Every once in a while, a song comes along that ruins your night in exactly the way you needed. “Funeral For Judith” by Rubbish Party doesn’t just feel sad; it feels confrontationally sad. Like it showed up at your house uninvited and started unpacking boxes labeled “unresolved emotions from six years ago” or something like that. And before you can politely ask it to leave, it’s sitting you down, lighting a candle, and making you feel things you thought you’d gotten over.
Penned by guitarist and lyricist J. Edwin Galloway, this track isn’t content with just being “about heartbreak.” It’s about the fallout. The wreckage. The not-so-fun part of watching someone you once loved walk into a darker chapter; one you couldn’t stop and weren’t invited to witness. The story, as told here, is devastating: a past partner whose life ends in violence after your paths have split. And somehow, in its four haunting minutes, the song manages to be both intimate and massive, like someone whispering a secret loud enough for the universe to hear. It’s not a breakup song. It’s a eulogy for every alternate timeline where things didn’t fall apart.
Recorded in Alfred Lavender’s home studio, the track leans into its rawness. Edward Clutterbuck’s vocals sound like they’ve lived through the story they’re telling as it lingers like smoke after a fire when it ends. And yes, it’s technically a radio edit, but calling this “radio-friendly” is like calling Schindler’s List a nice date movie. It’s heavy. It hurts. And that’s what makes it incredible.
If Funeral For Judith is the emotional terrain Rubbish Party’s upcoming album plans to map out, then frankly, I’m ready to get lost in it.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
