Track-by-track: Reside's Liam Guinane takes us through 'The Light That You Saw' EP

Reside's wonderful new EP, the super-charged and emotive alt-rock/post-hardcore of 'The Light That You Saw', is about many different things. It's about isolation and identity; having that constant push-and-pull between the light (the good) and the darkness (the bad) in our lives; feeling like the world is always against you; and finally, reaching a place of acceptance about yourself, those around, and the external universe at large. Vocalist Liam Guinane takes us deep into the gloomy world of their new EP to try and discover that light forever flickering amongst the waves of endless blackness. 

1. Brevity:

"'Brevity' is the introduction of a character going through a dark time and finding it difficult to face the world and wants to be alone. The music at times is big and vast but also sings like a lullaby. The character is wanting to go back to the way things were before everything turned into darkness."

“It took me a while to decide how I wanted to begin this record. I wanted the music to feel almost like the alt emo equivalent of like a cinematic soundtrack. Dramatic choir harmonies and big drums with visceral percussion. I also fell in love starting the record with something that felt kind of epic. Like the first two songs were two separates parts pushed together.”

2. Solus:

"'Solus' picks up where 'Brevity' left off. The character while finding difficulty in going out into the world again, is struggling to deal with their isolation and begins to go manic. This is where the music picks up in intensity and character begins questioning their identity."

“It was always planned to have a song split into two parts. They contrast each other musically and conceptually while having the underlying cohesion of repeating melodies and lyrically being reflective.”

3. In This Moment:

"'In This Moment' is when the character is at their lowest. Dealing with loss and knowing they will never have what they once did. Reflecting on where they are now in this moment and how far they’ve fallen from past happiness. We all have times where we just feel like utter shit. But we also have times where we just feel nothing at all. We’re empty and we have no way of feeling whole again. In This Moment was one of those songs for me that captured exactly how I felt on bad days. Sluggish, yet crying and begging for relief.”

4. Replace Me

"'Replace Me' is the first instance in which we start to pick ourselves back up again after feeling so dark for so long. The ultimate message here to remember is that no matter what you do, life won’t stop and people will keep going about their lives with or without you. Sometimes it’s better to just keep going and enjoy the things you have than focusing on the darkness within."

“This was the first song that was written for EP. I feel like it fully encapsulates what the overall concept of the EP is saying. Wherever there is darkness, there is light.”

5. Gloom:

"Gloom is a song that focuses more on the pressures and struggles tormenting us externally as opposed to the rest of the EP which is much more reflecting internally. It’s certainly one of the more aggressive moments musically on the EP and the lyrics follow with the same attitude."

“Gloom was inspired by a post I saw online about the millennial experience and why it’s so common for young people nowadays to joke about wanting to die and talking about their misery so flippantly. It’s certainly a song for the people who feel like the world is against them.”

6. The Light That I Found:

"'The Light That I Found' is the concluding track on the EP where the character finally accepts their situation and has found the infinite potential of life again. The light is symbolic of finding the positive within the darkness and can be whatever you want it to be. It could be love, passion, positivity/happiness. The song is essentially about moving on and not only finding peace in your situation but also accepting who you are as a person."

“Finding the light in darkness was a big concept I wanted to drive home for the whole EP. Figuring out who you are as person and accepting that maybe you lost sight of who that was when everything went down. I want people to know that things eventually get better no matter how low you might feel at a particular time.”

Reside's new EP, 'The Light That You Saw', is out now!