Independent hard rock band Shallow Side released its latest album earlier this month. The release of the new album, Reflections (the band’s third album) came July 19, almost two years after the band unveiled its lead single, ‘The Worst Kind.’ That single and its follow-ups – ‘You’re The Reason’ and ‘Filters’ (which collectively make up the album’s first three tracks) – are good examples of the role that the album’s musical and lyrical content play in the album’s overall presentation. They are just some of the songs that serve to show the role of that collective content to make Reflections worth hearing. ‘Antilight,’ which comes much later in the album’s run, is one more example of the noted strength. It will be discussed shortly. ‘No One Wins,’ another later entry, continues to exhibit the important role of the album’s overall content and will be examined a little later. Joining that duo is the likes of ‘Over,’ which is part of the album’s first half. It will also be examined later. When it is considered alongside the other songs noted here, its existing trio of singles and the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein makes Reflections a record worth hearing at once and a welcome addition to this year’s field of new independent albums.
Reflections, the latest album from Shallow Side, is an interesting album from the independent hard rock band. It is a presentation whose 11 total songs are each easy fits for any active rock radio programmer’s play list, as its current singles have already shown. They are just some of the songs that make the album stand out among this year’s new independent (and hard rock) albums in general. Another entry that makes the album engaging comes late in its 38-minute run in the form of ‘Antilight.’ The song is notable in part for its musical arrangement. The arrangement here is, as noted, another easy fit for any active rock radio programmer’s play list, just as much as the album’s singles. The melodic hard rock style composition is easily compared to works from the likes of Three Days Grace, The Veer Union, Breaking Benjamin, and others of that ilk. That is exhibited through the brooding nature of the overall composition in its verses and its much heavier choruses. That duality is something quite common from the noted bands’ works and from many other similar mainstream counterparts of Shallow Side.
In regard to its lyrical theme, that material resonates just as much with listeners. In the case of this song, the theme comes across as being centered on a person who is less than positive for those around him or her. This as front man Eric Boatright sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Let’s save us both some time/There’s no space here left for change/But you’re probably gonna run past that/Pretending it’s all a game/You’re so fake/That you started falling apart/Can’t wait/There’s alarm bells going off/Done wrecking myself/You put me through hell/Now there’s nothing left to talk about/And I don’t want to feel this/Pull me in and drag me down/Chew me up and spit me out/All this darkness you can’t hide/You’re the antilight.” Already, listeners get the image of someone who is done with that toxic person. Boatright continues with the message, singing, “Go ahead and cross the line/I figured you out just in time/All the lies/Can’t disguise/You’re the antilight.” He further adds, “I couldn’t help myself/Thought that we were something else/Our story started out so well/Another f****** fairytale/You’re so fake/And you’re still falling apart/Too late/There’s alarm bells going off/Done wrecking myself/You put me through hell/Now there’s nothing left to talk about/I don’t wanna feel this/Pull me in and drag me down/Chew me up and spit me out/All the darkness you can’t hide/You’re the antilight.” Once again, what audiences get here is someone who is completely fed up with that unnamed toxic individual. The single line, “Our story started out so well” hints that maybe this was a romantic relationship, though Boatright never makes that 100% clear. It could in fact be a reference to a friendship that went very sour. Either way, the message is clear. That person who started out seeming so great, turned out to be anything but. Everyone knows this situation because everyone has been in this situation. To that end, this is a song whose lyrical theme clearly resonates with listeners. The duality in the song’s musical arrangement adds to its overall impact, with the pairing showing in its own way, the important role of Reflections’ collective musical and lyrical content.
‘No One Wins,’ which comes even later in Reflections’ nearly 40-minute run time, is another example of the impact of the album’s collective musical and lyrical content. The song’s musical arrangement is far heavier throughout its nearly three-and-a-half minute run time than that in ‘Antilight.’ At the same time, it is its own engaging and entertaining melodic hard rock opus. In the case of this song, it is comparable to works from the likes of Another Day Dawns and Saul (which sadly only recently disbanded). It is an interesting arrangement considering the seemingly contemplative nature of the song’s lyrical content.
The lyrical theme featured in ‘No One Wins’ comes across as someone dealing with a mental health concern. This is inferred as Boatright sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “I think a look in the mirror is what I fear most/Reflecting all of the sickness undiagnosed/A parasite that’s made me its host/And maybe they don’t make a cure for me/I keep on searching for happiness/But it’s just not happening/I tell myself I’ll figure it out/I play pretend with my halo/But I’m not OK, though/And in the end/No one wins.” If this is not a person battling his or her own demons, then it is anyone’s guess what is. The seeming inference continues as Boatright adds in the song’s second verse, “I feel like I’m so contagious and losing control/Reading words from the pages my father wrote/Falling further away from hope/And maybe there just ain’t no cure for me.” He concludes in the song’s third and final verse, “I knew I’d be on my own/Lost and all alone/Hoping for my chance/But in the end/No one wins.” Again, this is a scenario to which plenty of listeners will relate. It is that turbulent internal battle that so many people fight daily. Getting back to the song’s musical arrangement, this battle does make the fire in the song’s arrangement more understandable. At the same time, it would have been just as easy for the band to go in a much more brooding direction or even some emo direction. To take the road of so much energy helps to illustrate the situation as that person fighting himself back and forth. To that end, the whole works quite well and in turn further shows the importance of Reflections’ overall content.
‘Over,’ one of the album’s earlier entries, is one more example of the importance of Reflections’ musical and lyrical content. The musical arrangement featured in ‘Over’ brings back the Three Days Grace comparison. Once again too, the duality of the more contemplative verses and the heavier choruses makes for the easy comparison to not only 3DG’s music but also that from Another Day Dawns and so many acts that produce similar compositions.
The fire in the song’s musical arrangement is understandable considering the emotion displayed through the song’s lyrical theme, seemingly about the end of a bad relationship. Yes, there is that familiarity once again. In this case, Boatright sings of the broken relationship, “Looking at a shadow/Are you even there/I thought I knew you/But I guess I didn’t know you very well/Staring at your phone/Living in your own world/Don’t you know I’m here?/Turning back the clock/’Cause I never knew it stopped/Is it even fair/I can’t believe it’s over/I’m done holding onto/A world I don’t belong to/Letting go to save you/While I’m saving myself/I’m done holding onto/A world I don’t belong to/Everything we’ve been through/made us weaker than stronger/I just want it to be over.” This comes across as someone who has had enough of a relationship that has left him (or her even) feeling less than what he or she was at the beginning. This person is feeling miserable and just wants the relationship to end. This seeming message is furthered as Boatright adds in the song’s second verse, “I wanted to need it when I found out you could fit in my mind/Caught you pouring poison/You’re the source/And we can never make up the time/I can’t believe it’s over.” As the song progresses, the subject throws in, “You should have never pushed me so far over the edge/’Cause now I can’t look at you/No second chances/You did me wrong the right way/Never going to do it again.” Again, here audiences have someone who has reached that breaking point, even though he or she feels the shock of knowing that relationship is over. It is a situation that, again, plenty of audiences know and to which they can relate. To that end, the energy in the song’s arrangement makes even more sense. Keeping that in mind, the whole herein is yet another example of the important role that Reflections’ musical and lyrical content collectively play to its presentation. When the whole of this song is considered alongside that of the other songs examined here and those songs alongside the album’s singles and the rest of its songs, the overall presentation makes Reflections a work in whole that is worth hearing at least once.
Reflections, the latest album from the up-and-coming independent hard rock act Shallow Side, is an interesting new presentation from the band. It is loaded with songs that are easy fits for any active rock radio station’s play list and worth hearing at least once. All three of the songs examined here make that clear, as do the album’s current singles. When that collective is considered alongside the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein makes Reflections in whole one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new independent albums.
Reflections is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of Shallow Side’s latest news at:
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