New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ RoadRunner Records) The Amity Affliction's new album, Chasing Ghosts, will be available everywhere tomorrow. Frontman Joel Birch has written down his thoughts about the meaning of every song on the album (read Part 1 and Part 2); in this final installment, he explains "Flower Bomb," "Pabst Blue Ribbon On Ice," "Geof Sux 666," and "Bondi St. Blues."
"Flower Bomb": "Hopefully this song can get through to people in the way I want it to, and that's to say I really hope they can grasp that firstly, anyone can go through depression, and secondly, that it's possible to get through it. The line 'So on to the ocean, and into the sea, so balanced and calm now that's where you'll find me. Wash away all my problems, wash away memories...' is a literal explanation of how I found peace in myself. There were other factors involved obviously, but what I wanted to get across is that there's something out there for everyone to find their peace of mind. Whether it be by getting back to nature like I did or finding other outlets through music, art, sport or other activities, there is something there to help you get through it that doesn't involve speaking to people. I found that being out in the ocean and enjoying the solitude and peacefulness of it all really helped me through. I really hope that people can hold onto the line 'I'll swear if you will to hold onto life, I'll hold on if you will...' and make that a pact between each other. There's more to live for than it appears when you're really in the depths of depression, and it's important to try and hold on as firmly as you can—to whatever you can—to get through it."
"Pabst Blue Ribbon On Ice": "This is a love song. I don't need to explain anything more than that, the specificities in this song are personal and don't need to be discussed; I'm sure everyone can take from it what they will, and that's just as beautiful as me explaining the meaning behind some of the lines in this song."
"Geof Sux 666": "Joel: I wrote this song for my friend Geof, so instead of explaining it myself I thought I would ask for his perspective. This is what he had to say: 'Last year my life fell apart. No shit, one day I was happily living my life the next I was swinging by a garden hose in my back yard. Depression had grabbed me by the throat and it was squeezing tight. During my stay in hospital I was allowed to check my emails once a week and one of those days I received the most amazing uplifting poetic email from Joel, I printed it out and showed my counsellor. He would refer to the email during our little chats—"see, people do care about you Geof"—after a lot of work and some great friends and family I climbed out of this hole. Reading it made me cry, but in a good way. It made me feel like there were people out there that would care if I died - even people out there that care enough just to think about me. Sometimes all we need is simply to know people care. If you are feeling like ending your life, even though I don't know you, I would care if you were gone. Now All I can say to anyone who feels suicidal is "hold on, tell someone—in the end YOU WILL BE OK"—Geof'"
"Bondi St. Blues": "Right after I got out of hospital a few years ago word had obviously spread quite fast through my group of friends, which included Mawds (Break Even) over in WA, who had just recently lost Rohan (R.I.P.) to suicide. He heard about what I'd done and sent me the song November 18th along with an email letting me know he was there for me and that he hoped I could get through it OK. It meant a lot to me, I think I listened to that song more than fifty times on repeat, it's one of the most meaningful things that anyone did for me around that time and I'm still so thankful to him, and the others in BE, for sending it to me. So this song is my thank you to them for that gesture, and the line 'And the boat sails on, like you sang in your song, and my mind feels much clearer several years on...' is a direct homage to Mawds' lyrics, and I hope that my gratitude is full expressed in this song to my friends, because it still means a great deal to me to this day."
Chasing Ghosts will be available everywhere tomorrow—order your copy from the band's webstore!
The Amity Affliction's US tour kicks off October 16; find a show near you!
