Perfect Pair: Polka Lilly Pilly De-alcsparkling X ‘Mr. Brightside’ By The Killers

We pair a new drink with its perfect musical accompaniment. Tumblers and turntables at the ready…

Words by Max Anderson

TASTING NOTES

Polka Lilly Pilly De-Alc Sparkling: This SA-made, booze-free bubbly hits all the right notes – starting with an out-of-the-blocks bang suggesting there’s something to celebrate. The Lilly Pilly is a cuvée blended from no fewer than 11 South Australian wine grapes chosen for their ability to maintain a flavour in spite of the dealcoholisation process. The native lilly pilly botanical meanwhile gives the citrusy fizz some astringency, essentially (and effectively) staring down sweetness that can spoil a zero-alc wine. With its fine bubbles and suitably fruity notes, the Lilly Pilly is rather surprising because – alcohol or no – it’s perfectly uplifting.

SLEEVE NOTES

‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers: ‘It started out with a kiss/How did it end up like this?’ The Killer’s lead singer Brandon Flowers penned ‘Mr. Brightside’ after walking into a bar in Las Vegas to find his girlfriend cheating on him. In 2004, the debut track took off in the UK, where the effervescent anthem to a dead relationship well-suited the Brits’ liking for bleak irony (they helped make it the third-most-streamed song on Spotify from the 2000s). The track’s irresistible tempo, subversive key and single verse (smashed out in Flowers’ compulsive monotone) render it a sparkling draught of dark moments – one you can swig on all day.

THEY’RE PERFECTLY PAIRED BECAUSE...

Well, let’s get the obvious out the way – Brandon Flowers is a devout Mormon who’s proudly teetotal. But for the rest of us who like a dance with the demon drink, the Lilly Pilly a great tasting drop that fools our pleasure receptors into thinking we’re getting a buzz on. Meanwhile, none of our usual mental faculties are getting dulled – so two bottles in, we can not only thrill to the awesome urgency of ‘Mr. Brightside’s’ lyrics, we can recite them, too. Better yet, this track is an up-tempo, fist in the air anthem that speaks to a certain satisfaction. It says YES! – I’m getting through a dry January, or a dry July or hell, even a dry weekend. And just quietly, I’ll be coming out of my cage, doing just fine, waking up tomorrow feeling altogether… brighter.