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“Lifeless Form” Surpasses Expectation

Epic Season won the Best of N.H. award in “New Sound”. (Courtesy of Facebook)

Christina Laderoute
Connector Editor

Epic Season is an indie pop band from Gorham, N.H. Founded in 2009, Epic Season has since come a long way from playing in their carriage house to playing gigs around New England. Their second album, “Lifeless Form,” was released in July 2017. The seven-track record features titles such as “The Sun,” “Safe” and “Ghost.”

The first track starts the album off with lots of synth and an alternative vibe. It then quickly transitions to arguably one of the best tracks, “The Sun.”

According to the band’s Facebook page, this song is meant to be “the anthem of the western ignorant—little to do with political leanings, more to do with the arrogant aura of correctness—the person who assumes the truth simply because that is what is believed.”

The line “there is nothing wrong with my eyes, I walk into walls all the time” speaks to the quick and sudden defenses on which we as a culture and community tend to act. When one could possibly be deemed incorrect, there is a sort of vulnerability to that in which we tend to defend ourselves, regardless of whether or not we are in the wrong.

The chosen single of the album was “Safe.” Of every song, this one is the most relevant and relatable to today’s society and everything that has been going on recently. In an attempt to “combat the paramount of borders,” “Safe” combines an up-beat tune along with meaningful lyrics that really make you think. Sit back for a second, stop dancing, and think about what it is really trying to say. In the act of looking at outsiders in a manner of feeling that we need to protect ourselves from them, it creates an “us and them” mentality.

“Cause the lie has been bought and sold and fed / We cut the golden thread to what could have been.” This line really just adds to the meaning of the song and how we go along with what seems to be current or what we think we know, and in doing so, it separates people.”

The album ends on a lighter musical tune compared to the previous songs.

The track “Ghost” is the finale for the compelling saga that is “Lifeless Form.” Written from the feeling that many feel at one point or another: invisibility. The want and need for more than what one is able to provide and accomplish. To live a life with means of doing something great and being nonetheless, transparent.

“When everything has slipped away, they left me to my lonely atmosphere, all I wanted was for this to be my chance.” Feeling a lack of sense and fulfillment can truly impact a person and take a toll.

On the story behind the song, Nathan Wells, lead singer, says that he wrote it as “a lament rooted in the unshakeable feeling that I was not making an impact to the extent I knew I could. I felt unheard and unable to affect anyone: transparent to the world.”

At one point or another, everyone has this experience and feels this, so this song is not only relatable, but it has a great celestial vibe and synth tone. While it isn’t your typical dancing song, it is a true jam and can be listened to at any time of day and during any mood.

“Lifeless Form” surpasses expectation not only musically, but lyrically as well. Epic Season brings a lot of topics to the table as far as song meaning goes but they all work in harmony and tie together. When a song not only drives you to dance but also makes you think, that is when it has really succeeded as true musical triumph.

Overall, this is an album that everyone should pick up and listen to at least once.

Rating: A+

Christina Laderoute

Music photojournalist. President of UML's student-run record label, Seven Six Records.

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