As kids, we picture an adulthood where life snaps together like a jigsaw puzzle, with every cardboard bit eventually accounted for. We never expect to confuse an edge piece for a corner piece or to mash ill-fitting tabs into too-narrow gaps. But, in fact, most of us do just that. The first job out of school—even the second, third, fourth and fifth—may find us treading water for a paycheck, while the artistic-minded among us craft songs, stories and paintings that attract dust, not eyeballs. Worse, the special someone who sends our heart aflutter may not be the one for the remainder of our days. Sometimes they are, of course. More often, however, they’re not. (It’s easy to mistake a misfiring piston for a fluttering heart, after all.) Smushing ill-fitting cardboard pieces together, though as un-artful as my metaphors, harms no one. Pushing ill-fitting hearts together, on the other hand, pretty much guarantees a relationship will end like many a country song.
Sara Bug’s Into the Blue is an artful treatise that should resonate with any- and everyone who’s found themselves drowning their tears in beer and bitterness. Every Friday over the past many weeks, I’ve spotlighted the succession of singles she’s released leading up to today; on their own, they’re tuneful miniatures that explore the many hues of heartbreak. Together with the title track, however, the puzzle pieces form a complete picture of love, heartache and moving on. It’s been my most-played song suite since I first heard it in early December.
Anyway, as “Into the Blue” infers, the labyrinth of life is larger than our comprehension; some paths lead to dead ends, others take us round in circles, but all the miles tread serve a purpose. As Bug sings here, “Everything was just right/When I stopped trying to perfect it/Just like all the best things come along/When I least expected.”
(Into the Blue can be streamed everywhere streams can be had. Bug has said she’s printing it to vinyl, so keep an eye out for that.)
The Old Grey Cat 
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