Systematic

“Systematic” was the first King No-One song I ever listened to. I was immediately enthralled by it. It sparked this taste for music in me I had never felt before. Its comment on the mindless monotony of life and I felt like it embodied everything I felt about school and life. It was such an incredible feeling to be able to truly relate to something as I related to that song. I felt trapped by everything; sport, the people around me, everything. Worse still, I was really unhappy at that point in time, limited by the routines of school life. I was stress eating almost constantly and my body was in tears. This song triggered my realisation that I was not a special case and that there were many others like me. It allowed me to seek help.

Full disclaimer: this is more what the words mean to me and may not be what the band had in mind. If you feel differently, let me know: I weirdly enjoy being wrong!

Alex Townsley, the bassist, really made this song for me. He starts off the song perfectly. An incredible symphony of synth sounds and James Basile on the drums join in two bars after. The kick Basile creates as he strikes his cymbals on his first note is amazing. Zach joins in on the keyboard, emphasizing the bassline, leaving off his last note before starting singing. Uplifting riffs emanate from Joe Martins guitar. Zach sings about how his mind is such a capable and active thing, held fast in the tight grip of fear. He describes how he has pushed others around him to the edge. The imagery of him breaking his cross shows how he is cutting himself off from his past habits and traditions-like his religion-because they have trapped in a place he cannot escape. His body is in such pain because of this. He has tried to hold back the intense seas of emotions, but he has been pushed to the point where holding them back is causing more damage than good. The “philosophies” Zach sings of are either the expectations of those close to him or the social pressures which crush his heart and head. This shows how he feels under pressure to succeed and how people are causing him to crash and burn, because of such behaviour. “I’m no human” reveals how he feels held to the standards of a greater being and how he feels belittled and cast down by not achieving them. This pre-chorus has to be among the best in the world. The chorus tells us of how he can finally release his emotions and achieve as he wants to. He does this despite the intrinsic limits in life, created by the “monodimensional” nature of his life. The pain of his cyclic, “systematic” life repeats and repeats and repeats and he can’t take it anymore. He does not want to have a second wind, as it will only allow him to experience more pain, whether he dies or lives. In the next verse, Zach sings about his ambitions. The whiteness of the stars shows how he feels they are bland and lacking emotions and depth. Furthermore, they are just absorbed by the darkness of his life. He says how he has floated through dreams and sometimes even fulfils them. This does, however, leave him empty, as he wants to kill them. I feel that this is because they are not his dreams, as he omits a possessive pronoun for “dreams”. The pre-chorus begins and then the chorus begins. After this, the next verse begins much sooner, without the large gap seen after the previous chorus. This shows change and promise. Zach sings of the same. He continues his celestial imagery in his description of how he has finally changed the rhythm of his life. “The galaxy’s got glitter on” shows how the world is embroidered by his change. He is beyond happy, although you would be forgiven for not thinking he sounds so. The soft, quiet tone he sings in shows how meaningful this is to him. He does not want to return home, lest it remind him of worse times, the pain and suffering he has endured, or, even worse, forces him back into his previous unchanging rhythms. He says that he has surpassed his old life, realising that it was just a waiting period before he could achieve happiness. The misery of his old life has been killed the excitement of the band and his ability to express himself in his music. The limits again set in by his dyslexia has been unmade by the fact that he communicates in spoken word, not writing. He sings that he is finally able to forget his old life and begin anew.

I love this song so much. It raised me out of such a dark place, and I owe King No-One so much for it. If any of you are reading this, I hope I have done well by you in my reviews.

Constellations

“Constellations” is my least liked King No-One song. I find it bland and lacking the depth and artistic spirit that I have grown to love from them. The opening bars are exciting, but after Zach starts singing, it sounds almost bland. I don’t find the ad-lib “oh”s interesting or good. The instrumentals really display the skill of the musicians and the first one is great, but they are only a slight variation of the melody and bass line of the song. The repeats almost subtract value from this song.

The lyrics are directionless, and it leaves the meaning of the song vague. I do not think that they meant for the song to be so uninterpretable. There are a few things that it seems the song could be about. The first is losing the freedom and mindless creativity of childhood. This does not really work though. The second is that it is about the band’s struggle with family and friends not taking their chosen profession seriously enough. Zach sings that he is struggling to find any positives to his old life. He believes that everyone else should have foreseen this change, as he has always expressed that he feels trapped in life. He wants to explore the world and be freer, and the band is a key part of that. His tunnel vision could be referring to him dreaming of light at the end of the tunnel and how the journey was dark and painful, but he purposefully ignores it.  The chorus describes how he never wants to let go of some part of his life that really inspires him. It gives him this creative power and he really cannot lose it. I really don’t like the next verse. It sounds like it was cleverly crafted to be deep, but without the meaning created by the rest of the song supporting it, it is lost. “Eyes meet light” means nothing. Yes, eyes see light: that’s what they do… There are 4 rhymes here; “light”, “right”, “night” and “light”. Yes, they rhymed “light” with “light”. It just doesn’t work well. There is some more, different ad-lib here. The shouts of “huh”, perfectly reflect the song. It just leaves me saying, “Huh? What’s going on?” There are some more lines which miss the mark following it. The last line before the next pre-chorus is almost objectively wrong. I cannot picture this being a song many people are going to be singing along to. The chorus is sung and then there is another cryptic verse. He wants to be covered in the earth, which is perhaps a reference to death. It is here where there is a clear meaning to the song at long last: it seems to be about depression and death. He enters the ground, always to stare upwards, then has an out of body experience. I just cannot see this in the rest of the song though.

I’m certain many of you will disagree with me, but I don’t really feel like this is even worth a listen. It’s just disappointing at every point. There is no depth to the lyrics, no fizz to the sound and no power in Zach’s singing. I know that all the members of the band are talented guys. They have shown me this time and time again, so I can only assume that this was rushed and uncared for. This is the first song, which I have reviewed, which I would not recommend you listen to.

Toxic Love

After “Constellations”, I was worried that King No-One had lost their spirit. “Toxic Love” was a perfect follow up. It was so good that they even made an alternate version of it in their debut ep “OOMM”. I love both versions! The second isn’t at all similar in sound or even lyrics, so I’ll leave it for later. The first version of it to be released was not actually the original. As King No-One says on their Facebook, the original is actually the alternate version:

“This is not the original version however… the original was written just two days before we went into the studio. Zach felt the version we recorded was too fresh and raw and he hadn’t had time to deal with emotions and perspectives. So later, we recorded this version which is known as Toxic love. 
On the 29th of March, the original recording of Toxic love will be the closing track of our debut 6 track EP ‘OOMM’”.

The single version of it is introduced by a shrill synth sound, which fades in. The guitar and drums kick in and the synth fades out. It’s an exciting combination, rounded off by a “shikaa” from Zach. This leads to Zach describing how he has been led to psychosis by the net of “poison ivy ribbons” around his mind. Whenever he tries to think, his brain strains against them, causing the same irritating itch poison ivy is known for. This is all backed up by slightly disharmonic guitar chords supporting him, which emphasise that feeling. He says that he is dazed at this amazing person. It is later revealed that she is a lover and is, in fact, the cause of the ribbons. She makes their love toxic. She opens the gateway to sins and wrongdoings, but he turns a blind eye, enthralled by the fairy tale he has weaved for them. He is starting to realise its falsehood and is preparing himself for the shock of his realisation. He tries to turn his back to that which is staring him in the face, but to no avail. A prophecy, which is opposed to his fairy tale, is starting to unfold. His tide of emotions all break against the walls of his mind and he feels as if nothing will ever let him recover from it. The crumbling of his dreams is hard to swallow for him and he chokes in his sadness. The chorus then follows. Zach describes how he has been swallowed up by this relationship. He wants the voices inside of him to be quiet and to stop inflaming him with worries. He’s frantic and worried for his safety. After allowing his lover to bring in sin, he has once again returned to his old inhibitions, fearing what he might do without them under her leadership. His “illustrations” of the road map for his life have been undone. In fact, quite the opposite has happened. He is trying so hard to sort things out, straining himself just to be done with it. Hell nor high water will ever allow him to move on from this tragic breakup. The storm he speaks of will try to budge him but will never see him move on. She has been one of the most memorable of his lovers. Even just months remind him of her loving and ill-doing. He wants to remember her as he thought of her in his dreams, but he cannot. He is stuck in their long journey together, which is filled with pain and loss, their “Odyssey”. He is unsure whether he is lucky to not be the solution to her problems. Perhaps if he could cure her of her inherent evil, they could truly happy. The pre-chorus begins with a slight adjustment on its first line. It shows how he would welcome the “prophecy” to be fulfilled, because it would save him from the pain of breakup he is feeling. The chorus repeats and leads into a sincere and dreamy verse. As with previous King No-One songs featuring this powerful quiet, this is heartfelt and perfectly orchestrated. This time, however, there is something more powerful behind it. It is slower and Zach sounds somewhat different. It’s even more effective than it has been previously and is my favourite implementation of this trick of theirs. Even their eyes have been set ablaze by the sincerity of this moment. For me, the “Voice like winter’s hum” shows how she is trying to sweet-talk him and distract him from her deception. She is everything he wants, and he longs to feel the magic of their kisses again. The oxymoron shows how disrupted their lives are by this. The beautiful hold on “heavens” is just amazing, especially in the less song-like, quieter voice Zach is singing in. He is sorry for his loss. He will never again feel the power he had in their love again. Despite his fruitless endeavours to heal himself, he’ll survive and finally be able to breathe again. The chorus repeats twice, and the song ends powerfully and suddenly. Zach says, “Now it’s dark”. It is hard to hear quite what he said, but once you realise what he’s saying, the lack of clarity only adds to the meaning. With their problems finally solved, the light is lost from his life. This light used to guide him and lead him through his day, but he will never again be able to see it or be warmed by its glow again. Finally saved by the finality he was seeking, he no longer needs to sing as an outlet for his emotions, so he stops.

“Toxic Love” more than makes up fir the hiccup that was “Constellations”. I am stunned by it and all its glory. It is honestly just incredible beyond belief.

OOMM

“OOMM”, standing for “Out of My Mind”, is their debut ep. It features six tracks, the first three of which were released on their own, as a way of hyping up the bigger release.

Out Of My Mind

Out of My Mind was the first track released. It starts of with a heavy guitar bass line and strong drum support. It creates this heavier sound and in an interview with goldenplec , Zach explains this change as just being what came out of the minds of the musicians, not their intent:

“It wasn’t meant to be rockier per se, it was just about that constant guitar grove and repetition. Our songs are up and down like yoyo’s one will be soft, the next one will be a homage to hip hop, the next one will be rock. It’s just whatever we fancy at the time.”

Zach also reveals in this interview that he is a liberal left-wing advocate. This song is meant to be a comment on the more restraining right-wing beliefs, which at the time were becoming more and more present. He also says that on stage, he is only acting as flamboyant as he is being, but he is still feeling forced to conform because of it.

Zach begins singing about how he is in celebration of the fact that he is about to be free to express himself in ways that society views as “sins”. He seems uncaring for how it happens, just that it does happen. He says that the frequent untruthfulness of society is bad, and yet a social norm he is forced to conform to. This paradoxical feature of society vexes him. This pressure to meet the status quo is creating fear and is killing the current youth. The next line reveals he believes that self-expression is a right, which is being stripped from the people, bit by bit. The pre-chorus is a sudden change from the volume and weight of the first two verses. The instruments drop, leaving just guitar strumming on the bass line. It is a great pre-chorus! The chords between the repeats are amazing too. It is a real credit to the whole band. The final line of the pre-chorus shows that the restraints put in place make them feel unhappy. Their time is thrown away by these restrictions and it’s driving them insane. This is clearly shown in the tone Zach sings it with and in Cosmic Joke’s music video for the song . The chorus further shows how Zach feels like he is repressing himself. Whenever he does anything fun, he feels the judgemental glares of the world judging him. Everyone slanders him and assumes his insanity just because he likes fun. He has found that night is the only time he is free, but he feels alone in this. This solitude has led him to think he might be insane. The third verse hammers this point home, saying that nothing he can do, which is right in societies view, can make him happy. The most rebellious things he can do without being extradited are too placid to enjoy. It is saddening to see such a soul extinguished by the harsh judgement of others. There is a chorus, followed by a short interlude and then the song ends in a final two choruses. This final chorus begins off quiet, with only gentle strumming supporting Zach. At the end of the first one, Zach screams “Maybe I’m just out of my mind”. His voice wavers as he does so and it only further adds to the frantic tone of the song. The melody and drums return with more vigour than ever before for the final chorus and Zach rounds off the song with a frustrated “woah”.

“Out of My Mind” is among the cleverer of their songs. It casts a clear-cut message across to those who want to hear it, while being subtle enough that it is not the restraining propaganda which they complain about in the song. The message has only become more relevant with the recent outrage at many US states banning abortions, no matter the circumstances.

Lemonade

“Lemonade” was released as a streamed music video. It was all done in one take and was pretty cool to watch. It is another love song, despite having political comments peppered throughout. I really don’t like having others’ opinions and views forced down my throat, but the tasteful jokes work well here.

“Lemonade” starts off very differently to any other King No-One song. There is light tapping on the cymbals from Basile. The keyboard joins in and the song begins on this stunning, deep riff. Synth noises join in, both light and as heavy as that riff. The keyboard is replaced by guitar chords and the drumbeat is exciting and lively. As Zach starts singing, more wonderful distorted noises join in on the end of his last line. They sound like a really deep, warped guitar. It has this growling quality to it as well. It’s such a cool noise. Zach’s first few lines mostly give us context. When the song was released, the UK was in the most appalling heatwave. It was blisteringly hot and so arid, and it made it impossible to do anything. These are the “dead dog days”. The plosive alliteration here really casts across how heavy the weather is well. This introduces the “Lemonade” into the song: it’s refreshing and needed, despite being bitter-sweet, but no-one would want it if it weren’t for the morbid weather. Zach says that he is about to be scolded for some action that has stained his soul. His friends were a part of it, but the heat affected their minds, brain washing them and forcing them to do it. This makes them exempt from it, placing all the blame on him. This shows how much change has happened by “meeting you”. The semi-breathless tone in which Zach sings “mechanical mates” is awesome. This harsher tone seen in the first verse is lost as the pre-chorus starts. It is softer and smoother. It’s apologetic, offering to be her lemonade to make up for crossing lines in their relationship. The chorus has a throaty, growling voice. The voice change is brilliantly executed and the supporting voices saying “be yours” contrast perfectly. In this chorus, Zach sings about how he has reverted to before he met her. He is again apologising, but for this time he is apologising for not having reverted sooner. He has come to terms with the fact that re-becoming himself will lead to their break-up. He is almost consoled by the fact that he will remain in her memories, even though they may not be entirely positive. This hint of negativity almost makes the fact that she will remember him sweeter for him. He says that he is currently going to disappear from her, protecting himself from her and everyone else in the process. There is a short instrumental, then the next verse begins with loud strumming on a guitar. The last verse is characterised by sexual references. Aside from these, it shows us that Zach does not feel enough for her to want to have sex. Instead has to be bewitched by a siren song to do so. His kisses are well thought through, showing how he feels no romance or impulse towards her. Furthermore, his lips are acidic and sour. He is reborn as a different person when he is trying to please her. The song finishes with a pre-chorus and chorus, followed by a short outro. The outro is just a refrain to the chorus, and not of real note. The instrumental part is great though. Right after the chorus ends, there is a sequence of guitar-played chords. It works so well and transitions to the outro nicely.

This is one of my favourites to sing along to. It’s (mostly) within my tragic vocal range and the beat is just impeccable! Also, be sure to go check out the video, which is linked here.

Under The Sound

“Under the Sound” is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I like most of it, but there is just one part which nearly ruined it for me. Hearing it more made me love it though. It is a song about conformity and monotony. The video is very revealing about this song and it really emphasises how much they feel affected by it. I’m really glad that they have stuck with Cosmic Joke for their videos. They’ve made consistently great videos all this time!

“Under the Sound” starts with Zach backed by some synth noises. They both kick-in perfectly together. Zach uses an accusatory rhetorical question to show how he feels about the conformity of society. He feels like he has to ask to check whether someone is a living human being, fully expected the answer to be no. He says that the masters of these drones have outlawed a real life and the expression that comes with it. Zach then describes their purpose in the world as being one of pure Darwinism. This boredom is only made worse by the solitude in their lives. The rhythmic cyclic nature of life is forcing them to dream perhaps of how great the totalitarian world will be or because they do not want people to lose hope in life. The chorus begins, signalled by the intensifying of Zach’s voice and the addition of drums and guitar to the bassline. The chorus again mentions how people are not necessary to this dystopia, only their physical presence, by referring to civilizations as nothing more than mere carbon. The restricting system is said to provide everything you might need, but the tone in which Zach sings shows how this makes life miserable as it removes desire. The second verse shows us that the word is cold without real human life and others around you. All connections between people are being broken, but they do not protest it at all. The people of this new world are so brainwashed and mindless that they do not even care. The second part of this verse describes how they must use every past of them to protest this change to create another “turning” force to disrupt the societal change. The chorus then repeats. The third verse describes how Zach’s flamboyancy is protecting him from the bleak world that it is becoming. Not even music, a long-standing passion of his, is left unravaged by these controllers. After these few lines, the mood changes. The drumbeat becomes simpler and Zach’s voice is echoed. It is such an awesome moment in this song. Every now and then, they really pull something out of the bag, and this was no different. It is an exemplary display of craftmanship! It is asking some listener to take pity on the people who are losing their spirit because of this. Zach shows his frustration in the second line of this, exclaiming to a deity he has expressed no faith in. This shows his desperation to be insurmountable. He further wants aid for them because they are trying their best to maintain themselves, but the new rulings are breaking them. He says that rules intrinsic to humanity have been broken by the creation of these oppression and he is sick of them. He says that these crowds of rulers are “rabbles”. The use of the term is very demeaning, likening them to scum. The last two lines show how it feels like everything is a chore. Being forced to jump through hoops is soul crushing to him, and he needs to call upon this being again to save him. The chorus repeats and leads into a bridge, which is similar to the last half of the previous verse. It is different though, featuring synth noises and guitar riffs. They both complement each other so well and it is again awesome to see. The bridge sings about how if the ruling system never allows for humans to really be, they will never want to, because they will not know how important enjoyment and character is to life. The chorus repeats to end the song, but at a higher pitch. This is the part of the song I mentioned not liking. It doesn’t sound great to my ears. Zach’s wonderful voice cannot work its magic in that higher octave and the clashing, discordant synths are sharp and unpleasant to my ears.

This is a real shame though, because the rest of it is so amazing! This was the last of the three “OOMM” songs to be teased, and I was so hyped up about it! They were close to attaining greatness again and the rest of the album couldn’t disappoint.

Dying List

Or could it? When I first heard “Dying List” I released a sigh of disappointment. “Zach’s broken” ran through my mind. I feared for the band for the first few seconds, before I realised the quality of this song. Good lord was I wrong! It is sullen, but it is still a great work of art! It is not in their usual sound at all, but it is one of my favourite songs from this sound! On King No-One’s Facebook, they explain where this song came from:

“The lyrics of Dying List Zach wrote recently as some overwhelming feelings he’d had. Tonight, may be the last time we ever play the song as through the music he and Joe wrote – he now feels he’s dealt with the emotions.”

And I’m proud of them. Zach is not shy that his personality on stage is exaggerated and this feels more like who he really is. I’m not saying I want another KNO song like this, I’m just glad that there is one.

I don’t really want to analyse these lyrics. They are too emotional for that and I don’t want to taint them. I want to tell you that this song is incredibly emotional and truthful and heartfelt and loving and sad and it is such a great piece of music. It is constantly changing, powerful in every moment. The lyrics are clear, clever and meticulously crafted. The supporting voices are amazing. The crescendos in the rises and falls are precise and so moving. The love and wonder, which Zach displays here, is just astounding. I wish I could have been there to see Zach on stage performing it, but just from the photo on this Facebook post, I think I can infer all I need to. All of the other love songs have some positive to them, some bitter-sweet aspect, as shown in “Lemonade”. Here, there is none of that. Zach couldn’t be more heartbroken. He’s frustrated at her for breaking it off, at himself for causing her to do so and he cannot deal with it. It has driven him feel hopeless and alone and suicidal. It is amazing

This song moves me to tears. This happens very rarely. The first time I cried to a creative work like this was when I read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. It is a well written book with the most beautiful artwork I think I have ever seen in it. The story was just too much for me though. I would highly recommend watching it. I also cried while reading Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. That is it. In all my time, only two masterpieces had made me cry, and that was because of build-up over hundreds of pages. It takes a mere four and a half, slow-sung minutes to break me down and drive me to tears. Just listen to it.

New Prophet

Now I have taken some time to wipe the tears from my eyes, I’m ready for a more upbeat song. “New Prophet” is just that. It is still soft until the chorus and it is another absolute banger from the band. It is more than just a tap political though.

It starts off with a perfect harmony between the drums and a keyboard. The guitar kicks in and the opening bar is mimicked in some synth noises to wrap up the bar. Use a stereo system to listen to this, because these opening bars really deserve to be played as they were meant to be. Zach starts off by addressing God, a deity he has no faith in. Zach’s frantic mental state is clearly shown in his perverted syntax. Zach then says that he does not place his faith in hierarchical systems. He expresses a wish to bring it crashing down. This may seem like it is an almost identical message to previous songs, but here it is more focusing on the entirety of society being flawed. He feels like the band and he are the only ones capable of saving everyone. The pre-chorus shows that he feels lost with these hierarchies but is aware that many would be estranged without them. He is aware that he is advocating for a subjective side of a conflict, but still believes that most will benefit from his ideologies. The second half of the pre-chorus talk about his views on gender. He says that it is a concept created by our flawed intellects. The chorus says that he is a revolutionary. He invites us to come fight for his cause by his side. He wants to finally sway the tide, as his beliefs have historically been overpowered by the others. Zach also says that your faith in him may be fulfilled because he is tangible and real, unlike other religious icons. He does not want your commitment or for you to swear loyalty. He is an advocate for choice and advocation for choice should be a choice. Verse two begins with a powerful imperative. It is powerfully sung as well, with a pause after “open”. He says that the world is unsatisfactory to many in a powerful rhetoric. They want to control everyone, but Zach says that it is wrong to change us by force. Zach says that everyone, no matter how much you try to control them will still dream of freedom. The pre-chorus and chorus repeats with a slight modification as “humans” is replaced by “shooters”. This leads to a wonderful bridge. Everything except the bassline drops out. The guitar and drums are rhythmic, beating perfectly in time and the chord series that the song is built around is maintained in synth. Zach is not really singing either. It is a hypnotic, psalm-like trance. Zach starts of the bridge with an incomplete sentence. It shows that everyone has goodness in them, even the fallen angel himself has light in his eyes. Zach then demeans faith to but a hope, saying it is not able to save you, as it is a mental state and does not create your deity. He sings that our trajectory is straight for self-destruction. Cities will cause this, by hiding a necessary beauty for life. Zach dreams of his powerful empire being built on what the people want. He dreams of it being made enough by us that we are its existence and that we are homogenous with it. Our nature will blend in with the nature of the new world. Zach expresses his frustration in some immediate verbatim repetition. The change in the sixth list component in the polysyndeton is thus made very powerful. It shows how he feels robbed and constrained by a world which runs on rules he doesn’t believe in. This frustration is further shown in how he describes he is being treated by them, being forced to hate and to be a slave to their rules. This is emphasised by the rhyme showing that he is being “taught to hate” by the very people who stole from him. Zach then again uses a repetition of six, but this time, it only takes up one line and is an asyndeton. The repeated use of six shows that he blames these power figures for it. He describes them as the peak of humanity, but the connotations of vertex, such as pain and mental suffering, show how he feels that they are also the cause of so much mental and physical suffering, as he states in the following line. He says that these leaders only use their power to boast and cause suffering. This constant childish aggression degrades international relationships. He says that the way that these politicians look upon the world scrapes it clean of his beauty. Zach says that the world is “built on dreams”, this is important because of how the current world order crushes their dreams. He says that only by removing this system, humanity can flourish. The next lines say that we are all powerful when we can be ourselves. It also references how Zach believes that everyone is as much a divine and great being as the idea of a god is. The bridge ends in the most powerful line of the song. The instruments drop, just leaving a quiet echo as Zach makes a comment on the intrinsic sexism of assuming the gender of God. The chorus repeats to end the song, but with a slight change: the first-person plural is used instead of the singular. This shows how he believes that any human, who is “built on dreams”, will have been persuaded to fight for his cause by the gleaming opportunities and goodness it offers.

New Prophet is a stellar piece of music. Really go listen to it, even if you choose to ignore the political meaning. It was written ambiguously enough that it can be interpreted as a love song if you so wish. The chord series is just amazing beyond comprehension and has to be heard by all.

Toxic Love-Alternate Original Version

“Toxic Love” the sequel was a bit of a surprising release for me. It features lots of ad-lib. The song even starts off with it, but I weirdly like it. I’m glad that this was made. I don’t think that many artists of their popularity would do this because it is so similar. The song is much slower, and many lyrics have been changed, but nevertheless, the vibe is the same.

Despite the slower pace, the beat is quicker. The “bom”s are immediately captivating. They are well blended with the drums, keyboard and synth to create a powerful beat. The verses are completely different. The first verse describes his loves for someone. Despite the distance in their relationship, his heart still beats strong. The next line refers to the ultimate goal of Buddhism: breaking free from the cycles of life. Zach does say that he is disappointed by this though, hoping that the cycles would maintain their romance. This also shows his disbelief in religion as a religious goal is what he fears most. Instead, he is emotionally divided. He describes his feelings as two natured: they both hurt him and are amazing. The emphasis placed on “thorns” shows that deep-down he knows that it is causing more harm than good. This contrast is the first example of their “Toxic Love”. Zach says that he blames himself. The way he sings really stresses “blame” showing how there is more of it than he can accept alone. The next line introduces the pre-chorus as his dream in life. Rather unusually for Zach, he says “I have had” rather than “I’ve had”. This stresses the fact that they are past tense, showing that he no longer has them. This may show that he no longer wants to dream, as he has realised the nature of their relationship or because the realisation that his perfect experience in his dreams was just an image of his mind may be so heart breaking to him that he cannot face it anymore. The pre-chorus is also different. Here it describes happiness rather than his torrent of emotions. I love the hold on “married”. It’s not as long as the previous holds have been, but it would not work if it was. Zach also apologises for how their relationship has ended up. He again places the blame on himself, although he is clearly in a state of ecstasy as they kiss, as shown by the climax created by the instruments and the elated hold on “mine”. The chorus then begins, completely identical to thither version, except that it is so much slower. It changes the atmosphere to be much sadder and shows his struggle with his conflicting emotions more. The second verse says that he has realised the one-sided nature of their relationship. His dreams of marriage have been accepted as unfulfillable. Their relationship is just a historic, tangible body. The double use of the past tense shows its completed nature. Furthermore, in the next line, Zach seems to say, “A liquid body’s null”, further showing this. He says that he is trapped in their hectic, vicious and damaging relationship and he is fed up of it. Next is a pre-chorus which begins with the opening lines of the first release. The rest is the same as the other pre-chorus in the song. The chorus repeats twice and leads to a bridge. It has the same lyrics as the original. It is even very similar in the backing instruments. It leads into a final chorus, which again has a finishing line, which is different to my ears. The original release is pretty unclear, either says “Now it’s dark” or “And I’ll stop”, and the alternate version definitely says the latter. Genius lyrics seems to agree with me about the first one though. It shows that he has finally realized his error in his love for her and has broken off their relationship at long last.

The alternate version is as much of a tune as the first release, so I would definitely go check it out. Really do not be put off by the similarities, though they may be many!