Grayscale, ‘The Hart’ | Track By Track

Grayscale guide us track by track through the creation of their fourth studio album ‘The Hart’, out now via Infield Records.

The Hart

“We have never done an “intro” track on an album before. For this record, we really wanted the feeling of the room we recorded it in and the sentiments of some elements like the strong arraignments and dry piano sounds we chose to set the mood before “Kept Me Alive” came ripping in.”

Kept Me Alive

“We knew “Kept Me Alive” was going to be the start of the album. KMA is about someone who stood by me during my darkest times. They helped me navigate past trauma, pain, and the overwhelming emotional weight that made me want to give up. I wrote this song as a way to express my gratitude for their love and selflessness. I hope that when people hear it, they think of that person in their life who has been there for them. We all deserve someone who helps us face our past trauma and work through the pain life inflicts, even when it feels like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. This song is a thank you to those who show up with love when we need it most.”

Through The Landslide

“Through The Landslide is a song that touches on the vulnerability that’s found throughout the record. The song is an anthem pleading to somebody you need; somebody your soul needs. Narrating the thought process through internal mental struggle/mental gymnastics in the verses and pre choruses, the chorus has a declaration of vulnerability: “Hold me through the landslide” as in, hold me through this mental landslide, hold me through this feeling of falling apart, then “Love me when I’m lost in fear, when my head is in a street fight, you take my pain and make it disappear.” It is a cry to that one person who knows you so deeply, you feel you can let go of all the callous and heartache and survival and self preservation and just tell them you need them. This was one of the core songs that I felt reflected the sentiments of the entire album; addressing and navigating a dark time while you’re in it.”

Talking In My Sleep

“This song is about different life experiences and tragedies that had put me in a constant state of pain and mental exhaustion. Once I experienced those events, I gained completely new perspectives on life (some good and some bad). This song is about living with those new perspectives. After gaining them, the rest of the world oftentimes felt/looked completely different, and eventually felt unrelatable to me. Feeling unrelatable all the time to everyone and everything eventually led to feeling very isolated and in some ways led to losing all sense of what was valuable in life. I was dealing with everything entirely on my own and didn’t want to ask for help or talk to anyone to get through it. Because everything in life at that time felt so unrelatable, I didn’t think I could find help at all even if I wanted to. It was maddening.”

Let Go

“The track is about the day you finally feel freed of that person or situation that is draining you. It’s a celebration of the advent of the healing process. Oftentimes the drain on you eventually starts to deteriorate your peace and make the world feel darker than it actually is. It’s sort of a ‘fuck you’ song while also recognizing personal and spiritual growth.”

Summer Clothes

I”f you live in the Northeast, or anywhere with cold seasons, you know that there comes a time every year where you swap winter clothes into storage and break out your summer clothes for the year. This annual ceremony is always associated with good feelings, stories, nostalgia, and happiness. We wrote a song about that feeling.”

Magic

“This one is about the undeniable, intangible feeling you have with someone or something; when it’s special you know. We were listening to alot of The Cure when we wrote this. It’s the fastest song on the record.”

Dance With Your Ghost

“Dance With Your Ghost is about being haunted by somebody after they are no longer in your life. Not being able to escape them, seeing them in other people, in the things you do throughout the day etc. When you’re alone with your thoughts, that person always seems to haunt the corners of your mind.”

Don’t Leave Me In The Dark

“This song is about my witness to my mother’s ongoing battle with drugs/alcohol. Being the person she turns to and leans on the most, leaving her alone with herself oftentimes feels like leaving a little kid somewhere you know they’re afraid of, like “the dark.” I sort of drew a parallel from what “the dark” means to a child and what being in a “dark place” means when you’re an adult. Trying to continuously stay strong with her through it is exhausting and makes me hate what drug companies do, preying on people with addiction issues. This song captures the hopelessness of wanting to help but knowing the game is rigged.”

Painting Over You

“This is a breakup song. I went to paint my mom’s house one summer after a breakup. I wanted to do something physical and not think about anything for a while. As I painted the walls, the concept of this song, of “painting over something, but the coat always existing underneath” clicked in my head. I ended up doing one coat of base paint and left the room after 2 days of painting, wrote this song, and never finished (sorry mom lol).”

Mum II

“My mom and I have had a challenging relationship for a long time for many reasons. We didn’t speak for about 5 years at one point in my late teens/early twenties. As I have gotten older, I have felt my youthful anger towards her turn into a mixture of forgiveness, understanding, love, and protectiveness. This song is a follow up to ‘Mum,’ a track on one of our earlier records where the lyrics are about my pain and frustration with her. Many of the lyrics in “Mum II” call back to specific details/imagery of the previous song’s story as well as other Grayscale songs that involve her. I found myself not wanting to play ‘Mum’ live anymore, I think out of an emotional protectiveness and empathy towards what she has been through, her struggles, and her problems. As this feeling grew, I eventually wanted to replace the song with one that reflects how I feel now and how our relationship has grown.”

Not Afraid to Die

“Not Afraid To Die encapsulates a lot of the unapologetic and immovable nature of Philadelphia families in its lyrics. It’s a song about mine and my band mates’ upbringing in the northeast. It’s sort of a celebration of our ruggedness and ridiculousness. The lyrics of “Not Afraid To Die” touch on the juxtaposing feelings you experience while growing up – never getting over a fear of heights, but having the painful parts of life break your heart enough to numb your fear of dying. I wanted to capture the romance of that in a sort of tongue-in-cheek fashion (the only way people from the northeast could ever talk about anything romantically). We have been writing the most authentic music to us, from a storytelling and sonic perspective. We wanted this song to sound like a band playing together in a room. We’ve always been a rock band at our core and we wanted to capture the purest form of that.”