Shadow Sides – Queen City Sounds and Art

Shadow Sides Delves Into the Disconnect Between Romantic Fascination and Real Connection in the Delicate Dream Pop of “We Say Love But We Don’t Mean It”

Shadow Sides delves into another realm of human relationships that often goes unspoken or dimly understood with its new single “We Say Love But We Don’t Mean It.” Its languid pace and nearly whispered vocals with the pulse of a bass figure it’s musically reminiscent of the song “Seven Sisters” by Rainer Maria except for the icy synth that blooms throughout the song like a neglected part of one’s mind chiming in a reminder through pure feeling of a deeply buried yearning for real connection rather than those the logical mind has convinced itself would be cool and exciting and thus desirable. The title is the chorus of the song and as the narrative of the song unfolds the pace picks up and the line “Protect our hearts/Emotional blind spots/I want it, I need it/We say love but we don’t mean it” hits like a personal revelation wrapped in spidery, delicately chiming guitar work and the aforementioned bass line that now feels like a comforting presence. It’s a song about wanting someone to be something to you that they really aren’t and one’s willingness to look past red flags and deal breakers of behavior and personality because isn’t this superficially and attractive person the one you want to be with? Are you in this state of being capable of even knowing who you want to be with for longer than a day or a moment? Sometimes in life you don’t know and it’s part of the learning process for many people of learning how to actually love with integrity and not the charade of such based on an impulse and a whim. The song is about not quite being there but having an understanding that what you thought you wanted isn’t. Which is a stage of emotional evolution that some people never seem to get to stuck thinking they’re in love with people that are bad for them and torturing themselves by holding on when they should let go. Listen to “We Say Love But We Don’t Mean It” on Spotify and follow Shadow Sides at the links below.

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Shadow Sides Brings and Uplifting Energy to Coming to Terms With Childhood Trauma on the Shoegaze Tinged “no going home”

Shadow Sides’ new single from its forthcoming album Dissolve the Frame “no going home” is stylistically divergent from the brooding darkwave of “heroine with meaning.” The sparkling guitar work is more reminiscent of the expansive, ethereal sounds of 80s post-punk band The Chameleons. Chords hang and dissolve over an understated, driving bass line and drums, the riffs shimmer and burn with an urgency in moments reflecting the lyrics that hint at an adulthood coming to terms with childhood traumas. Lines like “Buried in youth” after “Uncovering half truths” points to the kind of information that sometimes hits you out of the blue and rattles your psyche for a moment because you’ve had to dissociate at those earlier points in your life to emotionally survive and the memories had stayed hidden and all but forgotten. Though the song is upbeat it is an expression of the kind of energy you have to muster to not be sunk with finally coming to deal with dark moments of your personal history that inspire thoughts like “Nothing stays the same, there’s no going home” because it’s abundantly clear why that isn’t even a desirable option. Without softening the impact of experiences like the song outlines that many people can find relatable it kindly expresses the sentiments indirectly, resonating with the emotional truth over relating graphic details, and pairs it with the kind of uplifting melancholia that The Chameleons and bands it influenced like Kitchens of Distinction and Slowdive manifested so well in their own foundational work to the kind of song Shadow Sides offers here. Listen to “no going home” on Spotify and follow Shadow Sides at the links below.

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Shadow Sides’ Brooding and Ethereal “heroine with meaning” is a Dark Post-Punk Portrait of an Intense and Irresistible Yet Dysfunctional Romance

Shadow Sides, image courtesy the artists

Shadow Sides captures a certain post-modern decadence on what might be called its signature song “heroine with meaning.” One of the lyrics mentions the concept of shadow sides and how we all have them. For some it’s just the more emotional and non-linear logical, creative side, and for others it’s a definite dark side and probably for most there’s a little of both and it’s not as discretely sorted out as all of that. The song has a fantastically brooding bass line and ethereal post-punk guitar work with almost whispered vocals like a voice in that subconscious dark coming to the fore and speaking uncomfortable truths that one often fears admitting to oneself. It’s a song about an intense relationship between people who might just be bad for each other and the double entendre of the song title is surely no accident including the idea of how performative and ritualized it can all feel. Many people find themselves attracted to someone with a passionate intensity that bypasses reason and logic at some point in their lives and that can short circuit one’s ability to navigate challenging times in a way that’s healthy but that allure is undeniable even when you know it’s bad for you. And yet there is a whole body of creative work about that connection that for many people feels soul deep and difficult if not impossible to shake. The lurid tone of the song and how it sounds like a decadent and weary love ballad is definitely part of its appeal the way film noir and the novels of the likes of Bret Easton Ellis or Chuck Palahniuk can draw you in for a story that is going to have some wildly uncomfortable moments that fascinate nevertheless. Musically it’s in the vein of the darkwave end of post-punk but the strong bass line and present yet disembodied vocals set it apart from how some of that music can be a little sonically thin. As for the subject matter? If you’ve been in a relationship or few like that described above this song will absolutely speak to you. Watch the lyric video for “heroine with meaning” on YouTube and follow Los Angeles’ Shadow Sides at the links below.