For a four-minute song, Secret Colours’ “Faust” sure took a long time to write.

According to Tommy Evans, lead vocalist and songwriter for the Chicago-based group, it took him almost three weeks to write the guitar part for the loud, quiet, loud stunner.

“The difficult part was writing the lead guitar part,” he said. “I remember sitting in the studio for hours trying write a part that fit. Once it was recorded it still felt empty so we added a little tremolo organ in the second verse to add texture. At that point we decided that we needed more lyrics in the chorus so I had to write those as quick as I could to finish the song. It was exhilarating.”

Such care comes across in the track, which is tense and edgy and leaves a listener anticipating an explosion of sound — that tug back and forth is also something Evans touches on in his lyrics.

“The song is about lusting temptation and the struggle between someone and their subconscious,” he says. “It’s about when something irresistible crosses one’s path and the consequences of acting out on it could be morally challenging and has potential to destroy one’s life.”

And while he doesn’t elaborate more than that, the singer does reveal that to perform the song, he finds himself having to get into character. “I’m not really used to yelling when I sing,” he says. “It took me a little bit to find my own tone since I usually just pretend I am Damon Albarn.”