Anyone who thinks the phrase “it’s all been done before” carries real weight clearly has yet to encounter Fair to Midland. Dark, heavy, moving, cryptic, progressive art rock collides with flourishes of old-school country, Americana and Delta Blues in their sound. These Lonestar boys' genre-defying and boundary obliterating ocean of sound righteously upends the old phrase “fair to middling” from which their Texas-ified moniker was drawn.
Arrows & Anchors, the five-piece band’s first album in partnership with eOne Music, is meaner, sadder and altogether more desperate of an affair than its predecessors. “It’s a very bitter album,” offers vocalist Darroh Sudderth. “The last album had some light at the end of the tunnel in some of the subject matter. This one doesn’t have that quite so much.”
This particularly invigorating yet undeniably gut-wrenching collection of songs is the product of a string of years of career strife since the group last poked their head into magazines and record shops. Arrows and Anchors follows a change in record label, a change in management and one (“maybe two,” Sudderth laughs) changes in booking agent. All of that change and upheaval definitely played a role in the creative process; artistic lemonade from business lemons.
There has never been a lack of faith from the diehard admirers who have steadily adopted the band as their own in growing numbers since Fair to Midland’s initial pair of self-released albums, The Carbon Copy Silver Lining (2001) and inter.funda.stifle (2004). Both were explorations into the furthest reaches of the musical psyche that earned them praise from critics, fans and fellow musicians. Fair to Midland are a true “band’s band.”
So much so, in fact, that eclectic musical connoisseur and multiplatinum recording artist Serj Tankian, best known as the frontman for System of a Down, signed them to his Serjikal Strike imprint, which released The Drawn & Quartered EP (2006) and the band’s third full-length album, Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (2007).
A killer live show and intensive roadwork as a headliner, at prestigious festivals such as Coachella, Download, Rock AM Ring and Rock IM Ring and together with bands like Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Flyleaf and Dir en Grey has brought the band’s skillful and adept approach to art rock infused prog-metal to international attention.
There are a few of their by now trademarked tongue-in-cheek dalliances to be sure but for the most part Arrows and Anchors is Fair to Midland’s most cynical offering. By the same turn, it’s a performance album with a laser-like focus on the raw passion and intensity. In an age of overly processed heavy music, the band partnered with producer Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Melvins) who sequestered them into his self-appointed House of Compression in Pasadena, California and wrenched out top-tier performances.
The recording captures an authenticity and a sincerity that’s lacking in most modern records. “We always want to work with someone who is interested and enthusiastic to work with us,” Sudderth explains. “Because at the end of the day they’re going to spend that much more time wanting to make the record their own, as well. We didn’t want to worry about everything being immaculate, pristine and polished. This is absolutely a performance-driven record.”
Arrows & Anchors is also a testament to Fair to Midland’s personal chemistry and unique collaborative perspective. Some songs were written together. Others were demoed out by a particular member – say keyboardist Matt Langley or his six string cohort, Cliff Campbell – right down to the programmed drums. “Or maybe I brought a completed song where I programmed whatever instruments I can’t play,” Sudderth elaborates. It was a very open process.
The bizarrely creative and inspired vocals and guitar work in Fair to Midland play against the counterintuitive and monstrously rhythmic backbeat of drummer Brett Stowers and bassist Jon Dicken. Matt Langley’s ethereal electronics enhance everything else. The group’s canvas is as expansive and breathtaking as the state of Texas itself.
Fair to Midland is one of the rare bands who expertly walk the fine line between accessibility and integrity, between open lines of communication and introverted psychic exploration. “We’re not gifted songwriters,” Sudderth says with genuine self-effacing humility. “So we have to be really resourceful and that’s a talent in and of itself. We do our best.”
Fair to Midland's current lineup consists of Darroh Sudderth (vocals, banjo, mandolin, bass), Cliff Campbell (guitar), Matt Langley (keys), Ryan Collier (bass), and Logan Kennedy (drums).
In November 2011, the band released their first DVD, Welcome to the Dirt, consisting mainly of band shots and fan footage of live shows. The DVD is distributed exclusively through their own merchandise site. The profit from this release helped fund a professional video recording of the band's show at The Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan on December 17. This footage will be released worldwide on DVD on March 27, 2012. Arrows & Anchors will was released on double vinyl on March 26, limited to 250 copies.
When The Bough Breaks
Fair to Midland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But cover your mouth when you cough
No apprentice
No friends at this time
Well, there's no method to love
No angel above
No mentor
Just hate me
Go on and hate me
The lyrics to Fair to Midland's song, "When The Bough Breaks," may seem cryptic at first but upon closer examination, we can decipher the message. The song is about a person who is offering assistance to somebody in need but they still seem to be met with hostility. This is shown in the lines, "I'll give you a home but cover your mouth when you cough." The person is willing to help, but there are still rules that must be followed.
The verse also mentions there's "no method to love" indicating that sometimes kindness is shown without a clear motive or plan and without anything in return. Additionally, there is no angel or mentor above to guide the individual, but rather they just have to rely on themselves and their own abilities. Lastly, despite trying to offer help, the person is met with hatred and is ultimately told to continue hating them.
Overall, the lyrics of "When The Bough Breaks" tells a story of someone extending a helping hand to another person in need, despite the hostility that they receive in return. The song seems to emphasize that sometimes a kindness can be an act in itself without a clear motivation or plan.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll give you a home
I offer you a place of belonging, where you can feel safe and secure.
Bruised and broken, torn apart
You have been emotionally wounded and physically harmed, causing you great pain and distress.
I've come fresh from the start
I am here with a clean slate, ready to build a new beginning with you.
A promise for a place to begin
I make a commitment to provide you with a starting point to rebuild and move forward from the past.
With a pain in my head and a hole in my heart
Although I carry my own emotional wounds, I am willing to share them with you as a reminder of our shared humanity and vulnerability.
It's a fine place and I think you'd fit right in
I believe that my home is a welcoming environment, and that you would be comfortable and accepted there.
With a melody that we all hum along
Together, we will create a harmonious and uplifting atmosphere that inspires us to sing and carry on.
A theme that we all know, but we all get wrong
We are familiar with the fundamental truths of life, but we often misinterpret or misapply them, creating confusion and misunderstanding.
We all clap our hands, we all sing along
We embrace the joy and unity of music, connecting with each other through shared experiences, emotions, and expression.
And we'll all clap hands, and we'll all sing along
Together, we will create a space of acceptance and belonging, where we celebrate our individuality and our unity as human beings.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN MATTHEW LANGLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jaredvillhelm2002
12 years later here I am once more pondering my life, listening to the same song for the unknown time.
@tylerrandolph580
I’ve never had so much relation to a comment in my life lol
@Daltonn0810
i dont think i ever heard such musical genuis
@derikks98
Heard this for the first time i think 8 or 9 years ago, at night, thinking about a person that now has nothing to do with my life. That moment.. it was one of the best experiences ive ever had in my life.
@TheGrayDawn
God....this band is almost perfect in every aspect...
@cineman7936
First time I heard this song I was stoned out my mind I swear I felt like I was swimming when the opening riffs came on for quince
@OldManLokin
3:40 is one of the coolest parts. Love this band
@BillToady
Stifle verb (used with object) 1. to quell, crush, or end by force 2. to suppress, curb, or withhold 3. to kill by impeding respiration; smother. verb (used without object) 4. to suffer from difficulty in breathing, as in a close atmosphere. 5. to become stifled or suffocated. pretty much what you were already saying something along the lines of "crushing the insides of the fundamentals"
@WATEmusic
listening in 2016. Edit: now 2018
@adrianaa2767
2019 here