Today’s Track Of The Day is mind-blowing electronicore from I See Stars. I See Stars current line-up includes: Devin Oliver (vocals), Brent Allen (Guitar), Jeff Valentine (bass), Andrew Oliver (vocals, keys, programming). The band’s fifth studio album, Treehouse, was released in June 2016 on Sumerian Records, and had Luke Holland on drums. I’ve chosen to feature “Break”, the second track on Treehouse, as Track Of The Day.
By first appearances, “Break” is a rocking track, with thunderous guitars and aggressive drums and catchy keys. Taking it more deeply, the song speaks of a challenge, and turning the challenge into something positive. Metaphorically breaking to build something new.
Whether someone is challenged by a relationship, or something else going on in their life, the song really resonates with the phases of this experience: It hits hard and aggressively, feels like an attempt to escape/run, before changing in the bridge and feeling more like a place of accepting, healing and growth. The elements of “Break” which sound like a life support system beeping may reflect the seriousness of these challenges, that can feel like life or death at the time.
“There’s only so much my mind can take
Your heart’s about to break.”
“Break” is a powerful song to listen to and feel into, taking it on in your own way and putting it onto your own challenges.The creator of the video shared this with Songfacts.com, about the slightly unusual imagery in the video and his theme of challenges:
“The floating orb that is seen throughout the video represents these struggles. When faced with adversity, we often feel in those moments that we’ve hit a wall, we feel as though there may be no way out. We are mentally jolted, we break down, we are at a loss for words. But we keep pushing forward, we keep fighting… and sooner or later we are able to look back at those difficult moments and see that we’ve gained great knowledge and understanding from them.
At the end the video, the person is shown observing the orb that has led them to a forest. The orb opens, a tree emerges, and for the first time they are able to see the true nature and value that it holds. The tree represents the new knowledge and perspective this person has gained, and as the tree floats up into the sky, it collides with the sun and ignites the entire sky. The message here is the idea of being able to take something dark, something troublesome, and turn it into a positive, turn it into something that breathes new life into you, something that keeps you pushing forward.”
The opening of the orb and the building of sound is a really moving moment in the song.
“Our hearts were made
To start the healing
Bring back the pain
I want to feel it”
If you don’t know “Break”, check it out with the video or streaming links below.
