Familiar Things recently released their EP Fade Into The Scenery, and we’re pleased to bring you the track by track provided by the band (read it below). You can grab the EP through Bandcamp here.
Fade Into The Scenery is thoughtful, honest and emotive, a sound in many ways shaped by the Philly punk revolution of recent times; a raw accessibility balanced out by a melodic finish. Subsequently, the band sees themselves drawing on more mainstream alternative influences and credit the early-mid 00’s purveyors of the genre, the likes of The Starting Line, Yellowcard, and Mayday Parade all shining through.
1) Tourniquet
When we first started this band, we always knew that we wanted to write pop punk music like the bands that influenced us, but with our own twists. We thought that writing a fast, and upbeat opener with a driving piano riff was something particularly unique. The lyrics touch on that feeling of becoming stagnant in your daily routine, and finding refuge in the person who has the ability to cut us off from the rest of the world, and as heard in the second verse, sometimes that person needs us as much as we need them. Tourniquet is a “drive-with-your-windows-down” anthem that musically, and lyrically reflects finding freedom in love. – Jon
2) Okay, Then
I started “Okay, Then” with the chorus, and I sat on it for about a year and a half. When Jon and I decided that we were going to start a band, I wrote the rest of the song in one, 2-3 hour writing session. When Ty heard the song acoustically, he went to him in home recording studio and laid down the chorus with a full band arrangement. It was at that point we knew we had to include it in our repertoire. The lyrics reflects a break up with the shared metaphors of writing a song and being a drug addict. A particular favorite line in that regard is “I might be addicted, I swear I’ll be done after just one more line on you.” Following the second chorus, the main character arrives at his ultimate catharsis, “My pen has run low, and my notebook is filled, so why don’t you move along.” We end the song with a guitar solo that reminds me of the main character’s newly found sense of freedom and empowerment. – Bebo
3) Meant a Lot
This song was written on a snowy March 13, 2017, two days after a pretty tragic event in my life. The events that transpired that night made me realize that no matter how much you want someone in your life you need to learn to cut certain people out who truly don’t belong there. The song is based on a text conversation I had. The first lines of verse one are taken directly from a message I sent. The next verses address being alone while I know she isn’t, and touch on accepting uncertainty, while trusting that I have my own best interest. The bridge is a reflection of wondering what went wrong, and the chorus perfectly sums up the songs message: Letting go is okay, as long as it’s for the best. Honestly, this song makes me think of the shittiest night of my life up to that point but its also fun to see how you grow over time. – Kevin
4) October
“October” is a track that predates both Familiar Things and children under 8 years-old alike. There is a very poorly self-recorded version circa 2010 in the archives that will never see the light of day (except in the event of a Japanese Deluxe Re-Issue of ‘Fade Into the Scenery’). It was originally composed as a purely acoustic track, as referenced throughout the first verse and chorus of the current version, which evolved into a full-band banger when it joined the Familiar Things catalog of sad-boy anthems. The song is written from the perspective of an individual who has hindsight in the wake of a failed relationship and depicts the downfall and disparity when love and effort alone are not enough to keep the relationship alive. “October” is a journey from start to finish with soaring leads, melodic harmonies, and a powerfully relatable feel. – Tyler
5) First Times and Forced Rhymes
When I wrote “First Times”, I loved it. This, like most of the songs on our EP, was written a very long time ago, and even then I felt like it was a song that would stick with me. Jon, and I toyed around with it after Straight Down Maple (our first band) broke up, but I knew that it simply wasn’t finished. It wasn’t until we brought it to the full band that it really started coming together. The riff, originally played on guitar, was transferred onto the piano. Ty then started messing around with harmonics on guitar, and that’s when we really picked up some steam. Twenty minutes and countless suggestions later, we were playing the beginning of “First Times and Forced Rhymes” the way it can be heard on the EP. I remember thinking how happy I was that this song had finally found its voice after so many years. In the end it was, for all of us, the hardest song to write and master. To me, it gives me hope that for the future of this band, when a song seems difficult or different, we are there to pull ourselves up by the boot straps, and make the music we know we can. – Bebo
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