'Tender Touch' is a song that holds the pain of lost love, nostalgia and the lingering echoes of a past relationship. Here, Steve is looking back on a relationship that didn’t work out and has a tough time feeling anything beyond regret. He’s stuck in the past, replaying the same hurt over and over, wishing things had gone differently. Now, the music here brings that magical fusion of folk and country. And to start with, you have guitars blossoming the melodies.
So yeah, keeping up with the rhythm and chord progressions, there’s this nice folky vibe with some acoustic guitar strumming, surrounded by those smooth country steel bends and swells. Then, An etched-out bass anchors the lower end of the mix, while an organ sits softly in the background. The way the electric guitars are panned adds this cool spacious feel, with all these little interlocking patterns, fillers, and different tones going on.
Further in the song, there's a shade of what sounds like Leslie's guitar tone, something that adds more character and motion to the music. Other than that, every electric guitar running through the amp has a sweet, light overdrive, some compression, and atmospheric reverb, resulting in a pristine country tone that shines throughout.
The drums kick in not long after, starting off with just a steady thumping kick and settling into this laid-back two-beat, classic country rhythm. The snare work is simple and chill, but the drums themselves are tight and punchy. It’s like the perfect balance because the composition really demands that dynamic production to pull everything together.
Also, there’s definitely a lot of thought put into these chord progressions, like, they’re almost distinguishable, but still manage to give the track this kind of chromatic depth. The composition basically holds onto several interesting key shifts or seamless modulations, without any distraction. It’s one of those things where the harmonic changes are subtle but in a way, adds expansion to the overall emotional range.
Moving on from the instrumental, Steve's voice has a warm and tender tone, singing through the repetitive cycle of emotional strain. He's looking at what’s been left behind, trying to grasp onto memories that feel distant but still painfully real. To add to his singing, there are dreamy harmonies that pull you into a mind that's searching for a way to escape the emotional baggage that’s still hanging around.
Tabor explores the idea that the same love that once brought comfort and joy can also weigh you down. He brings memories of a relationship to life through the changing seasons, where love that felt as endless as nature eventually fades away. There's desperation to revisit that place of comfort and love, even though he knows it’s out of reach. It is simply an expression of emotional honesty.