Get Lyrical: Bayside's "On Love, On Life"
posted in: Features
Bayside have always been more lyrically-driven than many of their power-pop contemporaries, and the tracks on their latest release Killing Time are no exception. On songs like “Mona Lisa” and “Sinking and Swimming on Long Island,” the band consistently delves into weighty themes while their chunky hooks keep the album interesting. But nowhere do frontman Anthony Raneri’s words shine like they do during On Love, On Life, a lyrical and musical standout on the album.
With a title like On Love, On Life, you might expect the track to be a hard-hitting manifesto”sharp, dark, featuring Bayside’s usual hammering rhythms and heavy guitar licks. Instead, On Love is more in the vein of Don’t Call Me Peanut or Moceanu, alternating between acoustic guitar and plucky piano, even featuring a string section.
The track begins with Raneri “writing words” as he considers past missteps. I contemplate mistakes that we all made/The start and the ending of errors, he sings during the track’s opening verse. The listener immediately gets the sense that this will be a song of reflection on his
past, and it isn’t long until Raneri explores old loves. So I sit here carving words into the walls, words that remind me of just how I was/I never felt as old and lonely as I felt when I was young and in love.” Oh, Anthony, how right you are there. Why is it that young love can feel so draining when it should be blissful? It’s a subject Bayside has touched upon often in their earlier work; listen to “A Synonym For Acquiesce” or “Montauk” to hear it for yourself. As Killing Time is the band’s fifth LP, they can use tracks like this to reflect on the themes they explored earlier with a slightly more level-headed approach.
(That’s not to say the group doesn’t continue looking into failed romances. The recently-divorced Raneri certainly had anger to draw from, and as evidenced by the aggressive “Sick, Sick, Sick,” not every song on the album has an optimistic flare.)
Of course, “On Love” isn’t the most optimistic track either. We should bite our tongues/ We should bite our tongues, Raneri repeatedly croons throughout the song. Because after all, it’s only our lives anyway. His backhanded sarcasm is fitting”and he expands on it with the request in the song’s chorus: Can’t let it bother me/If fact and faith just can’t agree/On love, on life/Can we stop taking ourselves too seriously? His plea is a simple, thought-provoking one, and is infinitely more affecting when complimented by the track’s elegant melody. As the eighth song on a ten-track album, On Love offers a leisurely paced but lyrically biting reflection before Killing Time returns to its usual adrenaline-pumping melodic rock.
Check out the “On Love, On Life” and the rest of Killing Time on iTunes.