It’s hard to imagine a more breathtaking conclusion to The Format’s first release in 20 years than “Back to Life.”
A gospel-flavored power ballad, “Back to Life” begins with Sam Means on piano as a melancholy Nate Ruess vocal sets the scene.
“Been gone away too long,” he sings. “Got lost inside the storm/ I never meant to say goodbye.”
As the band kicks in, the singer’s voice becomes more animated, his phrasing more soulful, testifying “I’m here to reclaim what is mine” as the ballad builds to a euphoric chorus of “I’m back to life” to end the album on a note of pure transcendence.
You’d never know it was a late addition to the album, much less written with an entirely different voice in mind, its lyrics based on someone else’s set of circumstances altogether.
But that’s exactly how it came to be the closing track on “Boycott Heaven,” the reunited bandmates’ first release since “Dog Problems.”
How a call from Young Thug’s manager inspired ‘Back to Life’
As Ruess recalls, “My buddy Young Thug had just gotten out of jail and his manager hit me up, like, the day he got out and was like ‘Thug’s out. We gotta do something. Do you have any ideas?’ I’m like, ‘I’ll figure something out.’”
Young Thug was released from jail in late October 2024 after pleading guilty to assorted gang, drug and gun charges, bringing the longest criminal trial in Georgia history to an unexpected finish.
Ruess had co-written and appeared on two Thug tracks before that phone call – “Love You More” in 2021 and “Global Access” two years later. He even joined the hip-hop star on “Saturday Night Live” in 2021 to sing his part on “Love You More.”
“But I was so fatigued from writing at the time,” he says.
“So I just called up Sam. I’m like, ‘I need some piano chords. Can you just send me some piano chords?’ So he sent those piano chords and I cut them up a little bit.”
The lyrics came to Ruess more quickly than anticipated.
“I was about to go for a run on the beach,” he says. “That’s what we get to do here in Santa Barbara. I was about to go for a run, and I was getting ready to put it in my headphones on repeat and I stopped my truck and just wrote.”
The Format producer: ‘You’re not allowed to give that song away’
That opening verse was written “with Thug in mind,” he says.
“That was all just about how I interpreted his situation. And I was like, ‘Well, this could also be interpreted in my situation.’”
He sent a demo of the song to Brendan O’Brien, famed producer of career-defining albums by the likes of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and Bruce Springsteen, who by that point had agreed to handle the production on The Format album, although they wouldn’t start recording until January 2025.
“I sent it to Brendan just being like, ‘Check this out,’” Ruess says. “And he was like, ‘Hey, yeah, no. You’re not allowed to give that song away.’”
The Format’s “Boycott Heaven” is released on Friday, Jan. 23.
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].
Get the latest music news with our weekly newsletter.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.azcentral.com ’
