Author Archives: Olivia

The Horrors-Strange House.

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I’ve written about Primary Colours and Skying, but never Strange House. Obviously because I started this (whatever it is) just under a year after The Horrors debut LP came out. I remember the day I bought it so clearly. There are a few records I am like this with.

The album came out in March 2007, and I was a few months into my first year of University. I loved The Horrors since the start. That aggressive, post-punk, garage rock feel to their music drew me in instantly. I fell in love with them when I first heard Sheena Is A Parasite. The video also blew me away. I just loved how different everything sounded. I mean, sure you could hear what influenced them0 but they were (and still are) NOTHING like what was around. I’ve always loved the Ramones, The Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine from an extremely young age (my uncle’s influence on me) and to hear a band that were my age making music like this; it was just a great comfort. Knowing I wasn’t the only one of my age listening to this stuff. It made me connect with The Horrors even more.

It does make me sad that they no longer play anything off this record anymorem but I do understand why they don’t in a way. However, I would’ve loved to have seen them live when they were getting started. I think Faris covering an audience in black paint is my generation’s version of Iggy and the peanut butter incident. Since 2006 I have been trying (and failing) to see The Horrors live. People bailing out was the main issue, as well as me being broke. HOWEVER, they’re supporting Florence on her UK tour in a few weeks. I just hope their music isn’t lost on the crowd. And yes, I am going. I think I am more excited about seeing The Horrors than Florence- I’ll have seen her 5 times, but it means more to see The Horrors in a way because I’ve waited so long.

Faris’ vocals on Strange House were quite “in your face” and would probably cause a vulnerable person’s ears to bleed. Personally, I loved them. I love his voice. I find it to be highly distinctive; he makes you want to listen and treasure every single word he is singing. Whether it’s the shouting on Sheena or the calming sounds of I Only Think Of You (second record.) He just lures you in.

I’ll always hold this record very dear to me, as it reminds me of my first year of Universirty. I remember skipping a lecture that Monday of the release just to go buy Strange House. Am I proud of doing this? Of course I am. It does annoy me a lot that people are only just now getting themselves familiar with The Horrors. Yes, Still Life is a good song- but you need..you HAVE to go back to the very very start of The Horrors to really appreciate what they do now, and see how they’ve gornw. Many critics and the general  public at the time of Strange House, did shun them because of how they dressed and how big their hair was. It wasn’t an image it was just how they were. However, how they dressed really did fit in with the sound and feel of Strange House. I loved the whole look they had going on. If I was male, I probably would’ve copied the look to be honest.

As a debut record, you really cannot find any fault with Strange House. If you can, then you’re not a fan of The Horrors. There is more to them than just wearing black clothes. There is more to them than Still Life. This band are one of the best band’s that the UK has produced in a hell of a long time. What I love about this debut record is, althought it does posses a Garage Rock feel to it- it also has essence of Punk scattered through. You know full well that they did what they wanted with this record (and also with Primary Colours and Skying.) They aren’t a band that should be told what to do, free creative regin is a must for bands like The Horrors. Bands that stay true to their art. There aren’t many bands around now that do this. You can find it easily in the music of The Kills, Warpaint, The XX, Zola Jesus and a few others. I love Strange House because it is a frightening record. Faris’ screaming will scare you bloody shitless- that’s perfect. That is why I fell in love with them when I first heard them.

The record opens with a bloody marvellous cover of Screaming Lord Sutch’s Jack The Ripper. If you’re not familiar with him, get familiar with him. If you love music that is on a different level of weird and will cause mini heart attacks with how insane it is- listen to Screaming Lord Sutch. My personal favourite track off the record is She Is The New Thing. That will always be one of my favourite tracks by the band. I also adore Little Victories. I think that was the song I first played over and over when I got the record. Excellent Choice (either version) is just stunning. The monologue is greeted with Faris yelling in the background. It works, it works so bloody well. I respect that they never play any of these songs live now; but I can’t help but want to witness everyone going mental to Sheena Is A Parasite or Death At The Chapel.

I still find myself watching clips of the band from 2006/2007/2008 playing material from Strange House and just being in awe of every movement from each band member. The way Joe beats the shit out the drums, the way Tom just looks so fucking cool playing the bass oblivious to the chaos on stage and in the crowd. The way Josh throws himself about playing the guitar and making the most incredible sounds. The way Rhys thrashes the organ and moves like a madman. The way Faris screams every single word and stalks the stage like a lucid panther, picking up scattered objects from the crowd and on stage. It is all so fucking wonderful, and it is music like this that makes my heart race and mind explode.

I mean tracks like Gil Sleeping, A Train Roars, Thunderclaps- they are eerie tracks that will posses your mind. The way Gloves deals with an obsession of collecting Gloves. Count In Fives deals with Faris’ habit of counting in fives when he was younger- it is all so fucking magnificent and brutal. You may be quick to judge the songs as screaming bollocks, and for that I wish to lamp you one. Read the lyrics, and you will see just how out of this world The Horrors were then, and still are now.

Most of you may claim Skying as THE ultimate album by The Horrors, and the band probably do too. But, it was Strange House that made me give my heart and mind and ears over to The Horrors. It has fuzzy and psychotic sounds for those who enjoy the weird and dark side of life. It’s the perfect debut record, and when I first heard it I just knew that anything and everything The Horrors would come to do would amaze me and be a huge part of my life. I cannot imagine my life without The Horrors and my record collection without their music. They are a band that you can be proud to be a fan of, and they leave you want more every single time. Just waiting for a new sound that blow your mind and get you falling in love with them all over again.

When I left for Uni in 2006, my auntie and uncle gave me a I AM A HORROR t-shirt and a badge of The Horrors as a leaving present. I still wear them with such pride.

The Small Print.

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I’ve got probably a list of things to do, and as a rebellious 25 year old (I have no idea who I’m rebelling against, but go with it. I want to seem like a badass for once. I’ve got the leather jacket.) I refuse to do them right now. I’ll probably never do them. Some may say it is rebellion, others may say I have a really bad memory. The latter is obviously apt, but let’s go with the former kids.

The Small Print are BRAND NEW. I was going to try throw in some really awful slang, but I’m not one for speaking in slang- unless I’m taking the piss. This blog post isn’t a piss take. It’s actually vital that you go listen to The Small Print. However, they don’t have many songs but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check them out. As they are so NEW, you need to get involved with them right now. Serious. Have you got snow where you are? Yeah, don’t go out. You can go to the pub anytime can’t you? You don’t want to fall over on ice when drunk. It can hurt (I’ve never done it, but I can fall over when sober and if nothing is even in my way.)

So, you have a choice of sites as to where you can check out the insanely wonderful sounds of The Small Print. As I am someone who likes to give and make others happy, I’m going to give you the links :

http://www.reverbnation.com/thesmallprintbanduk

http://www.purevolume.com/TheSmallPrint74381

http://www.myspace.com/the-small-print

Becca’s voice is beautiful. She reminds me of…oh wait, NO ONE! She’s that good. Fuck the comparisons. That’s not happening here. However, Tom and AJ absolutley slay the drums and guitars much like Test Icicles did when they were around. They merge delicate vocals with brutal sounds. It’s honestly no surprise that I love them at all really.

GO LISTEN.

Spooky Campers.

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I was told to check out Spooky Campers. When someone tells me to do something, I have this wonderful thing of never listening. I’d rather fuck up on my own and be responsible rather than say “THEY TOLD ME TO DO IT.” With music, I always take on board if someone tells me to listen to a band or singer. I can’t say, “No thanks. I don’t like the name.” Or something stupid. Of course I dislike a lot, but you won’t find me shouting about it on here. If you want to find a blog that is fuelled by negative comments and sly digs- I’m sure you can find some spotty faced, angst ridden hipster blog somewhere. They’re probably the biggest hypocrite out there, alongside politicians.

Rant aside, and this does fit in- I’m glad I was told to listen to Spooky Campers (sunkensounds.tumblr.com) are to thank for that, so thank you to them.

What do I love about Spooky Campers? Okay the name, I love. But it’s the Garage Rock/lo-fi feel they have. You know how much I love this sound. I was thinking the other day, the music I listen to is probably the stuff some twat would call me out as being a “hipster” for. I was going to get offended then though- if having excellent music taste makes me that, then whatever. It beats being called a “cunt” again.

Spooky Campers are amazing. I know nothing about them. I don’t know where they are from, age, shoe size- I’m doing this to prove a point. You do not need to know everything about a band in order to enjoy the music. I’m more than happy to sit here, and write these words- just enjoying the music. Besides, what use is knowing anything personal anyway? It doesn’t alter my view on the music.

I’m trying to find a band I can link them to in order for me to say, “If you like….then you’ll dig Spooky Campers.” But, I cannot find anyone. Personally, I think that’s a fucking good thing. I’m listening to their music, and I’m thinking why it took me so long to find a band like this. A band that just create this stunning music that virtually nobody has heard of. I don’t want it to stay that way. I want everyone to listen to them. You see, a hipster wouldn’t tell you about them would they? They’d keep the band to themselves, and name drop them during Poetry Night whilst drinking some pretentious sounding made-up latte shit. I like Poetry Nights, but the only hot drink I like is tea. I want you to know Spooky Campers. I want it to be my personal mission to get these guys heard. So I’m starting with this piece on them. I do hope it makes you want to listen to them, because they are truly fantastic.

It does take quite a bit for me to instantly fall in love with a band- and it happened oh so easily with Spooky Campers. It is gnarly, it is passionate and it deserves to be heard by all of you.

Go listen : http://spookycampers.bandcamp.com/

Victories At Sea.

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I do hope that all these bands that are coming up from Birmingham right now are making London bands shit themselves out of fear. With the likes of Swim Deep making incredible music- they bloody well should be.

So, allow me to give you another band from the Midlands. If you love the electro feel of New Order or maybe of recent times- you love the euphoric feel of Foals..possibly M83 too. Whatever you’re into- you are truly going to love Victories At Sea. I’m not just saying this because I WANT you to dig them as much as I do. I just believe in showing off good music in any way possible. Just be glad we’re not friends because I would be sending you their music every single day. Ritualistically because that’s how I am (at times.)

Victories At Sea make music that makes you want to dance. They make you want to dance in that brilliant odd way like Ian Curtis. Or, just like a drunken idiot (I dance like that even when sober.) This euphoric lift that they give you just makes you feel so fucking good inside. Pardon my language, but I’m really feeling this music right in my bones. Music is the one solid thing that makes me happy. There’s always a few bands and songs that give me this feeling that I may never get from a person (I welcome the challenge.) And I’m getting it now from listening to Victories At Sea.

I know I love music that can be regarded as brutal and raw- but I do love music that just sends me into another world. A world that you create in your mind. Like the band are holding your hand, and guiding you towards this magical land. Where nothing and no one can disturb you.

Check out their wonderfully lucid tracks on their Soundcloud page : http://soundcloud.com/victoriesatsea If you don’t dig it, then we may have to have words. Not harsh ones, but still. It’s been a long time coming, but I think this year the Midlands are going to be the ones to watch for music- and quite rightfully so.

They are playing the Roadhouse in Manchester on the 24th February. Make sure you go check them out!

Petition (Important.)

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Every so often something happens in the World that just fills me with rage and disgust towards people. Not all people- just a certain kind. The kind I’m usually disgusted at are called, Politicians. I’m not going to word this in a way that doesn’t offend; I don’t care. I’m past that. Because what the UK government could possibly do is WAY more offensive than anything I could ever write down.

Whether you know it or not- we all know someone who is a victim of domestic violence. You may not know it because they have taught themselves to hide it so well, or they just deny anything is going on. However, for most they seek refuge in Safe Houses across the country.

Well, it seems so motherfucking bright spark wants to cut funding for domestic violence resources. Now, it really doesn’t take a genius to work out that this is beyond wrong and utterly utterly vile. This simply cannot happen. And I want YOU to click on the link that a very good friend of mine has set up for a petition to stop this from happening. Please don’t think “Oh my signature won’t make a difference.” DON’T BE SUCH A TWAT. Sign it. It will take you a couple of minutes, and doing so could stop this from happening. So please, do it.

What makes me sad is that, all too often victims of rape, domestic violence are ALWAYS seen as deserving it. Who the FUCK asks to be raped? Who the FUCK asks to be beaten up on a daily basis, and being made to feel so worthless because of abusive words and actions? NOBODY. NOBODY AT ALL.

We all have the right to feel safe- on the streets and in our own home. To cut this funding would just ruin so many people’s lives. It would take away a safety net for so many. So please please- sign the petition. Thing is- you shouldn’t have to read anything I’ve written- you should’ve just scrolled down to find the link so you could sign the petition. If you read this and think, “Nah..I won’t bother.” Then please, go fuck yourself. Imagine if it happened to you or someone you loved- how would you feel?

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/28979

The Government seem to want to only do things that bring in money and ignore helping others. It doesn’t take a lot to realise that keeping the funds for these resources is FAR more important that the fucking Olympics. People running about for half an hour on a brand new track or saving a person’s life by giving them a place to go? It’s obvious what is important.

Thank you.

x

Shark?

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Trying to find anything about this band just leads me to some stuff about sharks. I don’t mind because I do love sharks a hell of a lot. Probably more than I actually should. The conversations I’ve had about sharks with my 8 year old nephew are quite intense- on both our parts. Both old souls with a solid view on the world. We both COULD be superheroes. Anyway.

Shark? the band come from Brooklyn, which makes them another fantastic East Coast band. If Interpol were less dark but more aggressive- they’d be like this. It’s a good thing because I LOVE Interpol, and I love Shark?

So, why do I love this band? Well, they are from one of the best places in the world (okay, I’ve never been there but you know) and they are influenced by some bands that I adore, and hold very dear to me such as the Pixies and Sonic Youth. This shines through in their music- but by no means are they ripping any of these bands off at all.

Shark? are creating Garage Rock at its finest and I really do hope that you and the rest of the universe take notice of this band. Yeah, a lot of bands have so much to offer but there’s something I’ve found in Shark? that….I guess I can’t put it into words that will make any sense to you. So what I’m saying is- just go listen to the music and let it control you for a bit. It’s always okay to lose self control and throw yourself into something- especially if it is a form of art.

Enjoy.

http://sharkquestionmark.bandcamp.com/

Baby Woodrose.

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I can list you the bands that make me feel like I am having an outer-body experience. I know you don’t want to hear it- but I’m going to give you a band that have been around for some time now, that make me feel like…man..they just make me fucking FEEL you know? This is the kind of band I could listen to if I felt like everything around me was fucked up and wrong, but they’d make me feel good again.

Baby Woodrose are funky as fuck. This is the “my god I am feeling this in my bones” kind of music. If you’d never heard of them before, and if you didn’t know any better- you’d assume they were another astounding Psychedellic band from L.A. They just have that chilled out and lucid vibe. They’re from Denmark. I don’t know much about music from Denmark, feel free to wing some bands my way if you want. I’ll check them out. If they sound like Baby Woodrose, I’ll buy you a drink. Or you can pretend I have. That’d be easier.

Readers, I cannot believe what I am hearing right now. How can something like this have been created over the past decade? This makes me feel like I’m losing myself in the 1960s, some place hot. You know exactly where. This is the kind of music that makes me want to hug someone out of sheer joy because I am so happy to be alive. This gnarly, passionate and trippy music is what keeps me going. You know, if Lester Bangs was still alive- I think that Baby Woodrose would be a band he adored. Man…if Lester was still alive, I would’ve already found a way to get to the States to find him and tell him he is my favourite Music Writer of all time. I’ll let you into a little secret- I aspire to be as amazing as him. I probably don’t have it in me, but I try. Everything I write is me trying to get closer to being a semi decent writer. Got to keep going. Music and writing- they are all I have. I don’t need much. Music like this makes me happy. Music like this makes me glad that my only love is music. This is some serious stuff right here.

I just want to know, why aren’t Baby Woodrose huge? Is it because nobody “gets” it? There’s nothing to GET about this music. It’s incredible, simple as. Is it because their name comes from a trippy based drug? I don’t know. All I know is that they are going up in my list of favourite bands, easily.

Baby Woodrose have a new album dropping in April. It’s called Third Eye Surgery. If you know what’s good for you, you will buy it. Also, check out all their records. Their first one, Blows Your Mind (which it will) is my favourite. And all you shallow fucks are wrong if you think I only like it for the front cover. As glorious as the naked woman is, I love it for the music.

Heartless Bastards.

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I know I’ve just written about a band that make you want to fuck shit up in such a passionate manner, but I need to give you something that will balance it out. I’d make some generic reference, but I don’t think I’m at that place right now. Or if I’ve ever been there. Who knows. Who cares. No one, kid. No one.

Heartless Bastards. What a bloody good name for a band. Their music (and I’m sure them personally) is not heartless at all. Think Beach House. You like Beach House? So do I. Aren’t they beautiful. So are Heartless Bastards.

I love the name, so I’ll keep typing it when referring to them (if I can remember.) Heartless Bastards are a band you need to play when you just want to get in your car and drive off somewhere. To escape those annoying fucks you know, or to just briefly get out of your head for a while. Again, this is another band I cannot give you the genre of. It always spoils it when a person does that. Like, say if a really good Pop singer came out- and a friend said to you, “You need to check out this new Pop singer!” You’d turn your nose up at it wouldn’t you? I don’t understand music snobs. Fuck off man, you’re not the one on stage getting paid to do something you love. You’re probably working in a bank and your boss smells of shit, and the people are shit. And the money is shit. To hell with your negative energy. I’ll never write about something I don’t like just to seem outrageous. I once had cheerios for dinner- that’s how crazy I am. Yeah, I know. Calm down ladies, I’m fucking wild…about as wild as a dead dog.

What was my point?

I don’t have one.

Heartless Bastards are band that make you want to get some wooden platform, stand on a porch and sing the songs to your neighbours and passers by. A real Southern feeling to this band (American not English, silly!) They make you feel warm and proud. I don’t know what you’re proud of, but they make you feel it. They just make you feel so good.

Their new record, Arrow is out soon. I’m not one for giving out advice, but I’m telling you now- to buy the record. If T-Rex ever made a country record, it’d sound like Heartless Bastards music. Not that they’re country, but they have a slight hint of it. I cannot describe it. Just go find out for yourself. You need them.

They’re just a bloody good and solid Rock band.

Chicks Who Love Guns.

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Chicks Who Love Guns are the best band in Australia. I don’t know much about bands from there, all I know is that Silverchair were one of the best bands ever and they too, came from Australia. So, what we can take from this is that Australia produces some good fucking music.

If you like gentle music that makes you feel like you’re being held. Maybe you’re a sadcase who cries themselves to sleep every single night because the likes of Adele express how you feel. Yeah, get in line with the rest of those who read Closer and drink Diet Coke because they want to spend their evening with their best friends Ben & Jerry after work, just to balance it out. It’s cool if that works for you, I mean- for every together person in the universe, there’s about 50 listening to Someone Like You thinking about a lover from 10 years ago.

Chicks Who Love Guns are brutal. If  Test Icicles were still around (I love you Dev, this is where it started man) Chicks Who Love Guns would be an AMAZING support on some world tour, where their stage antics made them the new Iggy & The Stooges. But hey, it’s never going to happen. But being the new Iggy & The Stooges just might.

Forget trying to find a genre to throw them into- it’s not about that at all. They are creating this insane tension filled music that makes me glad I am still breathing. This is my favourite band right now, for sure. I love how aggressive it sounds. I know I’m partial to the relaxed sounds of The xx and Warpaint but sometimes, I need something so fucking loud. Something so grand and loud. Vomit On The Dancefloor makes me want to go to some rundown gig venue, throw my limbs about and shake my head until I pass out. The night would end with my Docs covered in cheap whiskey and clothes being a bit ripped. My jacket would be safe though. That’s always a given. The jacket must always be safe.

Hand on heart, I honestly do not expect any of my friends to dig this band nor do I even expect them to read any of this. I won’t say to any of them to check out Chicks Who Love Guns because I know they want. So, I’m giving it to YOU instead. A complete stranger who I am placing some faith in that you will actually go listen to these guys, and fall in love like I have. Fall in love hard. Be covered in bruises and cuts. Leave yourself black and blue. Bleed a little. Let out your crazy and violent side to this. Just..I don’t know- fuck shit up if you must. I don’t know.

Chicks Who Love Guns are noisy and raw. It has undertones of Garage Rock, Punk and a wee bit of Shoegaze. It’s no surprise that I love them. It’s a lo-fi riot that I never want to stop.

This is the real deal. This is what we all need. This is music to zone out to, it is music to go wonderfully insane to. So do it.

Brand New.

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It all started by accident. It was 2001. I was a lost cause. That’s how I felt from my first day of high school until that day in 2006 when I started University. Some things just stay with you. Luckily, I destroyed it. Its ghost likes to haunt me sometimes, but I ignore it. My love for Brand New was by accident. I was listening to Morrissey, as usual and I saw something that said “bands influenced by Morrissey.” So my curious mind went with it. Some of the bands were truly awful. I have no idea what influenced them, but it sure as hell wasn’t Morrissey.

I clicked on a song to listen to. The title intrigued me because it just seemed a bit depressing. The No Seatbelt Song. The song broke my teenage heart. The song became a borderline obsession. I managed to drag myself away from it. Then I heard Seventy Times Seven. Every ounce of angst and rage I ever felt was being summed up in this song. Feeling so useless and disgusting never felt so fucking good. I’d play it all the time. It was like a prayer. It was everything I wanted to say but couldn’t say. Brand New say the things I could never say. Right now, I can relate to more of their songs than I could imagine. It just proves that they instantly became a highly influential band. Maybe not for you to start your own band, but for you to realise how you feel- and why you feel that way.

Your Favourite Weapon is poetic fury and pissed off feelings- your standard batch of teenage angst at its finest.

Then along came Déjà Entendu. This album is one of the few albums that I will always struggle to put into words, to just describe how it makes me feel. What it did for me, and what it still does. Jesse’s lyrics on this record are enough to make the strongest person in the world have a minor breakdown. I remember when I first heard The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot and just cried. If you’ve ever felt like you’re in the way of a person, a burden or just a waste of a person- you will feel this song. If someone has ever meant so much to you, but the words are forever lingering on your tongue- this song is for you. The last verse is love at its poetic best. The last line always gets to me, “You are the smell before rain. You are the blood in my veins.”  If you’ve ever loved, you will understand this line more than you wish to. This record is so pure and honest; if you don’t have it in you to love it- then you’ve probably never felt real human emotion. The first record just reeked of heartbreak and anger, but with Déjà Entendu it just pours out so much wisdom, and in a way-patience. Jesse’s lyrics on this album are vulnerable, and this vulnerability makes it so easy to relate to. When someone is that open with their music, you honestly cannot help but feel every single word. I bet you still play this record and scream along to every single word now as if it was written for you. There’s a part on this album, in a song that, for me always ALWAYS makes me want to weep out of sheer joy. Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t is one of my favourite Brand New tracks, and it is one I have been listening to a lot at the moment. Recently I paid extremely close attention to when Jesse screams “This is the reason you fall.” The way he screams this line has lately made me really feel the song. Lyrically, it is one of my favourites. It is made up of lines that make you understand just how much Morrissey was and is an influence to him. As a huge Morrissey fan, I’ll admit I was reluctant those years ago to listen to Brand New. I just thought they’d be another rip off. Far from it. So far from it. You can see how they are influenced but by no means are they a carbon copy. I think this song also has one of my favourite lines ever in a song. A line that I have firmly related to since the very first time I heard it. You think when you hear something so long ago; it will gradually lose its meaning. Not always. If anything, the line means more to me now than it did when I first heard it. The specific line I am talking about is, of course “My tongue’s the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart.” One simple line just evokes so much truth.  Last year saw Guernica be far more apt to my life than I ever wanted it to. The line, “….remove whatever makes you hurt, but I am too weak to be your cure.” Just summed up everything. If someone so close to you becomes sick, you’ll fully understand. There was a time where listening to it became too much, I just couldn’t. But it gradually became my safety net, and comfort blanket. I could write about this album until my hands become numb from typing, but I’ve got to move on before I rant like I’ve never ranted before.

The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me; aside from being my favourite album title of all time, it is also my favourite Brand New record. This record came out when I was figuring out who and what I was- and more than likely, hating it. This record along with a few others eased the process of me becoming okay with who I was. I gave up trying to this record. I gave up trying to be what was expected of me to this record. I see this as a positive; I don’t know if others will. However, I’ve learnt to never care again what they or anyone thinks.

What I love about the third record is how painfully deep the lyrics are. Lyrics are a big deal for me. I can’t connect over a key change. I connect over a phrase- and how it is said. Every single song on The Devil And God…is so heartbreakingly easy to relate to. I don’t want to get too personal because you don’t need to hear it- and I honestly don’t know how I’d word it.

There’s certain lyrics on this record that just make me think, “Have you been living in my head?” As a 25 year old who is still trying to take in the universe, I can relate more to this record as I get older. I’ll never know enough, I will never learn enough- I may never be sure of many things. Records like this make being an adult less hard. They say being a teenager is chore- adulthood isn’t exactly a stroll in the park now is it. I’m not saying I hate it, far from it. I love getting older. You appreciate things more- twinges of understanding come through more. The song that I brutally identify with is Milestone. To be honest, I don’t get how you can listen to that song and not see yourself in it. There’s just certain lines that make me freeze with how in awe I am of the way Jesse writes, and how he can get to the very bone of how YOU feel- because it is how he feels. I find a lot of comfort in this record now, more than when I first heard it because I’m older- and he was of course older when he wrote it. It just goes back to the constant growing pains we face all the time. The line I think that really gets to me is “I used to pray like God was listening. I used to make my parents proud. I was the glue that kept my friends together. Now they don’t talk, and we don’t go out.” If a person was to ask me what line from a song sums up anything and everything I feel, and have ever felt- it’d be that. Then you have a line from Degausser, “I can’t shake this little feeling. I never get anything right.”  You can shake off the self doubt you carry, but it has a tendency to leave an unwanted trace sometimes.

The songs are delicate, and as Jesse screams the words it is almost like he is screaming out your frustrations. He is your voice.

I’ll admit, I’ve not heard Daisy. I’m still stuck in awe with The Devil And God….I don’t think I am ready to hear it just yet. I know it’s been a while, but I don’t think I can listen to it just yet. Maybe it makes me a shit fan; I don’t know. I really don’t.

There is so much I could say about Brand New, but my love for them is private. I have a few bands that I hold like this. I have a few bands that I tend not to let me love for them shine out. Of course I have no problem with pouring out my love for Warpaint or Morrissey onto a page- but there is something about Brand New that I hold very dear to me. Maybe it’s because it is emotionally exhausting to write this way- but it is the only way I know how. I try hard to avoid being personal, and I know it is a horrific and shit way to write. I keep trying to stop, but I can’t. If you have no feeling about something, ignore it- I suppose. Brand New are the light at the end of that fucking tunnel that has fast become the bane of your life. Brand New are a crutch. They are the God to your Devil. They exorcise all the badness inside and make you feel human for feeling that way. Like I said before, they say the things you wish you could say. It makes you feel okay with it, because at least someone can get the words out. They get the words out better than you could’ve hoped for or ever imagined.