This week’s GHIDRAH offers a sneak peak at the new album by Stroke 9. The album, entitled “The Last Of The International Playboys” was recorded and produced entirely by the band, and will be in stores June 5th.
“I’d love to say that this album comes from the most joyful period of my life, but that would be a lie.” So says Steve Bertrand, looking back on the 12 weeks he spent behind closed doors at home, guitar in hand, writing the extraordinary songs of Pain Is a Megaphone. There were good reasons why Bertrand, already known for the edgy yet finely crafted songs he wrote and sang with the Tories and Avion, began his productive isolation. But what matters more than what brought him there was what he brings from it, which is nothing less than the finest work he’s ever done – and that makes it some of the most contradictory music of our time. “Contradictory” is the word, because Pain Is a Megaphone is poetically elusive yet emotionally direct, dark yet uplifting, broken and assertive. Working with players associated with the Wallflowers, Vertical Horizon, Lifehouse, Avion, and the Tories, Bertrand achieved a perfect combination of polish and energy, ideal for bringing these turbulent tunes to life. Begin with the first single, “The Last Mile Is the Longest,” a confession of confusion nurtured through a crescendo of dramatic chord and key changes. Follow with “In the Dreaming,” a hymn to restless despair tethered to an irresistible chorus … “Megaphone,” whose yearnings for light open into a shadowy, dreamy bloom … “Glorious Collision,” a tribal beat and wordless vocal hook that drive this image of explosive release …
Alison Ray’s “There’s Always Tomorrow” is an emotional song about hoping for better times. “When everything seems to be falling apart around you,” Alison explains, “I think all of us at some point feel misunderstood and disconnected, but you know deep down things will get better because when you wake up tomorrow is another day.”
Here are this week’s GHIDRAH songs:
SONG 1: Stroke 9 – “The One”
SONG 2: Steve Bertrand – “The Last Mile Is The Longest”
SONG 3: Alison Ray – “There’s Always Tomorrow”