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Title: "Grandstanding & Bravado" (An Anthem for Top 20 Airplay)
Release: October 8th, 2012
Genre: Indie pop, pop rock, alternative rock
Length: 4:19
Label: North Hill Records
Producer(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez
Writer(s): Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning
The lead single written by Nathan Castle, composed by Castle, Jason Andrews, and Alex Manning, produced by Ryan Ross Hernandez, "Grandstanding & Bravado" is mainly what the subtitle suggests, an anthem, just bursting at the seams to invade the airwaves. Castle writing style is comparable to that of young Ryan Ross Hernandez with his former band, PANIC. The 29 year old frontman is unafraid to speak uncensored of the industry and take its shots at pop culture. (Is the line "While a GirlSpice record served as background music / I didn't spend a nickel on this record / But I want my nickel back," really a cheap shot at one of his bosses, Nadia Berry, crafty saying that GirlSpice is to pop, what Nickelback is to rock?)
"The song is about the music industry, it's about pop culture as a whole," Castle begins, "But I think some these lyrics would relate to his current generation of people, who are very narcissist and apathetic to the world around them. I've seen a shift in people giving a fuck. People just don't give a fuck anymore. And the music industry has a part in that, and pop culture has a part in that."
our name is stars' are hyper modern in the lead single, flitting through the past and present, taking nothing seriously and taking everything they can, cramming so many allusions into that it's impossible to tell what is intentional and what is accidental. Are they suffering from Celebrity Metaphysical Syndrome already?
Musically, the song is a towering guitar anthem built on wedding-like organs, thundering drums, and singer Nathan Castle's high, pitch perfect vocals. The loosely layered vocal harmonies at its bridge create an almost carefree vibe to it, with Andrews' churning guitar work and Alex Manning doing everything else; from playing the opening weary-eyed organs, to the thumping, loud drum banging. Hernandez's production hand stays laidback, while not adding too many clear additions aside from the trio's work, a faint hand clap can be heard fading in and out at certain points throughout the song. It's hyper catchy feel makes you think whether the band purposely created a future hit single in a song that diss the radio and those hits played all day.
"Grandstanding & Bravado"
Lyrics by Nathan Castle.
Composed by Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning Jr.
Produced by Ryan Ross Hernandez.
I'm selling hooks you can't deny
Their perfect for radio stations to play all day
I kinda hope they do, I need the cash
So I'll surgically remove my heart
And replace it with an ATM machine
Who am I kidding? I'll take credit too
I threw stones at your window again
Thinking I'd get some blood pumping
While a GirlSpice record served as background music
I didn't spend a nickel on this record
But I want my nickel back
Chase me down the street of a suburban neighborhood
Critics say I need to put more soul in it
Hey TMZ, won't you climb a tree for me?
Hey Pitchfork, sorry we're not hipster indie superstars
I'm half a drag of a single cigarette
The chemicals I carry go straight to your lungs
What a match, you are an addict and I'm a drug dealer
So play this song all day
Top 40 Radio DJ's, please shove it down people's throats
Your listeners don't want variety or honesty, they want the same old shit
All those imperfect songs, with those handsome boys and beautiful girls
Let's just keep singing and dancing all night
As if all in life is parties and boys
Pretty girl, you look like you belong somewhere in Los Angeles
Or are trying to be a model and you already swallow on your knees in New York, hey
Painted faces in the bathroom stalls of the club
They all look the same when you're drunk in the nightlife lights
I drank until I passed out when I was nineteen
Just so now I could hold my liquor 'round the A-list team
I'm half a drag of a single cigarette
The chemicals I carry go straight to your lungs
What a match, you are an addict and I'm a drug dealer
So play this song all day
Top 40 Radio DJ's, please shove it down people's throats
Your listeners don't want variety or honesty, they want the same old shit
All those imperfect songs, with those handsome boys and beautiful girls
Let's just keep singing and dancing all night
As if all in life is parties and boys
You carry no substance nor write your own songs
But you have a pretty face to sell it
So we'll package you to be perfect for the mainstream crowd
You carry no substance nor can you sing
But you have a pretty face to sell it
So we'll package you to be perfect for the mainstream crowd
Don't request your favorite song
(Don't request your favorite song)
Don't request your favorite song
(Don't request your favorite song)
We already know what song you want to hear
So we play six times every hour
So play this song all day
Top 40 Radio DJ's, please shove it down people's throats
Your listeners don't want variety or honesty, they want the same old shit
All those imperfect songs, with those handsome boys and beautiful girls
Let's just keep singing and dancing all night
As if all in life is parties and boys
Title: "Gamble on Fifth Avenue"
Release: October 29th, 2012
Genre: Indie pop, power pop, afrobeat
Length: 4:41
Label: North Hill Records
Producer(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez
Writer(s): Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning
Track three brings an airy, yet complex tune in "Gamble on Fifth Avenue". With its rolling drum beat, that is extremely vivacious the whole way. It's as infectious of a single as they come,, with its foot-stomping beat and great energy. Nathan Castle's voice flows seamlessly along the African drum patterns as he growls aggressive lines, "Eight years, four bands, I'm not sure if I want live off nickels and dimes again / This is not for the indie crowd, much less to those in the Jersey Shore / Who wants to trade in their coats for another fucking reality show act?"
Despite the fact that the song has no set chorus, the infectiousness "oh woah's" that play in the background like gospel vocals over the pounding drumbeat, make this custom ready for stadium sing-alongs. Towards the end of the song, this hip-hop influenced trio softly breaks it down with some snazzy vocoder effects. The track doesn't stay in one tempo for long, taking the listener on an exhilarating ride.
"'Gamble on Fifth Avenue' was one of the earliest songs written for the album. This song is one of my favorites. Lyrically, it's a story that could be interpreted in different ways. They are very sincere, which I wanted, because even if this actually is the most ear-catching song with its sound, I didn't want to dumb down the lyrics," Castle explained as he tapped his foot while hearing the song over the studio loud speakers. "In a way it's giving the middle finger to anyone who says you can't. The album is called 'Dreaming of Nightmares in the City', because of this song. When I think of the album, I think of this song because paranoia makes rounds in this record a few times. I don't want to share in what mental state I wrote 'Gamble on Fifth Avenue' because it's really personal. But I'll say that I'm very proud of it."
Ryan's production is strong, while never overwhelming the listener. While Castle's exuberant vocals are what shine here, Alex and Jason, both who are multi-instrumentalist, whom create the many layers that surround and carry the frontman's voice. "Everything was there," producer Ryan Ross Hernandez began, "The three of them brought in all the ideas they had for what they wanted the song to sound-like, and for the most part I let them do their own thing. Your job as a producer when you're handling a song like this where everything is there, is not to fuck it up. Arrange it properly, add the small delays and whatnot, but when they're recording it, don't say a word."
"Gamble on Fifth Avenue"
Lyrics by Nathan Castle.
Composed by Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning Jr.
Produced by Ryan Ross Hernandez.
I busted my head against the bedpost and got blood on my shirt
Went down to the palace and cashed in all the chips I carried
I was a millionaire in six hours and I blew it in three
What a catch, I still can't catch a break
I can't even fall asleep, the nightmares make me fear shutting my eyes
The last time I got a good night sleep
I dreamed that we all had a value lingering above our heads
I shouted when my value was in the negatives
Singing,
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Get ready soldiers, we have been pinned as sellouts by everyone in our hometowns
I guess it was wrong of us to chase our dreams
They say I was happier back when I had nothing - save the bullshit for those who care
Three years ago I could not afford keeping a girl happy, now I have two
I'm not as sad as you may think I am, I now share a bed with an angel who wears Victoria
Who actually cares for how my day went and likes the music my band plays
No need to ask me why I changed, life in Arizona just became a bore
Well, some say I got lucky on a gamble I made
That I traded friends for acquaintances
Sometimes, I appear distant but don't mind me
Those times I just want to be left alone
But I still fear sleep, social media freaks me out
Here are your 140 characters to hate on us
People always find a reason to complain
Even when nothing is wrong, I said nothing is wrong
I'm a sellout for following my dreams
I get less calls from my sister since I moved to New York City
I traded the heat for snowy winter nights
Is our name stars because we want to be stars?
We want to shoot in the air, but the shine isn't necessary
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Well, not even three minutes in and we lost our ways
Eight years, four bands, I'm not sure if I want live off nickels and dimes again
This is not for the indie crowd, much less to those in the Jersey Shore
Who wants to trade in their coats for another fucking reality show act?
I finally slept for the first time since I moved to the city
I had a dream about meeting a woman with light hair and blue eyes
When I looked into her eyes I felt like a shooting star that did shine
It was a beautiful dream, and every night since then I've slept peacefully
Call me a sellout now
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah, oh oh
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah, oh oh
You walked all over me for the very last time, now my smile is genuine and I can afford my own place
I threw my old phone off the thirteenth floor
Yeah, I got new friends now
Who don't criticize my way of living
Maybe my sister shouldn't bother calling
I'll see you and the family come Christmas time
Title: "Dragging an Anchor"
Release: October 15th, 2012
Genre: Indie pop, alternative rock, power pop
Length: 4:39
Label: North Hill Records
Producer(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez
Writer(s): Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning
"Dragging an Anchor" is the fourth track on the album and after two bombastic, anthemic singles, our name is stars' show their more sensitive and interpersonal side. Nathan Castle's writing approach takes a shift as well, going for a first person narrative tale of growing up in the city. Each line is written with a fierce sincerity that remains as tender as it is frank – and delivered so. Castle's voice soars above the songs with the type of charismatic gusto missing from too many artists in the industry today.
"Without a doubt Dragging an Anchor is one of the more personal songs on the record, it's a real experience for me. I wrote it very early in the recording process and it has remained a favorite of mine," Castle begins, staring off to his side out of a window. "At twenty-nine years old, you're kind of getting into that headspace where you're not exactly young, but you're not in the middle of your life. You're an adult who has some regrets but they can't halt you. That's why the chorus is very uplifting, and optimistic, despite the hardships. While it might not be the loudest song on the album, it has a loud message to it." Probably the most ear-catching line is when Nate belts out 'I stand up and make love to all your friends / I am not the bitch you want me to be,' which the singer insist is not a joke, "It's not my way to throw in a quick punchline in there. It's a clear line of just standing up for yourself, even if someone else is trying to put you down or belittle you. Is it perfect? No, but in the moment you're kind of blinded."
Sonically, the drum samples stand proud honoring your ears with ocean-waves of reverb echoing over the city-night Sinatra piano and acoustic guitar backdrop. The sing-along gang vocals at the bridge of the song. All of this; set against a harmonizing accordion sound that was added during the production phase with Ryan Ross Hernandez at the helm. While it doesn't carry the same bravado as the songs before it, becoming the slowest song of the band thus far, it doesn't make it any less meaningful in their repertoire.
"Dragging An Anchor"
Lyrics by Nathan Castle.
Composed by Jason Andrews, Nathan Castle, Alex Manning Jr.
Produced by Ryan Ross Hernandez.
Another night I fall asleep to the sound of late-night talk shows
The cars outside are speeding and curving the sidewalks
Then you woke me up, with the sound of a wine bottle breaking
Your speech is slurred and your eyes are red
I can't tell if you're drunk or high
Well maybe it's both since your heart is pounding
Just like it did on your 24th birthday last year
You slipped off your dress and slipped into bed
Saying, "We are not, no, we are not a perfect fit"
Yes, I know
I'd have to be mad to say we are forever
Though I can't recall the last time I felt this lost
I've seen enough movies to know
That a guy like me has to struggle 'fore he gets the girl
If you lose yourself at sea
Or an anchor is pulling you down
Stop dragging your feet
Drag it on
And the sound of your sleep
Be the warmest memory you keep
Drag it on, drag it on, drag it on
You say all my friends are real bad kids
'Cause we meet at the end of the night
At a bar in Lower Manhattan
My friends and I, talk on and on
About all our girlfriends
'Cause we like the wifey, model type
Although it's a nice thought
To think I will change one day
Seeing all the times I've been cheated on
And it's funny to think
About how many times I've been letdown
I stand up and make love to all your friends
I am not the bitch you want me to be
If you lose yourself at sea
Or an anchor is pulling you down
Stop dragging your feet
Drag it on
And the sound of your sleep
Be the warmest memory you keep
Drag it on
Oh
My head is fucked
But the friction in my pants says otherwise
'Cause after all that's the only time I feel right
So just go and let your clothes slip off
Tie your tongue
Kiss my chest
Wrap your legs
Around me now
Let my fingers grace your thighs
No one's ever gonna stop me
'Cause now we are
We are a perfect fit
We are the best of kids
We are who we want to be
'Cause even on the day we part
When the time comes and we're in different states
So we go on
And find ourselves ba-ba-back home
Tonight
If you lose yourself at sea
Or an anchor is pulling you down
Stop dragging your feet
Drag it on
And the sound of your sleep
Be the warmest memory you keep
Drag it on
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh |
