I often use music to get me in the mood to create. Whilst I write in silence (though not always), music prepares me for the activity. Usually, I am obsessed with a song in particular. For a day or a week, it will be my go-to groove. At the moment that is Undrowned by Everything, Everything.
The song excites me, even now after hundreds of listens. The vocals drag me in. It wouldn’t matter if it was nonsense, just the rhythm and melody bend to fit in my skull. To be honest, the reason the song is on repeat isn’t because of its eloquence, it is the momentum. Still, the lyrics can’t help but entice me...
“I love you, just like a bank”
So tragically beautiful in its simplicity. Mixed in within seeping imagery, that is at times drenched in the abstract.
“A system of pistons, arachnid and blistered”
“And harpies melt through you like horses to glue”
Still, the line
“there’s so much to talk about, that we don’t talk about.”
never fails to punch me in the gut. It comes at the end of a frantic verse that surges through the veins. Synth’s match the vocals, rolling up and down. The pressure builds and builds as his words are spilling into your mind. They need to go somewhere, and then it comes. His voice stretches out, a small respite. The guitars are still panicking, rattling from ear to ear. It isn’t until after the next verse we get a chance to exhale. A release. An extended breath.
“I saw a billionaire, with all his innards nailed to the wall.”
There it is the bittersweet space. You’ve just been injected with chaos, it came so quickly, you wanted it all. It was the promise of stimulation fulfilled to the extreme. Then it comes back, the silk vocals spinning their web, tangling you until you are trapped. A beat now pulsing. It is impossible to say no. His voice like a lullaby, rhyming you into slumber. A part of you loves it, another part wants to expel these words, scream, shout, anything to get them out.
What a mad world! Utterly insane, the song demands you look. Have you noticed? The vocals are both soft and disconcerting, ever-present, pulling in two directions. Don’t you see? Everything...everything is a contradiction.
The album as a whole is a must-listen, but this track is something special. Interestingly, I wouldn’t have said that a week ago. It had been years since I’d given it a proper listen. Somehow, the tracks brilliance slipped by my youthful self. Isn’t it brilliant when you rediscover something?
The main reason I wanted to write this post, other than being able to gush over this awesome song, was in the hopes others might share their favourite music. I always enjoy finding a new band and would love to know what you’ve been listening to.