Southend’s In Earnest is back with a new EP ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’. Released on the 8th of October, it follows their fine self-titled EP back from 2020. Can the new release stack up to its formers emotive power?
Images and artwork courtesy of the band.
The EP comes in a seamless form, the band’s effort to reflect the cyclical nature of the time period it was recorded in and, the difficulties of breaking free from living with mental illness. Musically, it is leagues ahead of the debut.; The strings and the guitar licks have a broader appeal which, when the lyrics get personal, is a welcomed offset.
Suicide attempts shouldn’t come wrapped in such packages like ‘Days In Between’. Such is the astonishing beauty of their Laura Marling meets Phoebe Bridgers sonic. This tale, built on the premise of what would have been missed, has the same pin drop ability of a ‘Songbird’. The anguish of Sarah Holbourn singing the line ‘seeing my mother's pain’ is almost too much to bear.
On ‘Welcome to Hope County’, co-writer and guitarist Thomas Eatherton offers up his struggle to come to terms with their relationship. The ability to be this honest, with your partner in the band, knowing the anxiety that could come with it is remarkable. Eatherton, sings with such humble heartfelt honesty alongside Bill Bragg guitars and folk orchestration, it will leave you hollow. It is though, in the closing moments this song’s genius lies. Akin to Noah & The Whale’s ‘Blue Skies’, the injection of pace offers a chink of light. The guitars glisten and the strings have a spring-like quality. Then Eatherton bellows ‘my head is in my hands again / there are reasons to stay alive’ and they bring the cyclical nature of mental torment and this EP crashing home.
The subject matter has been crucial to the band to date. However, on ‘I Feel Alone Even If I’m Not’ and ‘Hands Are’, their musicality has broadened to match the eloquence of their lyrics. The former taps into folk classicism to create an icy tinged folk gem. Meanwhile, on ‘Hands Are Tied’, they harness bath style and substance exquisitely. Smoky guitar licks sitting between Billy Bragg and Richard Hawley gently paint landscapes of woe before the song explodes into life.
As music lovers, we’re all guilty of escapism. Whether it be a forlorn Marr riff, a raging Frank Turner couplet, or a wayward wobble of an Orbital synth, there’s a place to reside in for hope and rebellion. With this EP, In Earnest has shown another way. They’ve turned themselves inside out for the world to see. In doing so, they have brought about a different kind of inclusion. When Holbourn confesses ‘I’m taking my pills, doing my time / pour my heart out in a song / the only thing I know is I don't think I can go on’, she emboldens the view that, it’s ok to not be ok.
This band and EP deserve your respect if nothing else. They are a triumph of the human spirit. This is the most selfless piece of art you will engage in of 2021.
You can hear the EP here.
