This week, we bring you another Bandcamp gem, this time from Worcester band Many Kids Take Meds: their Feb. 4 debut single, the A-side and B-side “Distant Memories” and “Last Day to Decide.”
The first thing we hear from this band, on “Distant Memories,” is warm guitar seventh chords that lead into a classic emo rock sound. It’s a vibe that, if you’re in your twenties or thirties and ran with a certain crowd growing up, will instantly put you in mind of autumn parking lot hangs, torn skinny jeans and oversized black hoodies.
The liner notes don’t list any band members’ names, so sadly we can’t tell you whose voice you’re hearing, but the band’s quiet, drifting, and echoed vocals provide a contrast to that bright guitar, which comes in for a few notes after each line of the verses.
“One more story and we’ll all be on our way/So take a look at all these distant memories/Collect all our thoughts ‘cause it’s getting late/Sit back and laugh, but this time we know it won’t stay,” they sing, answered by those guitar chimes each time.
On the chorus of “But I can’t hold on to what I didn’t have, mirror, tell me what happens next,” the full band comes in again at full blast, “I took you for granted, but time moves so fast.”
A shout of “But it’s too late now!” brings us to the coda, where the vocalist howls, “Ripped too many pages from my book/Now all that’s left is distant memories!” and the band lowers the heat again, slowing down and cooling off.
The under-two-minute “Last Day to Decide” starts with a few seconds of silence and a scream, and then we hear a wealth of noise again as the lead vocalist laments the passage of time.
“Sure enough a year passes/I think I might have dropped my glasses/She works hard to pass her classes, but it isn’t enough,” they sing.
There’s a harmonized chorus of “Can’t you see it means too much to me? Can’t you hear? You left me in fear,” and then one guitar begins to chug metal-style while another takes a solo full of bends high on the neck.
As the clock keeps ticking, the song keeps pounding away and the stakes get higher and higher. The lyrics may be on the abstract side, but something here – be it a relationship, a person, a soul – is on its last legs, and our narrator is desperately trying to salvage the situation somehow.
“Did I step too far this time? The animal can’t decide where it dies/Can you make up your mind? The day of execution is the last day to decide,” the two vocalists from the first chorus sing in harmony, and the track ends on an unexpectedly optimistic note over a major chord: “I’ll keep this between you and I.”
“Distant Memories” and “Last Day to Decide” are available on music streaming services and Many Kids Take Meds’ Bandcamp page.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.worcestermag.com ’
