THE SONGS

Song songs songs, or as we call them……. songs. Our songs are more like stories – we always write about something, never just for the sake of it.

Our inspiration is drawn from all over too; the usual heartache and turmoil that relationships bring, the stupid things people (we) do and even inspirational ideas, quotes and moments from TV shows (we know!).

What About The Sound?

Ok here’s how it usually pans out: Mark will write a song on the acoustic (or bass, rarely), and it’ll be a song that can be sung with simply that acoustic, with a full band or even totally redone as a pop song by a rebellious former girl band.

Then……. then it happens. Matt’s Eddie Van Halen, AC/DC ripping guitar gets thrown in and there we end up – a rock band with a sliver of cheesy 80′s inspired power pop thrown in for good measure: thoughtful verses coupled with epic choruses….

Let us give you a little insight into each song – it’ll pass five minutes on your lunch break.

Someone You Used To Know

This song is about the ups and downs of a relationship really – the verses sung from the perspective of the fella and then the chorus sung from the woman’s perspective. It’s pretty much the man telling the woman what a mistake it is breaking up and her throwing back at him:

“I’m lonely, when you look at me you seem to look right through, and you see someone you used to see, someone that you once knew…“

Jack

We like 24. You know, the TV show about poor old Jack Bauer. He has some shit days, and that’s kinda what we wanted to capture with this song. Inspired by Bauer himself, it’s really about kicking back and doing what you want when everyone is telling you different – or at least it gets to that point in the last verse.

Beautiful Tragedy

Interesting one this, again inspired by a TV show; or should we say a very brief moment in a TV show. Seen that episode of Lost (season 3 finale?) where Jack & Kate meet each other after a few years (sorry spoiler there!)?

That’s where the inspiration came from. It developed from there into a song about how, having screwed up a relationship years ago, two people meet back up and wonder if they can really give it a show again after the mistakes they made in the past. Starting with the line in the first verse:

“Can you remember the way that we left it, can you remember the way that we wrecked it?“

to the last verse coming full circle to:

“Can you remember the way that we left it, will we still do the same things that will wreck it?“

We think the song is best summed by the last line of the lead in:

“I can’t remember the last time I saw you look so happy to be around me, without that worried look beneath your broken smile…“

Red Tarmac

Mental girls. Easy.

We’ve all had em, psychos who are just f*ckin’ bat shit crazy. That’s where the idea came from, and it developed into the idea of a guy basically getting the crap beaten out of him by his nutty bird and being too scared to leave.

“I wonder if you’ll ever get from this what you’re trying to achieve; a man so f*cking stupid that he’d actually believe, that you’re alright in the head and you won’t ever do him wrong – I guess he’ll never get to hear this bitchy little song“

The name? Local slang for psycho girls is “cyclepaths” – and what are they made of?

One Way Street

Oh shit. This is an awkward and potentially sensitive one.

F*ck it.

This is about a suicide bomber. A guy that signs up to something he doesn’t really appreciate the magnitude of – gets himself in way too deep wit some bad sorts, and then realises that actually he doesn’t want to carry it out; it’s not right.

“He wipes his brow, and take a look at himself in the mirror, he turns away, he doesn’t like what he sees staring back at him, he walks away from everything that he’s ever felt, who would have guessed, what’s coming next for him?“

The guys wants (needs) to make a difference in the world but figures out that this is not the right way at all – but it’s too late to back out (“It’s a one way street“). Probably most effectively summed up by the middle eight:

“He says he’ll stay but he really wants to run, he knows he’ll stay ’cause he wants to be remembered by someone – just anyone, will they ever know his name?“

Steal A Piece Of Me

Ha ha this is a classic.

We played a gig at The Snooty Fox in August 2009 and saw a band there playing a simple, simple song that was essentially a rock ballad – easily predicted and easy listening. But, it was bloody good!

As a bit of a joke Mark wondered if such an obviously written and cliched song could work – so, within 20 minutes this song had been written about a man meeting a down on luck woman in a bar, falling in love; essentially saving her from her suicidal self. These two strangers fall for each other, with neither of them quite believing how close she was to missing out on this epic love story.

Love at first sight, summed up by the first verse from the bloke’s perspective:

“From the moment that you opened my eyes to you, I could tell that things would never be the same. And when you told me that your heart had been broken, I couldn’t bear to let your heart stay that way…”

Cheesy, cliched and riddled with obvious chords (1, 4 & 5 all the way Adam) – it’s perfect.

Queen Of Hearts

Ever broken up with someone? Ever found it hard to move on and end up back with the same person after a night out etc, just because you both can’t get away from it?

Who hasn’t… (except Byson)

This is really a conversation between two ex lovers who keep trying and trying to break up because it’s just not right for them – but can’t seem to make that final leap and forget each other. The chorus and the middle eight are really the story tellers of this one:

“Queen of Hearts, won’t you call me in the morning, to see if I’ll remember your name. Queen of Hearts, won’t you wonder when you wake up, are we gonna break up again?….

And here we find ourselves, just laying here waiting for that awkward moment to pass – but that moment never seems to arrive ’cause it’s so familiar, to me; familiar to you…“

9th Wonder

Another TV inspired one – this time about that Stallone-alike Peter fella off of Heroes.

It’s inspired by the fact that he’s got so much responsibility riding on him that he’s doubting whether he can do it; can he be the bigger man?

To be honest, when it was being written it almost evolved into an “everyman” kinda song – the lyrics relate to everyone who is struggling with something and don’t know whether they can push through it and come out the other side.

Jesus, that’s some bollocks there!

Hope Of Having You

Well we needed a song for Matt to show his new acoustic off playing… this is what came out.

A really short and quickly written little song that was inspired by a quote that Mark read on a friend’s wall on Facebook (!). Some girl had broken up with some guy and the quote was:

“It’s not the despair, the grief or regret; it’s the hope of seeing you again“

And it’s a pretty song – you should listen to it.

Breaking Even (With Your Soul)

Straight up power rock fused with some 80s Bon Jovi style chorus work. What’s not to love?!

The inspiration for this is unknown (other than a tip of the cap to Sweet Child ‘O Mine at the start) – Mark just put some chords together and a song came out of it that’s really about someone being a first class nob head with people, and specifically the people they love.

It all comes back to haunt them throughout the chorus, in the form of the heartache and upset that they’ve never experienced before because they’ve always been the dark souled person dishing out the unhappiness:

“Thank you for showing up so I know what it’s like, when the world crashes down upon your shoulders. Thank you for turning up so I know how it sounds, when your heart is breaking even with your soul“

Two Worlds Collide

This is about arguing with your partner – what a weird one!

Simply put it’s the process of having an argument and that weird night that you spend walking around on egg shells before it kinda blows over:

“And now a day has passed, the clouds have blown aside – is it a clear sky or still a stormy ride? We pass like strangers on a stairway bound for, who knows where? Do we even really care?“