Listen now
About this release
Recorded in fragments over a couple of days, Broken sits between Anymore and Sandcastles on the timeline — but emotionally, it feels like the fault line of the whole record. Tristan sent it to me and said plainly: it’s about a panic attack. From there, the drums had a job. The opening pulse is a heart beating in your chest, physically. The song begins almost in a whisper, Tristan narrating sensations and spiraling thoughts with vivid, alliterative detail that feels less like songwriting and more like a field recording.
As someone who’s never had a panic attack, I was struck by how cinematic and specific it felt — a simulation you can’t escape. The dynamics are extreme: from near-silence to full rupture. There’s a fun crash cymbal that lands deliberately off-beat right after the line “I think my mind has shattered.” Then at the end of the bridge, when he’s shouting “here comes another swell,” the drums double in size — we tracked them twice because one pass just wasn’t big enough. There’s a heavy backbeat and a fat, washy ride to anchor the chaos, but then, over the top, there’s a rolling, almost militaristic march of toms that pummel your ears. And then it all disintegrates — crashes out of time, structure collapsing, the song literally falls apart as it exhausts itself and fades away.
Lyrics
A stranger’s face somehow sits now on the body of my friend Speaking slow dead words, unheard thoughts blurred is this the end? Grasping tight for any holds in sight despite the sense you'll never be all right no matter what you try Muffled sounds and shifting ground breakdown and you think you finally found a place you won't drown But the waves come crashing by No, none of this is real I think I must've died. It seems like I can't feel. I don't know why I'm crying. I'm broken. Too tired to sleep, devoid of noise, but voices howl inside my head Choking down a sleeping pill to stay still only till I spit it up again Maybe it's a stroke somehow that's a hope Feeling lost feeling burned As the last loose length of rope slips through my shaking hands Yes, everything's the same as it was when I came But my brain can't tame the sudden searing shame Beating down on empty sands I think my mind has shattered Loose fragments on the ground The parts of me that mattered Are nowhere to be found I'm broken Just waiting for an end It must be almost done You laugh along pretending You understand the fun Your heartbeat feels like thunder Your arms are going The lightning chills ripped through you And your mind begins to Caught swirling in this No, Brett feels like enough You think you must be dream Oh, please fucking just wake up Don't think about the pleasure Don't think about the pain Don't try to change the weather There's nothing there to gain Oh, if everything must end This time must end as well But for now you're captured in the storm Here comes another swell