Tuesday, July 28, 2026

“Messing With My Head” and “Streetlights” by Fletchr Fletchr

 

    We chanced upon “Streetlights” and were comfortable with concluding that it was the strongest single from Fletchr Fletchr. Not true! “Messing With My Head” is even stronger. Both tracks feature deep and engaging vocals and guitar flares. And both will be on the EP “On The Island We Call Home,” which is scheduled for release on August 21, 2026.
 
       Messing With My Head” is about breaking away from the internal struggle of self-doubt and playing self-defense against attacks from within. The lyrics personify the source of the attacks. Our favorite verse is:
I've watched your game of whispers
Twisting every word that has been said
And I hate you and the way you
Turn every good thing into a mess
 
     The song is the slightly cleaner version of ““Fucking With My Head.” Fletchr Fletchr is based in Berkhamsted, UK. The members are Adam Sanders (lead guitar), Rohan Fletcher (vocals, guitar), Oli Williams (drums), and George Green (bass).
 
     Messing With My Head” by Fletchr Fletchr


Lyrics of “Messing With My Head” by Fletchr Fletchr
I've seen you in the morning
Lurking round the bottom of my bed
I've heard you spreading rumors
Putting thoughts in everybody's head
 
I've watched your game of whispers
Twisting every word that has been said
And I hate you and the way you
Turn every good thing into a mess
 
You're messing with my head
And taking all my breath
And I've got nothing left
I'm stuck in self defense against myself
I know myself the best
Stop messing with my…
Playing with my…
Messing with my head
 
Well, I've seen you in the evenings
Rubbing salt in wounds that you create
I've heard you in the distance
Mocking me for all of my mistakes
 
I feel you on my shoulder
Every single second of the day
And I hate you 'cause I gave you
Everything you need to make me break
 
You're messing with my head
And taking all my breath
And I've got nothing left
I'm stuck in self defense against myself
I know myself the best
Stop messing with my…
Playing with my…
Messing with my head
 
Just give it a rest
Give me break
Gimme some hope
Take all the weight
Off my chest
And out of my home
Stop taking my breath
Get out my head
And leave me alone
 
You're messing with my head
And taking all my breath
And I've got nothing left
I'm stuck in self defense against myself
I know myself the best
Stop messing with my…
Playing with my…

Messing with my head
And taking all my breath
And I've got nothing left
I'm stuck in self defense against myself
I know myself the best
Stop messing with my…
Playing with my…
Messing with my head


     “Streetlights” looks at a night with a love interest of a faltered relationship. The highlight of the track resides with the vocals in the final minute.
 
     “Streetlights” by Fletchr Fletchr

Lyrics of “Streetlights” by Fletchr Fletchr
Did the streetlights turn on just for us?
Did the bar close just to tell us that we′ve had enough?
 
When we got so high in the city
Felt like there was no time when you're with me
Now you got no time, you′re so busy
I wonder if you think about the night
That we got so high in the city
Stayed up 'til the sunrise, was so pretty
Now you got no time, what a pity
I wonder if you think about the night
 
When the streetlights
When the streetlights
When the streetlights
Turned on just for us
 
It's always the same with us
When will we learn to talk it out?
Instead of "We messed it up"
Nothing has changed because you don′t wanna talk about
 
What we′ve become
So why is it at 2 in the morning you keep calling my phone?
And saying you miss me, you're lonely, you′re sorry
You can't stop thinking about
 
When we got so high in the city
Felt like there was no time when you′re with me
Now you got no time, you're so busy
I wonder if you think about the night
That we got so high in the city
Stayed up ′til the sunrise, was so pretty
Now you got no time, what a pity
I wonder if you think about the night
 
When the streetlights
When the streetlights
Oh, when the streetlights
Turned on just for us
 
When the streetlights
When the streetlights
Oh, when the streetlights
When the streetlights
Turned on just for us
 

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

“Step Back” by Vanderlye

 

     As a general rule, Indie Obsessive is not interested in conducting band interviews. No one on the staff claims to have interviewing skills. But an exception to the general rule is Vanderlye. We have questions on the process of writing their song “Step Back.” Most significantly: Did the song begin with writing the driving guitar, with the lyrics and vocal melody taking shape to comfortably fit with the instrumental energy?
 
     Vanderlye is a band from Glasgow, Scotland. They can be fairly described as a guitar-based group “with politically charged lyrics and atmospheric soundscapes." They have the advantage of having both male and female lead vocalists. The members are Sean McGarvey (guitar, vocals), Becky Clarke (bass, vocals), Jamie Morrison (drums), Calum Steel (guitar, production), and Jonathan Meagher (bass).
 
     Step Back” by Vanderlye

Lyrics of “Step Back” by Vanderlye
Step back
Step away from your TV
It’s distorted reality
 
Step back
Step away from our computer screen
It’s negative energy
 
Don’t believe the truth
Don’t believe the truth
It’s constructed in such a way to mislead you
For you to turn on the abject face
 
Send the immigrants back they say
They’re the ones cappin’ your wage
Whilst their corporate friends will be protected from the cradle to the grave
 
Step back
Step away from Tory schemes
Don’t buy into trickle-down pipe dreams
 
The Daily Express
The Daily Mail
Directing your moves
Dictating your moods
How you think, how you feel
How you bow, how you kneel
Tellin’ you what’s real
Well what is real?
 
Don’t believe the truth
Don’t believe the truth
[Repeating]

Monday, July 20, 2026

Optimism – “Maybe the Best Is Now” by Judah & The Lion

 

     In Rock and Pop histories, there have been numerous songs that advise us to “seize the day.” Bobby McFerrin’s catchy "Don't Worry, Be Happy" encourages listeners to choose happiness over fretting about the past or the future. In 2017, Portugal. The Man released "Live in the Moment," a call to let go of the past and fully appreciate the present. Five years prior, American Authors sang about escaping the reality of a terrible job or other unpleasant situation by deciding this is gonna be the “Best Day of My Life.”
 
     Far rarer are songs that embrace the possibility that we are at the pinnacle of circumstances that lead to our enjoyment of life. The past may glow with nostalgia, and the future may shimmer with promise, yet neither is destined to outshine the wonder of the present. In 2014, Pinkzebra proclaimed "These Are the Best Days." Turning from Pop to Chamber Rock, Cloud Cult released “The Best Time,” which includes the wish “All I want is to be a better man, who could see that this might be the best part of my life.” That 2022 Cloud Cult song is included in this post.
 
     Now, Judah & The Lion share “Maybe The Best Is Now.” The members of the band are Judah Akers (vocals, guitar) and Brian MacDonald (mandolin, vocals). The full lyrics are included below, but our favorite sentiment is, “The lights go up and the curtain goes down // Take it all in and look around // Wow, maybe the best is now.”
 
     Maybe The Best Is Now” by Judah & The Lion

Lyrics of Maybe The Best Is Now” by Judah & The Lion
I wanna rock, I wanna roll
'Til I wake up my soul
The lights go up and the curtain goes down
Take it all in and look around
Maybe the best is
 
Can't go back and change the time
Got no button to press rewind
All sales final, no refund line
Can't look too far up ahead
She read the lines in the palm of my hand
Still can't make sense of what she said
 
So I'm gonna rock, I'm gonna roll
'Til I wake up my soul
The lights go up and the curtain goes down
Take it all in and look around
Wow, maybe the best is now
 
Wow, maybe the best is now
 
What if Heaven is a place not far away
The world is what we choose to create
Maybe the end's just that part
Where we all get to restart
 
So I'm gonna rock, I'm gonna roll
'Til I wake up my soul
The lights go up and the curtain goes down
Take it all in and look around
Wow, maybe the best is now
 
Wow, maybe the best is now
Wow, maybe the best is now
 
What if Heaven is a place not far away
The world is what we choose to create, ah
And maybe the end's just that part
Where we all get to restart
(I'm gonna rock, I'm gonna roll)
('Til I wake up my soul)
 
The lights go up and the curtain goes down
Take it all in and look around
Wow
 
Wow, maybe the best is now
Wow, maybe the best is now
Wow, maybe the best is now
Wow

     The Best Time” from “Metamorphosis” by Cloud Cult

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloudCultMusic
Website: https://www.cloudcult.com/
Bandcamp: https://cloudcult.bandcamp.com/
 
Lyrics of “Best Time” by Cloud Cult
It’s a perfect day to remind myself to feel
I’m always busy pushing rocks uphill
With a pillowcase over my head
Couldn’t see that this might be the best time of my life
 
I try to cover up my mental health
But the truth is, I’m not well
Round and round, here I go again
Couldn’t see that this might be the best time of my life
 
And I never meant to take you for granted
Habit is the enemy of presence
But the days, they all just started getting blurry on me
 
It’s a perfect day to get out of my head
Probably be okay with where I am
All I want is to be a better man
Who could see that this might be the best part of my life
 
But I got mind that’s putting me through hell
I’m a wooden pony on a carousel
Round and round, here I go again

And I never meant to take you for granted
Habit is the enemy of presence
But the days, they all just started getting blurry on me
 
It’s a perfect day to finally break the spell
Get me off this carousel
I need help to be a better man
I need to beat it cause this might be the best time of my life
I need to see it like this might be the best time of my life