Listening to "Don't Break Me" this afternoon at home while watching the sunset from the window is perhaps more reassuring but less enjoyable because it hurts less. You savor it, but it doesn't risk destroying you inside as it would have in other times. And in the end, it's better this way since new troubles are always on the day's menu.
Everyone is tearing their hair out over PUP, yet it naturally comes to mind that the same things, without much fuss, were already being done twenty years ago, and even better, by Samiam.
The Californian band, despite significant sound changes over more than two decades, has always been an entity with easily recognizable distinctive traits.
"Astray," the second album for Burning Heart, can be considered the older brother of "You're Freaking Me Out." The harsh and tough tones of "Billy" can be found in Jason's vocal rises and falls that occasionally come out suddenly, but this time with a production that has become increasingly refined over the years.
Imagine Guy Picciotto taking the helm of a pop-punk group, replacing Washington D.C. with Berkeley, and with a fair amount of approximation, you'll come across Samiam.
"Sunshine" goes straight into the collector of bests from the Californian band. It has a tune that easily sticks in your head, a carefree vibe, if it weren't for the lyrics.
The band's versatility is perceived by the subsequent and dark "Wisconsin," with its powerful brusque accelerations, and by "Paraffin," which brings to the scene a certain emotional alternative rock of which Husker Du were flag bearers two decades earlier. Among similar tracks that Spotify suggests, "For Want Of" by Rites of Spring immediately stands out as the first track. And it's not even a random comparison.
Hearing Jason's voice first whispered, then rising in tone, and finally exploding in an emotional storm is always a pleasure—try it to believe with "How Long We." And the list of bests doesn't stop with "Dull" or "Mud Hill," for which a promotional video was made showing a reflective and detached Jason in a venue amidst festively kissing couples.
The repertoire always maintains high levels, thanks also to the excellent Jason who delivers strong emotions to those who listen, supported by the rest of the band.
Clear evidence demonstrating that we are not just dealing with a rowdy album to blast on the car stereo during the hot season. In fact, it makes you more inclined to run and shout to the world rather than take a dip in the water.
If you want a good hybrid between more visceral sounds sprinkled over a base of sweet Spanish-punk, "Astray" is a wonderful collection of stickers.
Now pull out your photo collection on Google Drive, browse through your youthful memories with Samiam in the background, and enjoy.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Sunshine (00:00)
monday
sunshine
so high
it's hard to see
through the sunday clouds still lingering
how you wound up in the sea
spinning above
while burning inside
further you go and deeper you dive
don't mean to deceive
but it's they who believe
they fall in love with the girl they perceive not you
blind them with kindness
until they are reminding they're lonely and desperate
and you have a secret
it's something they all think they need
spinning above and burning inside
further you go and deeper you dive
don't mean to deceive
but it's they who believe
they fall in love with the girl they perceive not you
they see what they want in you they
get what they need from you
they take advantage of you
they would be nothing without you
02 Wisconsin (00:00)
on your landlocked island you磛e only got nice things to say everyone is so delighted in a world so white clean and safe sailing safely lightly drifting no resistance calmly as predicted what磗 the difference you磖e only dreaming master of your own dimension narrow as the minds you lay of all the mild and sifted good friends bought taylor made sailing safely lightly drifting no resistance calmly as predicted what磗 the difference you磖e only dreaming i creep up the stairs while you pretend to sleep you made promises you never meant to keep shallow as you are how do you succeed why are you afraid of what you磛e never seen of people you can磘 change behaving honestly i know what you are you磖e just a fallen star another fallen star
04 Mud Hill (00:00)
car windows icing over speaking steam with your breath through the floating strands of your hair am i just like the rest you say you don磘 want anyone or anything say this hurts you too i wouldn磘 bother but this means everything to me so spare me now rehearse the words you say repeat them again as you see my driveway while searching for something more beyond this lonely hill i pretend to hear you act as if i understand i try to convince you i don磘 hate you but it磗 hard to do you say you don磘 want anyone or anything say this hurts you too yeah you too i wouldn磘 bother but this means everything to me so spare me now rehearse the words you say repeat them again as you see my driveway while searching for something more beyond this lonely hill
07 Mexico (00:00)
you want to be someplace warm probably mexico even though it磗 really not that cold been planning a girl girl trip in a motor home to see how it feels to leave you wanted to see just how good it feels to leave never mind the mess you磛e left behind you wanted to see just how good it feels to leave and leave everything behind just a chance to breathe a little time of your own it don磘 really matter where you go i�?l buy you some magazines you can call me from a roadside phone let me know when your coming home you know where to find me whenever you decide you know that i�?l be here when you get home you wanted to see just how good it feels to leave never mind the mess you磛e left behind you wanted to see just how good it feels to leave
08 Dull (00:00)
Four hundred of my closest friends
Forgotten names that I pretend
To know, it hasn't even been that long
So how've you been, you look the same
Remember when the Doughboys played
At Gilman and they broke up on your lawn?
And I wish it could always be like
This is something I've been missing
It's not too late to change what you've become
The last time I saw everyone
We buried our friend and his gun
I think he'd be happy here right now
So don't be jaded
I don't wanna spend another long and lonely weekend by the phone
Without anyone to call
I've had a lot of time to think and I'm so tired of thinking
I know why he put that bullet in his skull
I forgot how good it feels
To be part of a spinning wheel
Supported and supporting, on and on
Forget the judgment and the games
Forget the shit-talk and the shame
You will only be young for so long
And I wish it could always be like
This is something I've been missing
It's not too late to change what you've become
The last time I saw everyone
We buried our friend and his gun
I think he'd be happy here right now
Don't be jaded
I don't wanna spend another long and lonely weekend by the phone
Without anyone to call
I've had a lot of time to think and I'm so tired of thinking
I know why he put that bullet in his skull
Because life can be so dull
Life can be so dull
Life can be so dull
Life can be so dull
I don't wanna spend another long and lonely weekend by the phone
Without anyone to call
I've had a lot of time to think and I'm so tired of thinking
I know why he put that bullet in his skull
Because life can be so dull
Life can be so dull
Oh, life can be so dull
Life can be so dull
10 Bird Bath (00:00)
an empty nest ist just a tangled mess since your bird has flown you filled her with emptiness light enough to float you taught her everything she knows think you磀 know by now it don磘 feel the same this time around take a walk down your old street and try not to forget you tied her down you left her alone she stuck it out too long with you out of sight she kept you in mind on her first flight think you磀 know by now it don磘 feel the same this time around take a walk down your old street and try not to forget how do you feel now you feel alone you don磘 feel so smug do you since your bird has flown think you磀 know by now everything磗 changed somehow take a walk down your old street think you磀 know by now
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