Essex Green is band that seemed to come to the brink of stardom only to disappear. Their third album, 2006’s Cannibal Sea, was widely praised by critics and built on their growing fan base. They seemed well placed to take off. Then nothing. In a recent interview with Pop Matters, one of the band’s lead singers, Sasha Bell, attributed it to just life intervening in that surprising and disruptive way it can. “Don’t Know Why (You Stay)” features Essex Green’s other lead vocalist, Chris Zita, and is a slow burn of a hit single, building from a very low key opener that only really accelerates in the chorus with some nice Byrdsian and Mama and Papas vocal touches. But wait for the instrumental interlude – it’s a 1960s museum tour of great sounds like backward masked sounding organ and some trebly guitar.

On the good news front, Essex Green are working on a new album right now. Put your name down to hear what they come up with at their Facebook page or explore their back catalogue on Bandcamp.