Let me preface this entire article, by letting you all know, I will be seeing Free Throw open up for Tiny Moving Parts at the end of March.
I have been crawling out of my skin all day to get home, crack open a beer, and write about the BEST song of February. Free Throw is an American Punk Rock band straight out of Nashville, and if that sentence doesn’t allude to objectively good music, I don’t know what does. “The Corner’s Dilemma” is the first single from their new album “Whats Past is Prologue” (being released March 29th) and if this track is any indication of the music to come, let me tell ya, you are in for a whirlwind of emotion. I don’t know whether to blast this song and rock out or to turn off the lights a cry… maybe both?
This confusion is due to two aspects. The first, is that the lyrics are possibly the most relatable and well written that I’ve heard since “Your Wild Years” by the Menzingers (subjective). The second, is that the tempo changes from ‘dive head first into a mosh pit’ to ‘stare out of a rainy window covered in a blanket’. As much as the pace of the song makes you feel like you’re on a roller-coaster of screaming ups and whispering downs, the true essence of this track is in the lyrics.
The way Free Throw writes about social anxiety and depression is so spot on in every single verse and chorus that I want to quote the entire lyrics. The song opens with a verse:
“A room full of people, too anxious to mingle
My brain yells at me “it’s the perfect time
To get existential, your body’s a rental”
Push back, tell myself that I’m just fine
More people show up, I think I might throw up
Go out for some fresh air to clear out my mind
There’s more people out there this shit is a nightmare
I wanna go home, but I’ll piss off my ride”
Now, if anyone out there has even just a tad bit of social anxiety, you can relate to this verse. There have been an uncountable amount of times that I’ve been out, whether it be a party or a bar and I felt the need to get away from everyone. Usually you can walk out the back door of someone’s house and find some relief in being alone for a minute. Not in this story. When faced with this dilemma there is only one thing you can really do:
“So I’ll just keep drinking
And hope for the best
Let my brain do the rest
Man, fuck it whatever I guess”
Now, the song continues to story social anxiety but it also brings up depression. The social anxiety is illustrated through this one example of feeling a certain way in a social setting. The depression is a feeling about your entire existence. This is heard in the chorus:
“Sometimes I think I’ve wasted my whole life
Chasing my pipe dreams with shots and a whole lot of beer
A part of me figures there’s no fight left in the shell of a person I became this year”
The song continues this pattern with verses of social anxiety and depression that are shouted viscerally, while the chorus is sung with a tone of understanding. Like I said, a roller-coaster. I can’t wait to see these guys live and as mentioned, this is the BEST song released in February. The only way I’m wrong is if in continues to be the best song longer than that. Give it a listen, and try to tell me I’m wrong.
hipshy music 