Dead Friends is out now!
Image: Supplied.
To celebrate the release of their debut EP, Dead Friends, Sydney-based punk rock group Clay J Gladstone are walking us through the release, track by track!
The EP is titled Dead Friends. The theme of the whole record is around struggling with mental illness, addiction, relationships and essentially becoming a dead body to your friends and family. We like the multiple meanings in the title.
DEAD FRIENDS
The EP kicks off with the title track Dead Friends which is about being stuck in cult like circumstances. Being manipulated and used with no way out as you’ve cut off your friends and family. The song was inspired by the Netflix documentary about the NXIVM cult and is probably the most aggressive track on the record.
BALANCE
This is about our guitarist Johnny’s struggles to find balance in life. How the grass is always greener until you get there. I really tried to explore mixing early 2000 indie vibes (The Strokes / The Hives) in with our sound on this one and really dig the Balance it gives to the choruses.
MOVE ON
Move On is my favourite song on the record. It is about being cool with rejection and just throwing the finger up and getting on with it. My favourite lyrics I have probably ever written are on this one “A breakdown is not a problem if you’re good at it”. This is definitely a track to dance to.
HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA
You could say High School Drama is my own memoir. A few hidden messages in this one but I think it talks to my overly obsessive nature and, at times, stupid decision making. It was meant to be uplifting but listening back, I find it pretty violent.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU
People Like You is about escaping an abusive relationship. This is probably the weirdest track on the record and like ‘Balance’ really plays to our indie influences. There is a lyric reference to The Used if you can find it; they’re a pretty big influence on me and us as a band.
KING UGLY
The closing track is King Ugly. This is a really fun track to play live and definitely a sing along. The lyrics are both pretty deep in dealing with self-doubt, anxiety and depression and a satirical take on not being able to hold down meaningful relationships.