It took only seconds of strumming and dreamy, dulcet singing for Dreimanis to realize he’d met his muse. He sat listening, dumfounded, dreaming up ideas for what could come to be between the two of them. Clear-headed the next day, he started his search for the stranger from the bar with whom he seemingly shared a soul. He found her; they founded July Talk.
The basic structural facts of rock band July Talk are this: two front people, Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, surrounded by whiplashing guitarists Ian Docherty and [[bandmember from=2012]Josh Warburton, and double drummers Danny Miles and Dani Nash. For this compulsively DIY, rigorously self-realizing group, the essence of July Talk has always been the tension between precision and chaos.
Audiences need not ask what July Talk’s two writhing frontpeople’s relationship is to each other, but rather what their relationship is to their audience, and to the world. These bodies welcome our gaze, they revel and recoil in it while they furiously push back, asking of us what they ask of each other: please see me for who I am. If we see July Talk as a woman and a man, in opposition to one another, what we are seeing is our own projections upon these bodies.
What goes on between these bodies, all of them, that kinetic, staticky, sticky space, is where the truth of July Talk takes shape. On stage, July Talk unfurls and explodes. July Talk is known by their success at radio and their unmatched live show. Both of these things are true, but neither tells the complete story.
As video directors, their meticulous and masterful visual work has created an entirely unique aesthetic, and propelled them into collaborations with other artists, including Tanya Tagaq, Born Ruffians and Jasmyn. Their pandemic drive-in show presented an emphatic vision of creative direction, with balletic live projections opening new possibilities for coming performances. July Talk’s quieter triumphs, growing in their roles as advocates for industry change and defining their own parameters for safer, decolonized spaces at rock shows with their Love Lives Here posters, now translated into twelve languages, are as important to the band’s identity and humanity.
We can hear July Talk as the contrast of two voices that interject, operate and overlap around one another. We’re not wrong, but it’s not the full story. July Talk is a decade-long dialogue between two people; it is also a continuous conversation with older generations, previous selves, collaborators.
Even in the stark orderliness of black and white, July Talk has always been a work in progress. More accurately, it’s a work of progress, a communal pursuit of limitlessness as a mode of being. For a decade, July Talk has continued in its relentless project to know itself, through its whiskey-soaked blues rock roots on its self-titles debut EP, the 2016 dance-rock infused Touch and its contemplation of connection, or the quietly reflective eyes of their 2020 release Pray For It.
With their forthcoming 2023 album Remember Never Before, the most potently yet inventively “July Talk” album yet, the band returns – changed – to where they began.
Beck + Call
July Talk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is it because you think you're wonderful?
Am I fun to play?
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful
Or is it because you think you're worth less than nothing at all?
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call
What do you want me to say?
If you want me, I'll be waiting
If you don't, it's okay
Why did you come here today?
Do you really think there's something more to say or do you just need saving?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call (He loves me, she loves me not)
We're not the first to fall (She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone (He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone (She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
He loves me, he loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
Blind love in dark bedrooms
Find love within confusion
At your beck and call (He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall (She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unknown, still we (He loves me, she loves me not)
Jump at your beck and call (He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall (She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone (He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone (She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
The lyrics to "Beck + Call", by July Talk featuring Tanya Tagaq, explore the idea of manipulation in relationships. The first verse questions why the other person wants the singer around, and suggests that it's either because they think they're wonderful or because they feel worthless. The second verse asks why the other person came to the singer today and if they truly have something to say or if they just need saving. The chorus reveals that the singer feels like they're at the mercy of the other person's beck and call, jumping whenever they're needed, feeling alone and unwanted.
The lyrics highlight a sense of powerlessness in the relationship, with the other person seemingly controlling the narrative and the singer's feelings. The repeated use of "He loves me, he loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not" further emphasizes the uncertainty and doubt in the relationship, as if the singer is repeatedly pulling petals off a flower to determine their worth to the other person.
Overall, "Beck + Call" is a thought-provoking exploration of the power dynamics at play in relationships and the emotional toll it can take on those involved.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do you want me today?
Questioning why the person desires their company at the present moment.
Is it because you think you're wonderful?
Wondering if the person's motivation is stemming from their high opinion of themselves.
Am I fun to play?
Asking if the person is only interested in them for their amusement or enjoyment.
Or is it because you think you're worth less than nothing at all?
Wondering if the person only wants them due to their own feelings of worthlessness.
What do you want me to say?
Asking what the person desires to hear from them.
If you want me, I'll be waiting
Assuring the person that they are available if requested.
If you don't, it's okay
Making it clear that they will not be upset if the person does not want their companionship.
Why did you come here today?
Questioning the person's true motive for showing up.
Do you really think there's something more to say or do you just need saving?
Asking if there is a legitimate reason for the visit or if they are seeking comfort or rescue from something.
At your beck and call
Being available and willing to assist the person whenever they desire it.
We're not the first to fall
Acknowledging that others have fallen victim to the person's charms before.
To feel unknown
Expressing a sense of insignificance or obscurity while in the person's presence.
Still we jump at your beck and call
Despite feeling small, they are still compelled to respond to the person.
He loves me, she loves me not
Echoing the classic game of determining whether someone loves them or not.
To feel alone
Feeling a sense of loneliness despite being in the presence of someone else.
To feel unwanted
Perceiving that the person does not truly desire their presence or company.
Blind love in dark bedrooms
Describing a relationship where love is present but not seen clearly, and hidden away in the darkness.
Find love within confusion
Suggesting that love can still be found amongst chaos and confusion.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Peter Dreimanis, Danny Miles, Ian Docherty, Josh Warburton, Leah Fay
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Liliana
Lyrics
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful?
Am I fun to play?
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful or is it because you think you're worth less than nothing at all?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call
What do you want me to say?
If you want me, I'll be waiting
If you don't, it's okay
Why did you come here today?
Do you really think there's something more to say or do you just need saving?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, she loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
He loves me, he loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
Blind love in dark bedrooms
Find love within confusion
At your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unknown, still we
(He loves me, she loves me not)
Jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
Yw.
Zereff Nightshade Shayzar
Beck + Call
July Talk
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful?
Am I fun to play?
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful or is it because you think you're worth less than nothing at all?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call
What do you want me to say?
If you want me, I'll be waiting
If you don't, it's okay
Why did you come here today?
Do you really think there's something more to say or do you just need saving?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still we jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, she loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
He loves me, he loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
Blind love in dark bedrooms
Find love within confusion
At your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unknown, still we
(He loves me, she loves me not)
Jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
James Villy
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful?
Am I fun to play?
Why do you want me today?
Is it because you think you're wonderful
Or is it because you think you're worth less than nothing at all?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still, we jump at your beck and call
What do you want me to say?
If you want me, I'll be waiting
If you don't, it's okay
Why did you come here today?
Do you really think there's something more to say
Or do you just need saving?
At your beck and call
We're not the first to fall
To feel unknown
Still, we jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, she loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
He loves me, he loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
Blind love in dark bedrooms
Find love within confusion
At your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unknown, still we
(He loves me, she loves me not)
Jump at your beck and call
(He loves me, he loves me not)
We're not the first to fall
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel alone
(He loves me, he loves me not)
To feel alone
(She loves me, she loves me not)
To feel unwanted
AWO 4 Life
I feel ashamed I have been missing out on this AMAZING BAND for years and only recently discovered their music. Burning thru their back catalog and getting to watch them evolve in a matter of hours has been a fun experience. Keep up the amazing work!
Andre Levesque
This band is amazing and deserve RECOGNITION ! Thank you JULY TALK , you are true artist !
DETHREAPER11
I super love the dialogue in this song, I don't typically care about lyrics but I love how this song is two people who don't really know what they're doing or how they feel about each other, trying to communicate
Rob Elliott
I wish more people collaborated with Tanya Tagaq or throat singers in general. Such a unique sound
Ren Braginsky
Rob Elliott what does tanya sing on this track?
Rob Elliott
She is throat singing. So you hear it at the beginning... I don't know how to describe as anything other than it is the throat singing you hear through out.
The Viewer formerly known as Prince
damn I didn't even know that was a person singing lol, just thought it was a produced sound or maybe some kind of washboard or something
Making the Case
It's Inuit throat singing, specifically. :)
Rob Elliott
***** well I wouldn't go that far.. it is her version of a solo form of Inuit throat singing which normally needs two people.
She did just get the Order of Canada though which is nice to see.
Nauya Vidahl
I am shook. I've known this song for a few years now. And I loved~ the throat singing, because I am an inuk woman. AND ONLY NOW REALIZED that a known Inuk throat singer is in this song, Tanya Tagaq! This is so cool!!