ESCAPISM PRESS BLURB

1. Try and Get Some Sleep – Pursue possible ties to vagrant band the Rolling Stones. Also, possible ties to Ray Manzarek of ‘The Doors’ ? The inability to sleep is a common symptom in most social delinquents. The song encourages an escape into some sort of neurotic fantasy. This is probably due to Ryan’s own inability to cope with life in the modern world.

2. Pitfall – What initially appears to be a mindless pop song about retro video games may be more subversive then I initially thought. Again the theme of escaping one’s problems into a manufactured false world until one’s problems are ‘obliterated’. The song’s chorus seems to include an ‘ear worm’. It is relentless and catchy, and will follow you around for days.

3. Escape Plan – See possible ties to the social deviant John Lennon circa ‘Imagine’. Why the fascination with the 70’s? What ‘plan’ is Ryan referring to? Hughes begins the song by hitting wine glasses. Is this song about alcohol? Hmmm… maybe not, though they may be lushes. The ‘you and me’ line is inclusive with the listener leading one to believe that whoever is listening is part of said plan. This song has the possibility of becoming an anthem of sorts. Do not, under any circumstances, sing along to the chorus!

4. The Calm and The Storm – Could they be referring to a sort of balance here? This song is like listening to the Beatles getting into a fight with a 1970’s prog rock band. Hmmm, maybe Ryan is just spouting out whatever nonsense comes to the top of his head. Illusions of grandeur? Ryan clearly takes himself too seriously. This falls in line with Carl Jung’s essay ‘On Artists.’ Must pursue further attempts to ‘see though’ Ryan and Hughes. The ending of this song is dangerously amazing.

5. Life Will Be the Death of Me – Possible connection to ‘The Police’ and Trent Reznor of NIN? They are becoming bolder. When prompted, Hughes displays a loathing hatred for Gordon Matthews Thomas Sumner (see alias: Sting), Ryan nods in agreement yet stays uncharacteristically silent. This may point to a grudging respect and admiration by Ryan that he does not wish to be made known. Ryan also exhibits a love of dualistic concepts throughout this album. See possible links to Private Joker, Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick (also of note is Ryan and Hughes’ early thought of titling the album ‘The Eleventh Hour Initiative : Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Songs’)

6. Ready Set Explode – See garage/indie rock. Is this tied to more modern acts like the Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys or does it reach further back into the 1970s? It’s hard to say with these two. They are shifty. I believe this song may be about terrorism, or electrical wiring, or sex….possibly all three? Terrorizing electrical wiring with sex? Not enough information currently…

7. Mean Machines – Song title seems to indicate a Burt Reynolds B-movie, or maybe he’s referring to propaganda of some sort? More electronic instruments than usual here, yet they’re played with an older style ‘feel’. It’s like a 1950’s Motown song played by robots! The band’s sincerity and honesty is a plus in that most people long for apathetic people with nothing to say, lazily. The fact that the band seems optimistic and earnest will no doubt be made fun of and shredded by the music intelligentsia. This may be our ticket.

8. Feel – Pink Floyd? Is Dave Gilmour on this thing?! This is by far the most electronic song so far. The lyrics seem to be sincere nonsense, however the song brings about an effortless sense of comfort, shelter, and euphoria. Search for possible subliminal messages.

9. A Thousand Steps – Ah… more honesty and earnestness, this is good. Ryan is saying he may have found a way to face his own fears. People will either hate him for succeeding or will consider him a liar. The swooping strings, beautiful pianos, and soaring dynamics can not help the fact that this song is not about anything meaningless.

10. Chasing Chaos – More archetypes. Journey into hell? Is Ryan referring to Orpheus here? The more order that is sought, the more chaos is the result. Hmmm… a Chinese finger trap, mixed with yet another attempt at balance. Possible ties to composer Bear McCreary. Note…Ryan is not nearly as attractive as Starbuck. Make note to label anything that is below surface depth, and seemingly mysterious or important as ‘pretentiousness’.

11. Where We Go Next – Possible ties to Radiohead here, but no robots in sight. More Beatle-esque Prog rock? What does the narrator ‘got to be’? ‘Singular’ line is a possible reference to Ryan’s former band ‘The Singularities’. Hughes makes this song with his playing and production, he certainly wants this message heard.

12. All These Secret Things – I have not yet ascertained any secret things here. What ‘bridge’ is Ryan talking about, and when/where did he build it? This song sounds like Coldplay making love to ‘Breaking the Girl’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Any hope of breaking this song’s hold is lost when the falsetto vocals kick in. Hmmm… submarine sounds with oriental style piano on the outro?

13. From Shipwreck to Shore – Here Ryan is clearly trying to mask his overbearing feeling of self-importance by pretending not to take himself too seriously. Hughes and him have returned to more hooks. The chorus is dangerous and the ending leaves one feeling empowered and optimistic. Possible link to pirates?

14. When the Start Begins – Hughes sings lead vocal on this track, but do not be mistaken, he is just as subversive as Ryan. They say ‘the music has to die’ which would mean no threat of course, but as they’re saying this the music sweeps and swells with sincere emotion. This, coupled with a chord structure eerily similar to ‘Try and Get Some Sleep’, and the track leaves one wanting to listen to the whole album again immediately after the music has ‘died’ tying back into the death/rebirth archetypes littered throughout the lyrics in these songs.