Hurry - "Every Little Thought" Track by Track
Matt from Hurry took a moment to talk through each track from "Every Little Thought" with Washed Up Emo!
Track by Track
Every Little Thought - I really wanted this song to lead off the record. Thematically, it does sort of sum up a majority of the feelings on the album (the intersection of indecision and possibility, and dealing with how life can put you in and out navigating that). I also felt like musically, this song sums up the arrangements, tones, and songwriting ethos found on the rest of the record. I’m really proud of this one. Early on someone gave me criticism that the end is too repetitive… but that’s kind of the point. It’s a meditation.
Read Between The Lines - I always loved the song “Radio” by Teenage Fanclub, and the energy it brought to the first few tracks of the album “Thirteen.” It’s great sequencing. I felt like this record needed that kind of energetic, shot in the arm after “Every Little Thought” and its mission statement. I also really loved recorded the kind of twangy, clean solo in this song. It was a bit of a step out of my comfort zone. It also has a metaphorical lyric about being a hacker which I think is cool.
Waiting For You - I know it isn’t a new idea to remark on everyone’s addition to their phones. I’m addicted too. It’s hard. And it’s interesting to kind of medicate ourselves that way, and sort of feel satisfied in less than satisfactory situations. So, yeah, I put those ideas into a very poppy song. And I played slide guitar for the first time, which was kind of sick. I love this song.
Hanging On - I’d been listening to this David Kilgour (The Clean) album a lot, and the acoustic guitar tones on it were so captivating. They sounded almost like a direct-in recording, with lots of chorus and reverb pasted on. So, I tried the same thing. That tone kind of permeates the whole record. I liked the repetition in this song. There are ~4-5 vocals in the chorus. We had fun playing with the harmonic stuff in the studio. I also really love writing ballads. But then feel self conscious playing them live.
On The Streets - I kept thinking about turning 30. And how I still felt stupid, and confused. And how exhausting it was to consider everything about my life, and just making a decision to stop trying to do that. To do what I could to relax, and be emotionally resourceful. This is my favorite new song to play live. It rocks.
Heatwave - We kept referring to the fuzz tone on this song (and throughout the record) as the “Bush” tone. It reminded me of how the song “Glycerine” sounds. I love it. I guess I love Bush too. Wow. This feels like a song that’s very 90s radio inspired.
Time and Time Again - This was the first song I wrote after our last record (Guided Meditation) was released. I just wanted to get a little outside of my comfort zone, and do something a little more sparse and quiet. I considered making this the first song on the album for a long time, up until I wrote the song Every Little Thought. This barely sounds like a “hurry song"
Separation - Up until the day before we went into the studio, this song’s demo was only about 30 seconds long. I never finished. I kept procrastinating. My bandmates would ask me, and I would say “it’ll be fine,” unconvincingly. So, the day before we went in to record, we kind of improvised the full arrangement. I just called out what to do next as we played it. And it was fine! I’m happy how it came out. I was going for an Oasis-y vibe.
Jamie - Since we finished the album and were showing it to label people / friends / etc, I kept getting good feedback about this one, to which I would say, “it’s my least favorite on the record.” Which is true. But mostly because the style of the songwriting is so in my pre-existing wheelhouse. It just felt kind of obligatory. But I do like the harmonies a lot. And it rocks.
The One I Want - I kind of tried to make one of those droning, ultra-cool Yo La Tengo songs here. But I guess my spin was throwing in a big pop chorus. I recorded the solo in the live room with the amp so loud that I couldn’t hear the headphone mix. I counted the meters in my head and felt for the ending.