Phoenix indie rockers Sleepwar just released their debut EP "When We Were" and to celebrate we have asked Tim and James to tell us about the single "Thousand Different Faces." Here is the story:
Tim: The opening synth riff was something that I did a long time ago, I think 2010. I still have that old demo somewhere on my computer. When we started Sleepwar, I went through old stuff to see if there was anything I could salvage from the past that would be of worth to us. The synth riff always interested me so I left it in a folder to be explored later.
James: Thousand Different Faces at its core is about hypocrisy. The man in the story is an actor, a person playing a part, but who is not and does not know how to be truly sincere. He is hurting those closest to him without realizing it. The interesting part is that this person may be the one hurting the most.
He is trying to be everything to everyone and only makes one exception, which is to ignore the relationship to the woman he tries to love. He tries to impress her by doing all the wrong things. The guy is a chameleon and knows how to put up a front. He builds a life of lies and finally gets caught and in getting caught a story of redemption emerges.
Tim: That's interesting because when I first started re-exploring synths and this riff came up, I was actually writing for what in my mind would be a totally different project. I wanted my ex-girlfriend to be the singer of this project and that never came to be. I had this idea to be a small 3 piece like The XX or something similar. I wanted her to be something she was not, and in doing so was probably hurting her, the relationship, and was being disingenuous to myself.
James: The song starts off with this girl who is approaching life in a completely new way. She is strong, brave, and leaving her ex behind because she has shattered his lies and saw who he actually was. She is letting go and doing so in a way where the world is supporting her every move and in freeing herself of the damage, she walks away somewhat damaged herself.
By the time the chorus hits, it's a clear accusation of emotional abandonment and the worst part is that the guy who is hurting her has no idea what the hell he is doing. It is his fault and he is a troubled guy, but he is unaware of the pain his hypocrisy is causing because he is a good actor and knows how to play his part. If only someone who had some wisdom or power could intervene and hold these two people together. If only love was enough, but sometimes pain has to be the great motivator to change us.
Instead of hiding behind a thousand different masks, maybe we can wear the faces of thousands of people that our lives might influence by trying to simply put ourselves in their position. Empathy and hypocrisy. Yeah, I guess the song is about both of those things.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself with a free download right here!
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