[Editor’s note: Welcome to Red Scarves week at SWT! This week we’re taking an extended look at the Chicago based band, who will release their new album Nice Try on Friday, April 26. Today we’re sharing an essay from singer and guitarist Braden Poole about the band’s song “Lament.”
Make sure to check back Wednesday for Joshua M. Miller’s interview with the band and Friday for an artist essay from drummer Robby Kuntz on the origins of the album’s title.]
Lament is a song that was inspired by events of 2020. With so many disasters experienced in such a short amount of time it seemed like we were witnessing the end of normal, everyday life. While hindsight is 20/20, back then it felt like things had been changed for good and I wanted to jot down stories I was seeing on the news and vent a little about the state of the world and my place in it. A global pandemic, natural disasters and civil unrest were all that we were seeing then, and it was hard to have any optimistic outlook. I lost my job due to Covid. I was living at home. And it was hard to view myself as anything but a disappointment.
This song was an attempt to write in a semi-stream of consciousness style. The absence of a chorus was deliberate. I felt it contributed to the feeling that the song was leading the listener to something monumental just over the horizon. The fade-out too was something I knew I wanted to include on the recording. I believed it would be a nice reminder that life goes on even after all’s said and done.
I still resonate with this song and its theme even after writing it 3 years ago. I’m still concerned about changes in friend and family dynamics, the state of the world, etc. However, I’d say I’m more optimistic than I was in 2020, but I suppose that isn’t saying much.
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