The Hotelier - An Introduction To The Album

In some ways I don't think a title such as "An Introduction To The Album" gives the song the status that it deserves. On the other, it is prefect as a great introduction to what’s about to come up is exactly what it is. Everything you can expect to feel on the album is covered in this first song, giving its title a portentous feeling.

Kicking things off, its subtle musical background gives way to Christian Holden's voice which generates much of the tune and melody, especially in the early stages whilst the song builds. To describe it as a beautiful song doesn't do it justice, but by the 3:30 minute mark its sucked you in with its crescendo of drum beats, and Christians now painful yelps. The vocals and lyrics drag you in from the first lines of "Open the curtains. Singing birds tell me "tear the buildings down" You felt blessed to receive their pleasant sound. Of things that break make you cringe inside yourself." to the closing "I had a chance to construct something beautiful and I choked. I choked, I choked, I choked." Wow.

The album has a real anger to it and the feelings of guilt, loss and regret permeate the whole album. It also has a real element of isolation and has some difficult subject matter contained within it; "Among the Wildflowers" and "Housebroken" perhaps the two obvious tracks where the theme of abuse is very overt and at times painful to listen to, but this is why the album is such a classic, it never takes the easy option with the subject matter; it always wants the listener to feel that anger and have that emotional connection and I can't think of another album in recent history that has had that effect on me in such a way. That's why it was my favourite album of 2014 and one I still go back to now and then.




Lyrics - 
Open the curtains.
Singing birds tell me "tear the buildings down"
You felt blessed to receive their pleasant sound.
Of things that break make you cringe inside yourself.
There's a child counting stars in their time-out of their day.
In the corners of their frame they are encased
In the losing of a grain of themselves
Pushed against the ebb and flow.
Wave good bye and watch it go.

Well show me the honest proper way
To disarm predatory gaze
That's sucking dry and never satiated.
You've been misused, been rewired.
You're short-circuiting now.
Just remember when you'd call me to come,
Take a deep breath, and then jump.

So fragile are bodies,
So concave, work in self-destructive ways.

You shot from the hip and missed.
Detaching from all of this.
In physical pictures you remain,
Spiral 'round yourself in figure-eight.
I recoil at every new beginning.

I searched for a way out. Don't we all?
Existentialist recall: turn in all
All dichotomies and truths that I gave.
I felt wrong in many ways. Didn't heal.
It just got harder everyday to be still,
To be passing through the throes in a daze,
Feeling heavy, feeling cold in my skin,
In my hand-me-downs. I'm wearing everything thin.
And the pills that you gave didn't do anything.
I just slept for years on end, fuck.

So if I call, should I beg?
Because I'm desperate here;
A couple steps from the edge.
I can't seem to burn bright enough.
I'm cold and I'm left alone.
We're all alone. Grab a hold.
I know I said to not. What the fuck do I know?
I had a chance to construct something beautiful and I choked
I choked, I choked, I choked.