A message from Reported Failure to you:
Thanks Kanye
Last week Reported Failure officially announced that their seventh studio album would be released this month. As is often the case when the band makes an announcement, the fans are left with more questions than answers as they said noting about what the album would be like and did not confirm the rumored title "Lie in." The first single from the album was released last December very much out of the blue. It was a dense emotional track, much heavier than most of the band's singles from their last album which all debuted at #1. As a result "Sticks and Stones" failed to reach the top of the chart and did not stay very long in the collective psyche of popular music.Thematically it traded the yearning and love that characterized the previous album, "Rome," for anger and obsession. The song was also past the five minute mark which made it not ideal for pop radio. With that said it is a powerful song and in hindsight it shows how Reported Failure pushes their fans and does not give them a calculated chart topper as a lead single.
The second single from the upcoming album is called "Hands" The song has a heavy punk and grunge vibe led by drums and guitar. The bass is fat and loud. Billie's vocals sound strained and harsh for most of the song but he has swagger like Chris Cornell and knows how to sell his lyrics. As suggested by the title, the lyrics mention hands over and over again and what they are used for. Billie uses hands to talk about power saying "I got hands to hit strings" referencing his guitar playing and position in the world as a musician, and then adding "You got hands for violence/For the power that you seek." More on the lyrics later. The upbeat style makes this song gives it a motivating feeling. Its the type of rock song to start the party or add to your workout playlist, or start the circle pit. That makes it a lucrative single. Depending on its reception it could be a flop, but expect it to be on repeat and expect to hear it if you get the chance to see Reported Failure in concert.
A boom and a crunch start the song. Vin Peters's main riff has a dirty blues tone but its actual dynamics are more metal. Robert Edwards's beat is a strong punk jam. It sounds bright, and has a big attitude. Billie's voice sounds rough, not pretty, when he sings the opening lines. The melody is blunt and really centered around the sparked delivery. Billie sings over just the drums and a single guitar. No bass yet. The effect is powerful, but more has to be coming. For now we just get to listen to the words of the first verse.
A second guitar tone rises at the end of the verse. The chords come in hot with the bass filling up the whole song. The bass is deep and hard demonstrating a very gothic sound. The whole sound, in fact, goes to an altogether heavy, grimy place. Robert adds skull-bashing cymbals to his already killer beat. Billie seems to get down even more with the more hardcore side of his vocal repertoire singing "So there's nothing left but to fight it out/I'll set a fire in the streets." By the time he reaches the sharp-shootin' "You'll see," the guitars have flared up, and drums have bashed a few fills, and it is time for the chorus.
The chorus to "Hands" is short, sweet, but defiant. Robert Edwards absolutely rages on his drum it's unfair. He's just showing off. The bass line is an addicting du-du du-du duuuuuu du-du-du-du. Vin and Billie together create a blanket of guitar noise with Billie letting the chords ring free, and Vin playing a subdued version of the main riff. Billie sings with a mixture of smugness and anger almost like a kid at school who knows they are already in deep shit so they say one more smartass comment just because it will antagonize the authorities further. The overall effect is in your face. The song showcases the harsher punk side of Reported Failure leaving pop-punk way behind, and yet the tune is catchy enough to hook anyone in.
Its back to the main riff, but this time with full bass booming from all sides. Billie's guitar explodes in to a rush of sound as he tremolo picks on his guitar. Wit the same consistent beat as a foundation, this part of the song becomes a headbangers's dream. Vin and Matt lay down the heavy concrete of the song, and Billie sets the explosive atmosphere while Robert holds the whole thing together and then some. But this jam breaks apart as one guitar fades to indiscriminate ambient noise and the other plays more mellow chords. Robert switches to a laid back hi-hat beat. Matt plays root notes. When the vocals come back they are more sensitive than before singing "I got hands for living/For protecting what I love." The lead guitar just slides effortlessly like glass letting notes ring for a while. The mellow instruments give Billie the freedom to use a softer tone, but his voice still sounds cracked. This change in tone is another hook in to the song, but it doesn't last long as the band revamps as Billie calls out "You bleed you bleed YOU BLEED."
The next chorus goes in the same manner as the first. Because its four lines are simple, by the time it repeats again the words have been internalized, and the sing along has begun. The third chorus ends and the lead guitar shines trough once more in a melodic riff high on the neck. The chords fill the song. Bass and drums keep the rhythm. Billie unloads an emotional outro. He sings higher and with more intensity than before and really shows off his ability to hold a note even with a hoarse tone. The guitar riff and Billie's vocals together form a melancholy tune bringing even more emotional depth to the song. Billie fades his voice out on the final word, but the song is ended by a brief return to the brighter mood as Vin and Robert play the intro one more time.
In this song Billie sings to someone who uses their hands for violence, who as "hypocrisy skin deep" has some kind of control over Billie as shown with the repetition of "you got me." This "you" also seems to want Billie to stop playing music as the chorus reveals. His guitar, his art, is something that he is willing to fight for and even die for. He says "And when I scream I'm dying/You got hands to cover my mouth/But I'll bite 'til you bleed" in one of the most fearless lyrics of the song. The song is very rebellious. The lyrics feel like a protest. Billie is daring is enemies: " you're gonna have to cut off both my hands/If you don't want me to play"
I got hands to hit strings
But I'm on my hands and knees
And you got me
Yeah you got me
You got hands for violence
For the power that you seek
And you got me
Yeah you got me
Even if my words could bind you
Reveal the hypocrisy skin deep
You still got me
Yeah you still got me
So there's nothing left but to fight it out
I'll set a fire in the streets
And then you'll see
Yeah then you'll see
You'll see
You'll see
YOU'LL SEE
That you can't stop the way
That I feel when I say
That you're gonna have to cut off both my hands
If you don't want me to play
I got hands for living
For protecting what I love
But you got me
But I'm not done
And when I scream I'm dying
You got hands to cover my mouth
But I'll bite 'til you bleed
'til you bleed
You bleed
You bleed
YOU BLEED
You can't stop the way
That I feel when I say
That you're gonna have to cut off both my hands
If you don't want me to play
You can't stop the way
That I feel when I say
That you're gonna have to cut off both my hands
If you don't want me to play
I will raise them in the air
Come at me if you dare
I will put them in the sky
My hands came here to try
I will raise them in the air
Come at me if you dare
I will put them in the sky
My hands came here to die
