“We're Gonna Be OK” by Empty Kodiak

 

     In an almost celebration of resilient acceptance, Empty Kodiak released “We're Gonna Be OK.” The intelligently crafted lyrics of the song are included in this post. The first verse refers to a childhood experience of an unplanned Christmas stay in a Super 8 motel. Things are far from the ideal, but we’re gonna be okay.
 
      The bio of the band explains, “Empty Kodiak is a seven-piece band from Cleveland, Ohio, weaving shoegaze haze with flashes of surf-pop light. Frontman and songwriter Charles “Chaz” Stead leads vocals and rhythm guitar alongside Kennedy Stead (vocals/synth), Brandon Thompson (lead guitar), Dave Gorski (saxophone/vocals), DJ Douglas (keys/vocals), Jul Big Green (bass), and Devin Tudela (drums).” The Spotify credits of “We're Gonna Be OK” additionally identify Jacob Hazlett on bass and electric guitar.
 
      Chaz Stead states:
  “The song traces a lineage of moments where survival meant endurance rather than rescue, including a childhood Christmas spent in a Super 8 motel. Those early memories, set against the backdrop of the Rust Belt’s fading steel factories, broken neon, and weathered dive bars, echo throughout the track's imagery alongside synth, saxophone, and harmony.”
 
     “We're Gonna Be OK” by Empty Kodiak

Website: https://emptykodiak.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emptykodiak

Lyrics of “We're Gonna Be OK” by Empty Kodiak
I love you to the moon
But we don't have gas to get there
Nights in motel rooms
'Cause we stick together
 
If the end is coming soon
I'm happy with whatever
We're gonna be ok
We're gonna be ok
 
I love you to the moon
Tell me how we're gonna get there
One hot night in June
With the AC broken
 
If the end is coming soon
I'll sleep with one eye open
We're gonna be ok
We're gonna be ok
 
All our lives we've been waiting
Waiting for something
Waiting for nothing
And waiting too long
 
If you want, we can make it
Make it worth something
Better than nothing
We're gonna be ok
 
I love you to the moon
Only made it to the dark side
Neon lights in view
Your arm around my shoulder
 
If the end is coming soon
I can feel it getting colder
We're gonna be ok
We're gonna be ok
 
All our lives we've been waiting
Waiting for something
Waiting for nothing
And waiting too long
 
If you want, we can make it
Make it worth something
Better than nothing
We're gonna be ok
 
We're gonna be ok
We're gonna be ok
 
I love you to the moon
But we don't have gas to get there
Nights in motel rooms
'Cause we stick together
 
If the end is coming soon
I'm happy with whatever
We're gonna be ok
We're gonna be ok
 

“Florida” by Neon Pilgrim

 

     “Florida” begins with an inviting lyrical and vocal warmth. The song from Neon Pilgrim even begins with an urging - “Come on!” But while the warmth carries on, the inviting nature dies as the first verse eloquently describes the difficulty of the relationship – “You decided to fix your heart up with some glue,” and “I swallowed all the pride I could chew.”
 
     That first verse ends with a release – “Do what you wanna do” – which leads to a chorus during which apology stands in stark contrast to thunderous percussion. The chorus is the strength of “Florida.” The protagonist takes ownership of his share of blame, but the song concludes with a repeating pattern of “I’m so sorry to [leave you].” Is the troubled relationship with someone or with a location, such as the state of Florida?
 
     The lead vocals belong to Harry Williams, who drives Neon Pilgrim. Williams, a resident of London, composed “Florida.” The female backing vocalist is Amber Wilson. Other contributors are Dom Morley (producer and synth), Ed Harcourt (guitar and piano), Jason McGerr (drums), and Damon Minchella (bass). 
 
     “Florida” by Neon Pilgrim 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neon.pilgrim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578647105752 

“The House Was Haunted, But It Knew My Name” by Neo Brightwell

 

     The strength of the song is in the lyrics, which are poignant and open to interpretation. Neo Brightwell sings of entering a house that he remembers well, even recognizing the “same hinge squeak.” More significantly, the house remembers him. The house was haunted but it held me close - said my name like a psalm, although a psalm that no preacher knows.
 
      The house is a metaphor for the mind (or soul) of the person. We all have weaknesses, painful memories, and emotional damage of past experiences. And most of us have no desire to revisit where those flaws reside. But “The House Was Haunted, But It Knew My Name” represents a revisit.
 
     The song begins with acoustic guitar and articulate accounting of the visit. The texture is enhanced shortly after the one-minute mark, although the additional instrumentation carefully stays away from interfering with the lyrical description.
 
   And “The House Was Haunted, But It Knew My Name” ends with a degree of defiance and resilience – The house still knows my name, I’m home, I never left. Neo Brightwell says, “I don’t sing to the camera. I sing to the silence. Through walls, through ghosts, through time itself. This song was never meant to stay inside.” Appropriately, the song is the opening track from an album entitled “We Didn’t Survive to Be Quiet.”
 

     Brightwell is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He self-identifies with “Moonshine Disco” as he “writes scripture for the silenced and songs for the scorched.”

      “The House Was Haunted, But It Knew My Name” by Neo Brightwell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neobrightwell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neobrightwell

Partial lyrics of “The House Was Haunted, But It Knew My Name” by Neo Brightwell
I stepped through the door
I swore I’d burn
Same hinge squeak
Same porch light turn
 
Dust in the lungs
Breath full of flame
And damn if that hallway
Still whispered my name
 
No screams
No chain
No holy blame
Just old wood knowing what I became
 
The wallpaper curled like it missed my shame
Yeah, the house was haunted
But it knew my name
 
The house was haunted
But it held me close
Said my name like a psalm no preacher knows
 
No curse in the creak
No fear in the flame
It didn’t haunt me
It just knew my name
 
I tried to run
But I stayed the same
This ain’t escape
It’s where I came
 
It didn’t flinch
It didn’t flame
The house was haunted
But it knew my name