A Gathering Of None recently released their new album "One Last Grasp At Hope" and to celebrate we asked vocalist/guitarist TB to tell us about the song "Break My Stride". Here is the story:
First up concerning this song I'd like to say two things. Yes, I am aware that it shares the same name as the 80's hit by Matthew Wilder. Secondly, it is indicative of similar that say Tool or Quicksand might have written at the peaks of their alt-metal dominance in the 90's. That last part serves as the biggest inspiration for the song musically. I was always struck by how both of those bands could use minimal riffs and arrangements to create something that had a groove, a sense of forboding and unease, yet was as heavy as a ten ton hammer. "Break My Stride" lives in that same building.
Lyrically, it matches the music perfectly because those too, say so much while seeming so simple. I wanted to convey a sense of space in the words to coincide with the instrumentation. I didn't want a collection of random thoughts, but poignant observations, almost like personal revelations. What the song is talking about essentially is blaming others for bringing you down and for making life hard when in fact, you need a good look in the mirror to realize that ultimately, you are the one responsible for yourself and how things are going in your life. The second bridge where it says "That break the bones to givin, that breaks the bones to giving in" is a colorful metaphorical way to say, "Ok, I need to stop my nonsense and give in to trying to fix what I've broken".
I think that people can relate to this song because at its core, it's about something we've all done and that's just not acknowledging that there is a problem. All too often we just keep it inside and refuse to talk about it, so it festers in our own heads, which can be a very dangerous place. This brings me to my favorite part of the song. In the outro we repeat over and over "Your head is not a safehouse". Our drummer Chris, guitarist Justin and I came up with a three part harmony and some other vocal layering while recording it that really made that end section hit emotionally. With the sparse arrangement and the blended voices it sounds schizophrenic in a way. It's ironic to me, that a song I wasn't sure of when we demoed it, quickly became my favorite on the album once everyone added their input to it. Trust me though, as melodious and as catchy it turned out to be, it's anything but happy�..
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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