Dead Fall's sophomore EP, Never Expected sees the band offering their biggest and most serious push into the scene since their formation in 2013. We asked the band to tell us about each track. Their commentary on the album can be seen below.
AC:
Growing older and beginning to absorb the “real world” is something everyone will inevitably encounter. For me, it came in the form of realizing all the things I’ve come to know and love won’t last. As a young adult, I’ve felt my perception of certain situations and life events change drastically. I look at things in a different way. There’s not always that endless hope you have when you’re young. There’s no more deniability that everything might just turn out ok. No more “I’m just not going to think about it”. I’ve felt pieces of my life that previously seemed cemented break apart. I learned that growing up means dealing with drastic change. A.C. is a song about being afraid that you will not be able to keep up with how rapidly life changes. It’s about feeling like you’re backed into a corner wondering what your next move will be. Will you be able to deal with the consequence of being so aware of reality?
Delude:
Delude, like Temporary Bliss, is another high energy/up tempo song. This song in particular might hold my favorite drum parts of the entire EP. Delude uses catchy melodies and an upbeat tone to tell a story that’s not actually so happy. I was cut off completely from the closest person in my life. I felt deluded by the one that I loved, the one I spent so much of my time with. The one I trusted unconditionally. I had questions I asked myself every day about it. It was the first time I truly came to understand that nothing will stay the same forever.
Temporary Bliss:
Temporary Bliss is a song that meshes into the narrative of several tracks on this EP. In particular, this track follows the struggles of being drawn to someone who has hurt you in the past. You see the flaws, you have been dealt pain first hand many times over by this individual, yet you still retain a certain curiosity and attraction to them. Musically, this is the most upbeat and bouncy track on the EP. Playing this song live brings a great aura of energy to our set.
Drowned Out:
Drowned Out is a song that captures a unique transitional period in my life. After the exit of a long term partner that was deeply engrained into my every day life, I began to question what was good for me and wonder if the things I had built my life around were true at all. A lot of the questions that were burning in my head from the months of isolation were asked in this song. Being the first time I truly experienced this kind of loss and heartbreak, I was forced to come to terms with the fact that people can and will choose to remove you from their lives in an instant when you least expect it. I also got to feel the bond between my friends, family, and I grow stronger than I could have imagined as they supported me through it. In the end, I have come to value both experiences. They’ve helped shape the person I am today, and I couldn’t be happier with myself.
Never Expected:
The title track of the EP is one of the few songs I’ve written lyrics for that came as one continuous stream of thought. It was only a few days after exiting a long term relationship when I sat in my room back home, alone for the first time in years. Miserable weather and a pitch black room seemed to kindle what was to come. Over the course of an hour, I put all the words to paper as they came into my head. I didn’t write with a specific theme in mind, I didn’t have an outline of what I wanted to write about, I wanted to take it as it came. This created what I believe is the most raw track of the EP. It is the darkest and most unique song of the EP. I didn’t go back and change much at all after I had it all down, I wanted to retain the emotion that I truly felt while writing. The song captures an outline of the final moments of knowing someone, of having someone around, of feeling like you have a grip on anything at all. It tells the story of the one you love most cocooning themselves, hiding away from you, only to emerge a different person who does not see you the same as they once did. You realize in a single moment, everything can be changed by a few words. You don’t have the answer. You learn to live without them. You will never know them again.