visiting numerous locations around the city, constantly filming, and pursuing the perfect visuals to accompany his latest track.
“I left New York City early Feb (2020),” he explained. “I had no idea I had just recorded a video portrait of an extraordinary city that refuses to be reduced to portrait. A picture of the city before COVID 19.
“I’d like to say that I’m grateful to have unwittingly documented New York in a moment of tranquillity, a calm before the storm. But, there was nothing tranquil or calm about it.
“I’m grateful to have been bounced around like a pinball from avenue to avenue. To have had my laundry stolen. To have been overheated by an overly zealous apartment oil heater, in the dead of a Leonard Cohen style New York winter. Grateful to have touched and to have been touched. My heart goes out to the extraordinary people that make New York extraordinary.
“The city the song sings of has been changed forever. Controlled chaos has been breathlessly overthrown by old fashion chaos. I couldn’t have written ‘Time & Date NY’ as it is, now. I’m grateful to have the privilege to spin a dream of a New York and it’s controlled version of chaos.”
“Time & Date NY” not only serves as the debut single from Perfect Moment, but also doubles as the first taste of an upcoming EP, currently set to be released in July.
Perfect Moment’s “Time & Date NY” is available for streaming now.
