A few different events spawned “The Footholds.” Most of them I tried to throw rocks at, one line at a time. Like I said, a close friend of ours passed away, and I guess that can be looked at as the inciting incident. There was a lot of talk of direction among us, particularly Lucas and I, and whether or not we wanted to keep the band going. It wasn’t solely over Ron’s passing, but a lot of other questions and concerns were raised. The “private breakdowns and tearful calls” lines are pretty straight forward. Even if it’s only one line, it’s a direct story-telling tool. A lot of the record is about me looking at myself, what I represent as a person, what we represent as a band, etc. Parts of Footholds are about not being satisfied with myself, questioning my impact over the duration of being in a band, seeing changes in myself that I view (or did view) as negative, and trying to deal with that. It’s about a couple of particular times that in my own head, I had tainted On My Honor to a point of no repair. And honestly, it’s about a few times in the past couple of years that I felt I had completely taken the wrong course and thought a complete life-change would be the only cure. Oftentimes, it’s easy to feel more content with “how things were,” and at a few points in my life, I’ve found myself striving for that backward motion—trying to get “back to” something. Footholds, for a broader answer, is about recognizing that as a form or retreat, rather than progress—actually taking mistakes (or happenings I may view as mistakes) and learning from them in a “this is where I need to head now” mentality, while sticking to the basic elements or rights and wrongs I hold to be true. It’s sort of about collapsing, abandoning former perceptions, realizing you can never be that bright-eyed about them again, and learning to be okay with that.
lyrics
This could've been a train wreck
A total disaster
The end of everything that to this point mattered
Nicks and scrapes and fatal falls
Private breakdowns and tearful calls
Not so private now, but wasn't that the point?
To get this story out?
We knew that this would hurt
But never knew how loud
Never knew how loud
This is manning up
This is standing ground
Because you can't move forward if the footholds give out
Didn't mean to be such a let down
Didn't think I'd ever have to say
I'm oh so sorry but I'm not sure I have
What it takes anymore or any faith in me
I just know I'm more vulnerable
Than I ever thought I could be
It's probably the best that I could say
If I'm too old, weak, or late
This all falls in your lap
And I don't know how to feel about that
What qualified me for this?
Taxing attempts at a positive influence
That I've distorted
That I'm still hoping to have
Can't look at this like a let down
Knowing the impact it has made on myself
On anyone tied to me
Throw it away
The thought that things can be the same
Eyes ahead, with past outlines empty and tucked away
I stopped keeping track
(I've learned that this life path)
Of everything that I'm not getting back
(Only served to counteract)
I stopped keeping track
(The progress I could make)
Of everything I'm not getting back
(And steps that I could take)
It's not getting back
It's finally finding out
That you can't move forward if the footholds give out
-Drew Justice (via Property of Zack)
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