When Armchair Cynics released the Killing the Romance EP in 2005, the Victoria-based four piece established itself as a sturdy modern rock outfit in a market already crowded with sturdy modern rock outfits.
And the Cynics might have disappeared forever inside that too-often dreary throng if it hadn’t been for the nuances rattling around inside numbers like “Bang” and “Surprise Ending” - an almost covert pop sensibility behind the arrangements and atypical chord changes that lifted Killing the Romance out of its stubbornly earthbound genre.
With its 2009 full-length Starting Today, Armchair Cynics is finally revealing how deep those nuances run, allowing that pop sensibility to bloom fully, and lifting the veil – at last – on a big, boisterous, expressive personality.
Or, as guitarist-vocalist Kenn Coutu shrugs, “We didn’t feel like we got what we wanted with Killing the Romance. We were a little too hard rock on it, and it’s just not who we are.”
“What we’ve done this time is closer to what we think of ourselves as a band,” bassist Aran Puritch adds.
Perhaps the purest dose of the Cynics’ fresh sense of self-awareness is in the title track.
“Starting Today” is a shot of radiant sunshine pop, a soaring feast of hooks big and small, and an anthemic throwdown for any and all optimists. Coutu says he likes its “airiness”. And when Puritch pleads that his band “likes danciness and a bit of fun” - in contrast one assumes to the agenda offered on the more minatory Killing the Romance - it’s almost as if “Starting Today” should start playing somewhere in the background.
Or “Kelly” for that matter - a delirious, hit-seeking bubblegum missile that lands somewhere between the Killers, Fountains of Wayne, and Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” given a post-ironic vitamin shot. It could have fallen off a John Hughes soundtrack. Coutu describes it as “this almost euro-pop thing,” while Puritch notes, “There was a fair amount of mucking around with the synthesizer during jams, so you throw that in and wow! That’s ‘80s radio rock.”
“Ablaze” opens the album on a bedrock of synth, keening guitar, drummer Ryan Rae’s ever-beefy rhythms, and maximum melody. “Remain” follows with Coutu oscillating between sugary and full-throated vocals, before an enormous, cascading chorus of wailing background voices sweeps into view. It’s like Coldplay with all the self-importance (mercifully) removed.
“I love British music,” Coutu says. “I always have. I just think they have a great sense of melody. Like Oasis, or Kasabian - they have that rock vibe, but it’s not cheesy. That was my angle.”
All over Starting Today, the Cynics gleefully indulge any and every opportunity to colour outside the lines. “All the Way” initially recalls the band in 2005, and then swerves into Panic! At the Disco territory.
Arena-sized rock is tackled in “If You Can’t Sleep”, “The World Is Mine”, and “Something To Believe In”, but in all cases saturated in melody and voices.
On “You Never Really Gave It a Chance”, horns and choppy guitars ala Franz Ferdinand and a whipsmart ska-punk beat from Rae are used to animate Coutu’s tragicomic tale of a Walmart employee gone postal. The vocalist is quick to credit the nerd-fi relationship between guitarist-keyboardist Adam Sutherland and producer Dave Genn for some of the more outré effects that embellish Starting Today, and this track in particular.
“He’s got a funny brain that boy,” says Coutu of Sutherland. “He comes in with weird things. He and Dave had some fun with the octave guitars and the crazy solo, which sounds like a creepy circus to me. It’s really just Adam and Dave being crazy.”
Naturally, Genn’s presence is felt throughout Starting Today - the highly regarded producer is generally inclined to “leave his mark”, as Puritch puts it.
“Dave is just stupid good at music,” he says. “You just don’t feel worthy. His own abilities are so great that I can only imagine it’s like working with a bunch of little kids for him. On the other hand, he gets that the band is gonna come in with its own bent way of doing things, and it’s own passions, and a lot of what we brought in was unorthodox, but it worked.”
Genn put the band through boot camp once he got his hands on them. “Dave’s tough,” continues the bassist. “I liked it, but he wants to makes sure that you’re doing it as good as you possibly can. ‘Tough beans, you’re gonna have to sit down and forget what you used to play’.”
That the Cynics emerged from the immersive Genn experience as a better, truer, and happier outfit justifies the faith shown by its label 604, and the faith the band had in itself.
“We said let’s make the music that we want to,” Puritch states, before concluding - with a laugh - that artistic integrity “does exist!”
Which leaves Coutu to come up with the snappy tagline. “The album is just a whole bunch of different emotions,” he says. “Like ten days of the week.”
Bang
Armchair Cynics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I can't tell where your body ends and mine begins
Tear the flesh
I woke today feeling like some kind of masochist
You manifest
You bring things to be
And your mojo witchcraft, Honey, it's working on me
I must confess
Pull, beg, and plead
That I need your kiss like the ocean needs a breeze
Oh, I go off like a gun
Like a loaded weapon
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So here we go again
It echoes in my head
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So I can feel you here with me
Soaked in sin
Baptized by your kiss and now I'm born again
Bite your lip
Wrap my hands around your head and pull you in
I can't catch my breath
Sleep, think, or speak
Yeah your mojo witchcraft, Honey, it's working on me
So let's make a mess
Tear up these sheets
Every whisper you speak sends shivers through me
Oh, I go off like a gun
Like a loaded weapon
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So here we go again
It echoes in my head
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
Oh, I go off like a gun
Like a loaded weapon
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So here we go again
It echoes in my head
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So I can feel you here with me (tear the flesh)
So I can feel you here with me (break the skin)
So I can feel you near me (tear the flesh)
So I'll make sure you hear me
Oh, I go off like a gun
Like a loaded weapon
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So here we go again
It echoes in my head
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
Oh, I go off like a gun
Like a loaded weapon
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
So here we go again
It echoes in my head
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
Bang, bang, bang
Grip me in your hands
The song "Bang" by Armchair Cynics explores the intense, physical passion between two people. Through the use of vivid and illustrative language, the lyrics convey the singer's desire to fuse their bodies with their partner's through touch, bite, and breath. The opening lines, "Break the skin/Cause I can't tell where your body ends and mine begins/Tear the flesh" demonstrate the craving for a physical connection that goes beyond the surface level. The use of masochistic imagery in "I woke today feeling like some kind of masochist" indicates a willingness to experience pain in the pursuit of pleasure.
The singer acknowledges the power their partner holds over them, describing their "mojo witchcraft" as working its magic. Despite this, the singer is unashamedly vulnerable and honest about their needs, admitting "I need your kiss like the ocean needs a breeze" and "Every whisper you speak sends shivers through me". The repetition of "Bang, bang, bang" adds to the intensity of the song and reinforces the idea of explosive passion.
Overall, "Bang" is a song that celebrates the raw, animalistic attraction that can exist between two people, and the inability to resist it.
Line by Line Meaning
Break the skin
I want to be so close to you that I can't tell where you end and I begin
'Cause I can't tell where your body ends and mine begins
My desire for you is so strong that I want to merge with you physically
Tear the flesh
I woke up feeling like I crave pain and pleasure from you
I woke today feeling like some kind of masochist
My attraction to you is so strong that I want to experience whatever you have to offer, even if it causes pain
You manifest
You have the ability to make things happen
You bring things to be
You are a powerful force in my life and you have a lot of influence over me
And your mojo witchcraft, Honey, it's working on me
Your charm and power over me is like magic and it's taking effect
I must confess
I have to admit
Pull, beg, and plead
I'm desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to get your attention
That I need your kiss like the ocean needs a breeze
I have an insatiable desire for your touch and affection
Oh, I go off like a gun
I am explosive and unpredictable when I'm with you
Like a loaded weapon
I am powerful and unstoppable when I'm with you
Grip me in your hands
Take control of me and make me yours
So here we go again
We are repeating this intense experience
It echoes in my head
The memory of our encounter is vivid in my mind
Soaked in sin
I am consumed by my desire for you
Baptized by your kiss and now I'm born again
Your touch has transformed me and I am reborn with new desire for you
Bite your lip
I want to take control and dominate you physically
Wrap my hands around your head and pull you in
I want to be intimate and physically close to you
I can't catch my breath
Being with you is so intense that it takes my breath away
Sleep, think, or speak
I am constantly consumed by thoughts of you and our experiences together
Yeah your mojo witchcraft, Honey, it's working on me
Your charm and influence over me is like magic and continues to affect me
So let's make a mess
Let's get lost in each other and give in to temptation
Tear up these sheets
Let's have intense, physical intimacy
Every whisper you speak sends shivers through me
Your words have a powerful effect on me and I am deeply aroused by them
So I'll make sure you hear me
I need you to know how intense my desire for you is
So I can feel you here with me
I want to be physically close to you
So I can feel you near me
I want to feel your presence and intimacy with me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Andrew Richards, Paul Morley, Trevor Horn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind