They’ve already announced a show in its honour, but today we get to hear Wither‘s new single “Use Me”! The song is the first release since the Melbourne band’s Rot And I EP landed in late 2018. For the unfamiliar, Wither are David De La Hoz (vocals), Luke Weber (drums), Jamie Marinos (guitar), Liam Fowler (guitar), and Jeremy Hughes (bass).
Though Wither’s EP was fascinatingly centred around a relationship between character Tom and his alter ego Rot, the newest chapter in the Wither adventure takes a more realistic aim. As the song title says, this tune goes out to the users; more specifically the social climbers who take their fill for their agenda of status and move swiftly along, leaving friendships as casualties.
None of the savagery of Rot And I is missing here, as this confrontational track takes direct aim, using facts like a blade. It seems like all of the previously unspoken aches bleed out in “Use Me”, questioning the long-term benefits of this approach to people that dwells in the shallows. In keeping with Wither’s style so far, there’s a conversational or ranting kind of flow to the lyrics, giving “Use Me” a really natural feel in its delivery. This isn’t even touching on the instrumentation, which is hard to fault.
“I swear I’ve never felt and never been so alone”
“Use Me” feels more electronic tinged than previous songs, where electro beats exist alongside fat riffs and grinding bass in this urgent and heavy track. There’s also lighter melodies that appear in the chorus, matching David’s shift from growls and screams to singing. This melding of layers has a lot going on in “Use Me”; perfectly fitting for the tension when the people in question are in each other’s company. A breathless pace is kept by energetic instrumentation which grooves as much as it punches.
Tension continues to climb throughout the track, culminating at an inhuman breakdown where wild instrumental scenes end up taking a breath at “I feel so alone”. And after the return of the chorus, when you expect the song to finish, “Use Me” hits deeper depths; seeming like an intense purge of anything left about this experience of manipulation, with the blackness fittingly pouring out visually in the Colin Jeffs video.
I’ve no doubt that “Use Me” will be a raw experience in the flesh, with “I swear I’ve never felt and never been so alone” sandblasted outward at the song’s close. Those who’ve ever felt something like this will know exactly this state of ‘who can I trust?’ and loneliness when you see an agenda behind what you had assumed to be genuine.
Watch “Use Me” below via YouTube, and catch it in the flesh at Northcote Social on 23rd August [Details]. You can also find the song via your favourite streaming services.
