Had anyone actually thought about it, Drugstore should have been branded Alt-indie-country - as Isabel’s smoky vocals and pitch-dark lyrical subject matter, coupled with the band’s minimalist, melancholic guitar and string arrangements, stick them firmly in the lovelorn, caustic company of Low, Dusty in Memphis and Leonard Cohen.
Throughout the band's eventful career (although Isabel prefers to describe it as an adventure rather than a professional enterprise), the band have landed 2x top 50 album charts and a top 20 single.
Drugstore's music nimbly hops over the ages, from 1920s Berlin cabaret through the French chanson tradition, via The Velvet Undergrounds woozy melodic charm and Tom Waits’bar-room badinage, across PJ Harveys earnest intellect and The Bad Seeds’rumbling, angry melancholia, with an intoxicating mix of heartfelt and carefree disarming vérité.
The band was formed in 1993 when Isabel Monteiro and american drummer Mike Chylinski got together via a flat-share in East London. Soon after their self-financed debut single ‘Alive’ was released, and having only performed a handful of gigs, the band signed a major deal with maverick label GoDiscs.
The single immediately draw an unprecedented amount of attention, earning the band their first of many 'single of the week' in Melody Maker, Music Week, Q and others.
Another 2 critically acclaimed albums followed: White Magic for Lovers’, in 1998, which features the top 20 sinle ‘El President’, a duet with Thom Yorke – and ‘Songs for the JetSet’, released in 2001.
In the summer of 2001, while the band were in the middle of promoting the 'Songs for the Jetset' album, to the surprise of band members and dismay of the Record Company, Isabel suddenly decided to 'walk away from it all' and the band went into hibernation.
8 years later, in 2011, Isabel Monteiro reappeared with the semi-acoustic intimate album ‘Anatomy’, released by RocketGirl and partly financed by the fans.
In 2013 the band teams-up with London based label Cherry Red Records, for the release of a 'Best of' compilation, released on September 2013, which includes tracks spanning the band’s 20 year career and 4 albums.
The band now plays special gigs, and Monteiro is currently writing material for a new album.
Gravity
Drugstore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it makes me sad, to be surrounded
There's not much else that I can do to change
But in my dreams I see you dying
The world keeps going round
With the sun and the moon
And you and I are somehow inbetween
We are hopelessly waiting
For the sky to fall down
I put my hands up
Don't look around
Sometimes we can forget just who we are
Sometimes it's hard, to look around you
We seem to move, but never very far
And I don't know why we care about it
But the world keeps going round
With the sun and the moon
And you and I are somehow inbetween
We are hopelessly waiting
For the sky to fall down
I put my hands up
Don't look around
The opening lines of Drugstore's "Gravity" describe a sense of detachment and isolation. The stars, which are usually symbols of awe and wonder, look far away- suggesting a sense of disconnection from the universe. The character in the song is surrounded by something, but it's unclear exactly what that something is. From the lyrics, it seems like it might be a feeling of sadness or melancholy. The repetition of the word "surrounded" emphasizes the character's sense of being trapped or confined, despite the vastness of the universe around them.
The middle section of the song focuses on the cyclical nature of time, with the sun and moon representing the passage of days and nights. It's a reminder that life keeps moving forward, no matter how stuck or trapped we might feel. Despite this, the character is still waiting for something- in this case, the sky to fall down. It's a powerful image that suggests a deep-seated hopelessness and a desire for something to disrupt the status quo. However, the character's hands are up- signalling a surrender or acceptance of their situation.
Overall, "Gravity" is a song about the human experience- the highs and lows, the sense of detachment and isolation, and the feeling that despite all our efforts, we are still subject to the forces of time and nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Funny how the stars look far away
It's strange how distant and unreachable the stars seem, and it makes me feel isolated and lonely.
And it makes me sad, to be surrounded
Despite being surrounded by people or things, the feeling of loneliness and disconnection is overwhelming.
There's not much else that I can do to change
Feeling powerless to improve one's situation, as if it's been predetermined.
But in my dreams I see you dying
Being haunted by the possibility of losing someone dear, and not being able to do anything about it.
The world keeps going round
Life moves on, continuously, without any regard for individual experiences.
With the sun and the moon
Reiterating that life moves on, whether it is day or night.
And you and I are somehow inbetween
Feeling trapped in the in-between, between a desire to move forward and inability to do so.
We are hopelessly waiting
A feeling of hopelessness, being stuck in a particular situation without any possibility of changing it.
For the sky to fall down
Waiting for some significant event to occur, even if it is a disastrous one, so that there can be a change.
I put my hands up
Acknowledging the lack of control over a situation and surrendering to it.
Don't look around
Avoiding the reality and searching for answers in oneself.
Sometimes we can forget just who we are
In the midst of trying to conform and fit in, one can lose their true identity.
Sometimes it's hard, to look around you
It's difficult to accept the world around you and to cope with it, especially when it feels overwhelming.
We seem to move, but never very far
Trying to make progress but being stuck in the same place, unable to move ahead.
And I don't know why we care about it
Questioning the importance of attempting to move forward when change is so difficult.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ISABEL MONTEIRO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
yerallmorons
My favorite drugstore song!
Gandalf_the_bearded_one
I can't believe I'm the first 'like' or comment here..... Amazing band and songs. Not to mention her voice. Wow.
Javier Soto
❤