BRAIDS have shared two new tracks entitled “Collarbones” & “Burdock & Dandelion”. The band shared a statement about the tracks saying:
“Sonic apothecary for digital malaise, 2 new tracks : Collarbones & Burdock & Dandelion
For those of u that have ever taken selfies, contorted ur body for selfies, pushed up ur breasts, hid ur breasts, hid ur ass, pushed up ur ass, exaggerated ur bulge, exaggerated ur collarbones, turned up the contrast, softened ur lines, been ghosted, ghosted, used tinder, failed at tinder, fallen down an instagram hole, deleted and downloaded it, deleted and downloaded it, deleted and downloaded it, wandered the drug store for clarity, thought hair dye could ease ur pain, at least for a couple days, and flipped the bird at 1 or all of these things – these songs are 4 u
We hope you can sing with them, scream with them, dance with them, laugh with them and dream of how u want to feel and deserve to feel. Take a moment for urself.”
The band will be doing a short North American tour starting this Thursday.
Lyrics to both of the tracks are below. Dates are below, tickets linked here.
Burdock & Dandelion
Oops I’m feeling lost again / Guess I’ll wander round the drug store / Till I forget that I feel conflicted / Till I feel calmed / Cause everything around me is moving faster / Than we ever expected / I’ve got a weapon in my pocket / That I’m lifting to my face 90 times a day / I heard I could fix my pain with flower tinctures / Burdock and dandelion, flower tinctures / I heard I could fix my pain with a box hair dye, the red highlight kind / My pain is I’m getting older / And I try not to mind, I really try not to mind / The boy I want is supported by his parents / Doesn’t have the nerve to text me back after a fuck / But has the nerve to ask me if I like my breasts / Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t / But I lied to him and told him that I loved them / And then I died a little inside / I felt the problem was with me / But the problem was with him / What if I asked, do you like your cock ? / Oh gods, I want to feel so beautiful in my skin / And oh gods, I want to find someone to celebrate my state with / And oh gods, will I ever find that one ? / Oh gods, I want to feel so beautiful in my skin / And oh gods, I want to find someone to celebrate my state with / And oh gods, why the hell do we all need someone, want someone ? / Do you ?
Collarbones
We are so near / Yet so alone / Sitting next to each other looking at our phones / See the screen light my face in this darkened place / Do you think it makes me look pretty when I soften all my lines away / When I make myself look as far away from real / Breasts pushed up I’m trying to show you / I have collar bones & cleavage you can rest in / This pics lookin’ better than the real / So when my clothes are off and we’re together / I probably won’t look this way again / And I wonder will you still want me then / Will you still want me when / You catch the frowning of my brow and see how my breasts move around / Breasts move around / Breasts move around / Move up and down / Move up and down / Breasts pushed up / I’m trying to show you I have collar bones / Walk with me hand in hand / What the hell is going on ? / We’re here to feel something more / But we’re just hurdling towards / Seeing and feeling nothing / Nothing more than an impulse / To move onto the next thing / And forget the last / Get hold of a new friend / That you’ve never even met / Can I be your new friend ? / I hope I never meet you / Just stay as a number / Help make me feel better / About the craziness that is / This life / Breasts pushed up / I’m trying to show I have collarbones.
BRAIDS’ two new singles, Collarbones and Burdock & Dandelion, reflect their quintessential sound, yet also exhibit a new, bold and potent musical and lyrical maturity. Casting a critical eye on our fast-paced, smart-phone, media-obsessed culture of consumption, these new songs vulnerably explore the perils of contemporary life and seek redemption from a world that is “moving faster than we ever expected”. In Collarbones, online dating, impulse-driven intimacy and digital desirability is poked fun at, while Burdock & Dandelion turns its critical gaze towards the toxicity of ghosting, the beauty standards women face that men don’t, and the capitalism of self-care. What emerges in these songs is sonic apothecary for digital malaise, reflecting a generation’s palpable longing for something more real, authentic, less filtered and, ultimately, more human.
We’re here to feel something more
But we’re just hurtling towards
Seeing and feeling nothing
Nothing more than an impulse
To move on to the next thing
And forget the last
BRAIDS are a Montreal-based, three-piece band composed of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Taylor Smith and Austin Tufts. Formed in 2007, BRAIDS have solidified a decade-long reputation for their musical ingenuity and established themselves as one of Canada’s most acclaimed art rock bands, releasing three albums: Deep In The Iris (2015), Flourish // Perish (2013), Native Speaker (2011), and the EP Companion (2016). BRAIDS’ most recent album Deep In The Iris was a landmark record for the band, winning the 2016 Juno for Alternative Album of the Year. With Standell-Preston’s vocals as the pillar of their sound, BRAIDS weave organic and electronic elements together amidst a lyrical landscape that is intimate and emotionally-immersive.
