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Specifically track 4 Salem Sisters
It (at least in my interpretation of the lyric) being about the social awkwardness of being at a party being depicted as being burned at the stake resonates with me an insane amount. plus someone (professor skye) called them British boygenius so you can’t go wrong. (man I wrote being a lot)
Apr 8, 2025
Related Recs
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example // in sufjan stevens’ it’s your own body and mind off of a beginners mind,(the formatting choices here are completely arbitrary) he angelically sings:
she’s gotta have it
she’s gotta dream
(she’s got a dream)
and she'll make it a habit
of doing her own thing
as so graciously told to me by genius, (this link does not redirect to anything I simply like to imagine it looks fitting) this song is based off of spike lee’s she’s gotta have it, and is an ode to self actualization, autonomy, and love.
HOWEVER, when I heard this song it became:
she’s god of heaven
she’s gotta dream
(she’s got a dream)
and she’ll make it of heaven
as so woefully malformed by my brain,
the song became a tale of a woman who is ”god of heaven.” I derived that sufjan had put a woman on the pedestal of all pedestals claiming her a god of heaven aka: God,(for those who practice)—(sidenote: what are you practicing)—(double sidenote: this is a joke) or even surpassing God. I figured that i was listening to a song about infatuation and rose-tinted perspective, much similar to his song impossible soul off of the age of adz (i could write pages upon pages about this 25 minute long masterpiece and the cover of the album talking to me while on mushrooms but alas…seek ye treasure (pirate reference)) in which he sings “woman tell me what you want“ and “you are the lover of my impossible soul.” so sue me for thinking lover boy stevens was back at it.
i do think there is a beauty in misunderstanding lyrics that can show you what is at the forefront of your brain without you even realizing. when listening to the song i was thinking of my girlfriend, (god of heaven. obviously.) and my brain jumped to connect that dot. i find that this happens very often and it usually suggests something more interesting and provocative than a simple yanny and/or laurel mishap (green needle for my enthusiasts). if you have any similar experiences do feel free to share!
May 15, 2025
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The first single from Winter Boyfriend from the upcoming album set a, frankly, very different note. 'anx/bodies' is an outlier for us, musically and lyrically, but when putting the final touches to the album it was one of the songs that people seemed instinctively to engage with if they weren't broadly invested in our main thing, essentially indie/indie-punk made by a would-be emo band. At the very least it provoked a reaction.
It's a song inspired by a very specific series of events but is not specifically autobiographical. Outside of the world of this song i am much less forward about sex. I enjoy being 'too much' with friends but i really don't want it going anywhere my family might hear it. Repression is fun! I often wonder if that's similar to what actors feel when doing nudity or whatever. It's a case of, "I don't want to know you've seen me experience that?" Anyway, honesty can help in art, but also maybe so too does a little internal repression.
It was written about a memory of going to a university disco, arriving at the club where everyone was looking hot and cool, and i suddenly becoming very aware of my inability to be calm. It is essentially about over-stimulation and amorousness and the confusion of that smashing like a wrecking ball through any semblance of chill i might have had.
The verse bass riff is really old, easily over 10 years old. I wrote it for a different project, a Death From Above 1979 rip-off thing, and my pal Martin played bass, while i sang and drummed. The song was unremarkable but the riff was cool. There was no way i wasn't keeping it. Also, it explains why it's the only song that uses a fuzz bass tone. Yet.
I have no idea when i came up with the guitar riff but it's one of my favourite parts i've written. It's rythmic and a little bit dissonant, but i think the G# implies an E Major chord, making it A minor natural (sorry music theory experts, probably butchering this).
I was also unsure if i could allow myself to write the chorus which used power chords. It always feels too basic. But it worked in the context of the song. I finished it years ago aside from a few lyrical tweaks and the introduction sound (chord played, tremolo arm depressed as it fades out, recorded and reversed). Also when mixing the song my references were very different and included a lot of 00s and 10s music, including bands that have been grandfathered into the whole 'indie-sleaze' thing, and it made me realise the second verse needed, nay demanded!, a cowbell and some percussion (the other percussion is drumming on glass bottles fyi).
I feel like 'anx/bodies', and the song that follows it, 'on our way home', are two sides of the same coin. One uptight, repressed yet explosive, and the other unrelenting, desperate and flailing. You could almost imagine the latter being later in the same night, getting existential when worse-for-wear. More on that one later.
Jun 19, 2024
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What a wonderful way to end the album ‘the record,’ especially on vinyl where it has a locked groove so the song keeps playing the last note indefinitely until you stop it yourself. First time you experience it it’s eerie, but I think in the scheme of the last two lines of the song is makes sense: “I can't feel it yet / But I am waiting all morning...” — almost as if the note is being held out long enough for the singer to believe that it true, or that it will be true one day. Any song written by Lucy Dacus is 10/10 for me as she manages to bring a depth & transparency to anything she touches.
May 5, 2024
Top Recs from @mer
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Whenever I feel down or just kinda lost in the world I always gravitate towards it for the pure bliss that it overflows with and my undying love of the talking heads and David Byrne.
Apr 8, 2025
literally found out he had a website less than a minute ago and we can find out what it’s about together
Apr 8, 2025
