Title: “I Was Better Before the Break-Up”
Artist: Amy Meyer
Release Date: February 14, 2015
Length: 4:17
Recorded: Half-Moon Studios, Las Vegas, Nevada
Genre(s): Pop-Punk, Alternative Rock, Pop
Label: Kaleidescope Records
Writer: Amy Meyer
Producer: Amy Meyer, Christian Fallon

“I Was Better Before the Break-Up” is the fourth solo single from American singer-songwriter ‘Amy Meyer’, most well known as the lead singer of former pop-punk giants ‘Riot! In The Boulevard’. It marks a continually steady build towards her as-yet-untitled debut solo album although media outlets have questioned the success of her solo career thus far in comparison to the rapid-fire success that she garnered with her former band. Two of her previous three solo singles have only just managed to scrape into a top ten position on the singles chart, usually that would be automatically considered good-going but with high expectations from the former rocker those sorts of chart positions are considered less than desirable, however, “Stars” which was her second official solo single did appear to be the one that would truly launch this new era for Meyer as it peaked at the top position, proving that she does have the capability to stand alone and remain succesfull in doing so. It’s thought that the reaction of her fourth single could be the deciding factor in whether her solo career is so far considered a success or ultimately a failure.

Her latest song was written around October 2014 and many have already begun stringing together theories of the songs true topic, it’s title alone screams an obvious inspiration from a real-life event and it’s lyrics appear to accentuate that. Back in August last year, Riot! In The Boulevard played their final show together at least for a while and announced to their fans that they were taking a break, they refused to call it a break-up because they felt that they would be back making music again sometime in the future, but the fans took the news as the band breaking up and already parts of the bands internet fanbase are speculating that the song will be about the bands end rather than a personal relationship break-up, all of this speculation was of course only based on it’s title as it had yet to debut at the time. However, lyrics in the song do relate to a romantic relationship in parts (“They say, I’m not built to get over anyone/Yeah, they say I was happier before he had gone.”) As those lyrics in particular indicate a more traditional meaning to the term ‘break-up’ but their obsessive fans will no doubt continue to speculate the songs true meaning, no doubt.

The song was recorded in the winter of 2014 at Half-Moon Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada and was produced by Amy Meyer alongside Christian Fallon. Unlike her previous singles, this latest track finds Amy Meyer embracing her pop-punk roots as opposed to the melodic piano-led backdrop of her previous solo efforts. The inclusion of an electric guitar and drums manage to give the song a fire that Amy is able to play-off of so well as she has shown in the past with her former band. The song is fast-paced and features catchy lyrics that manage to convey energy and emotion at the very same time, another trick that she mastered in her previous life as band-leader. The single will be released on Saturday 14, February 2015 as a CD Single, Digital Download and 7” Single and will be distributed through Kaleidescope Records.

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Amy’s Comments;

“So here’s another song for you guys and gals out there, I know they’ve sort of been slow-burners and kinda sporadic over the last few months, but I promise that I’m working as hard and as rampantly as I possibly can to get this album finished up and just finally put it out there so that you guys can here what I’ve been doing and so that I can play em’ live for you all ...

I feel super-passionately about this record, my aim from the outset was to create as personal a record as I could and provide the sort of songs that come from the very pit of my soul. Of course I’m aware maybe more than anyone that once a song is out there for people to dissect, it’s meaning isn’t what you felt but instead what they interpret it to be and I’ve made my peace with that and I’ve learnt to embrace that over the years, of course my songs mean the exact same to me as they did the day I wrote it, but I love hearing the theories behind my songs, some which are a whole lot deeper than when I actually wrote them.
But that’s for another time ...

My latest song is called “I Was Better Before the Break-Up”, I know it’s maybe a contentious title but it seemed like the only thing that the song could be titled, if I had the ability to write titles first and lyrics second then my life would be a whole lot easier haha but sadly my life doesn’t work in those ways. Anyway, I don’t want to go too much into what the song is about because I think the fun is to find what it means to you and relate it to your own life. It can be about a freindship ending or a romantic relationship ending, it could be about a band that you like deciding to go their own way, whatever you feel is whatever it is.
To me, fundementally, the song is about loss ... Loss of love, loss of control, loss of innocence and we can all relate to that.
So there you go, hope you like the song xoxo”
- Amy Meyer

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Lyrics

“I saw your face today
For the first time in a long time
And those feelings all came flooding back to me
It’s been countless years since I’ve even thought about you
So how come one moment of contact
Is enough to bring out all of my insecurities
Memories come flooding back

I thought that I had gotten over you
But I guess I just forced myself not to give you a seconds thought
And I guess you were just buried beneath everything
It comes pouring out, like a slit to my throat
And I cried tonight
First time in a real long time
I was restless
Now I’m pretty scared
That I’ll not be able to forget you
That I won’t be able to erase you from my head

They tell me
I was better before the break-up
Happiness faded since
They say, I’m not built to get over anyone
Yeah, they say I was happier before he had gone
They tell me
It’s time for a shake-up
Because I was better before the break-up

My friends they’ve tried to help me
They know that I’m not great at being lonely
They know that I’ve never loved so much in my life
Than I loved the thought of becoming your wife
But they watch, they look, they see
Constantly watching over me
And I’m truly grateful
Forever hateful
Of the fact that I’m such a mess
But I digress

They tell me
I was better before the break-up
Happiness faded since
They say, I’m not built to get over anyone
Yeah, they say I was happier before he had gone
They tell me
It’s time for a shake-up
Because I was better before the break-up”