Optimism is a rare trait in today's landscape of broken-hearted anti-heroes, but the brazen boys of Social Code are rebellious enough to bring it back on their self-titled sophomore release - a record about success built out of adversity.
It seems like we are so inundated with negativity and music about wallowing in your problems, feeling horrible about bad things happening to you, says bassist Logan Jacobs. I think it's really important and I think it's a breath of fresh air to write about making it through something and feeling good.
If you have any sense of hope within yourself, then why not translate that into a song? adds singer Travis Nesbitt. Why not take a positive spin on a negative thing?
A turbulent, diverse and emotionally loaded record, Social Code redefines positivism as something that comes from making it through life's trials, wearing its scars proudly as badges and finding the silver lining to relationships' stormy clouds. Raucous album-opener He Said, She Said kick-starts the record with a high-octane, high-passion tale of love, mistrust and doubt dolled out by someone whose rejecting pessimism threatens to shoot down the dreams of another. Despite the defeating discouragement, the song defiantly drives on, Nesbitt's gravely vocals growling with determination and showing that you can prove a skeptic wrong with enough passion. On guitar-driven rocker Bomb Hands, Nesbitt purges on inner turmoil and feeling like a ticking human time bomb that's constantly threatening to destroy everything around him. His vocals explode with angst-filled desperation, erupting into gut-fuelled screams that plead for everyone to get back before the fuse sparks.
'Bomb Hands' is a dark song about fumbling things up for yourself non-stop, which we've all experienced collectively and independently, but at the end of the day, it's about breaking free of that and becoming bigger than the situation, Jacobs reveals.
On Everyday (Late November), the band breaks down for a quieter, more reflective look at being under pressure, feeling overwhelmed, loosing direction and thinking there's no way out. But as the somber verse erupts into a soaring chorus, the song turns an assuring corner, declaring that, with every tomorrow, things can melt and change. It's a message that was inspired by the band's own inner struggle while making the album, a task which they took on completely alone.
After the Edmonton band's first album, A Year at the Movies (2004), sold 20,000 copies and lead to shows with Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte and The Used, among others, the Edmonton foursome decided to take on the daunting task of creating the new album with only their blood, sweat, tears and, of course, guitars. Social Code's previous experience working with high-profile producers, such as Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Three Days Grace, Hoobastank), in posh Los Angeles studios had earned them a PhD in rock 'n' roll and recording.
We went to band university, Jacobs laughs. We worked in amazing studios with fantastic people.
That experience gave the band the confidence to go it alone - despite the huge pressure. So, Social Code took the only next step that made sense: they gutted the basement of Jacobs' house, built a studio and spent the next year locked underground, redefining themselves as a band. While a stressful and tremendous undertaking, the studio proved worth the long, laborious hours and sacrifice: it, allowed Social Code the luxury of recording at their own pace, exploring new sounds and finding their essence as a band. They didn't fear trying anything: from laying a Spanish guitar track onto The Shortest Line to fooling around with dance-floor-inspired 10 Seconds to Go, anything was possible.
Morgan and I just sat down and wrote some lyrics for '10 Seconds to Go' and it was the most exciting song to write on the record - we were laughing, running around, high-fiving, Nesbitt explains.
The track 'The Shortest Line,' it's just such an unusual track that turned out so great, Gies adds. There's this really obscure feel in the verse that comes from a Spanish guitar, which at the moment we recorded it, it was so ridiculous, but now it's such a highlight. It was one of those things that can only happen when you have the time to be hanging out and go, 'OK, so what should we do now? Let's try this crazy idea. What the hell? We're not on the clock.'
This album is about not being scared of anything you want to try; we were open to everything, Jacobs adds.
The end result is an album that is truly Social Code's own (hence the self-title).
It's more Social Code than anything we've ever done, asserts Nesbitt, who also designed the record's artwork. This album is Social Code.
The album, which was mixed by Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace, Simple Plan) and Mike Fraser (Metallica, AC/DC, Hinder), netted Social Code a deal with Universal Music, which will release it on May 8. And as for all the people who told them they couldn't do it, all the inner turmoil and all the moments of lost direction? They're all lessons that have made Social Code, stronger, better and wiser - just like the songs on the new record explain.
Sometimes you slip and fall face-first into a mountain of shit, and it stinks, drummer Ben Shillabeer philosophizes. But you've just got to get up, freshen up and keep going."
