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.
Guns
July Talk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do very different things
If you're looking for tradition
I'm castling my king
When I think about you
My whole world falls in
Woo hoo hoo!
Guns and ammunition
Make bullets out of you
You speak dynamic fiction
And I see right through that too
When I think about you
My whole world falls through
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
Woo hoo hoo!
When you find your keys I stole, your eyes
When we find her in her pencil skirt, surprise
You take my body as your prize
Woo hoo hoo!
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
When you leave I cannot sleep
And when you leave my body shakes and
In "Guns + Ammunition" by July Talk, the singer uses the metaphor of guns and ammunition to describe the power dynamics in a romantic relationship. The phrase "my guns and ammunition do very different things" suggests that the singer has both physical and emotional power over their partner. They may not resort to violence, but they can still use their emotional "ammunition" to control the situation. The line "if you're looking for tradition, I'm castling my king" refers to a chess move where the king is moved to safety behind a line of pawns. This could suggest the singer is escaping a dangerous situation or taking control by retreating.
The chorus, "when I think about you, my whole world falls in," reflects the singer's emotional dependence on the partner. However, the second verse suggests that the singer is aware of the partner's manipulative behavior: "you speak dynamic fiction, and I see right through that too." The partner's words may sound impressive, but they are not genuine.
The bridge of the song shifts to a more physical description of the relationship. The singer brags about stealing the partner's keys and hints at a secret rendezvous with someone else: "when we find her in her pencil skirt, surprise, you take my body as your prize." This hints at a complicated triangle and further emphasizes the power dynamics at play.
Overall, "Guns + Ammunition" is a complex song that explores the intersection of power, control, and manipulation in a romantic relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
My guns and ammunition
My means of defense are very different
Do very different things
They serve completely different purposes
If you're looking for tradition
If you're looking for typical behavior
I'm castling my king
I'm not sticking to convention and taking a different approach
When I think about you
When you're on my mind
My whole world falls in
Everything else fades away and you become my focus
Guns and ammunition
Weapons and bullets
Make bullets out of you
Turn you into a target
You speak dynamic fiction
You tell exciting but untrue stories
And I see right through that too
I can tell that you're lying
When you find your keys I stole, your eyes
The moment when you figure out I took your keys, your expression changes
When we find her in her pencil skirt, surprise
We were surprised to see her wearing a pencil skirt
You take my body as your prize
You see me as an object to be won
When you leave I cannot sleep
I have trouble sleeping when you're gone
And when you leave my body shakes and
I have physical reactions to your absence
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Peter Goyette Dreimanis, Leah Fay Goldstein, Eamon Michael Mcgrath, Daniel P Miles, Josh Earl Warburton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Suzycue176
Heard this for the the first time on CBC Radio of all places. They both have wonderful voices. Canadian bands such as this don't get enough recognition and support IMO.
@sethhowell8036
Accidentally saw them live, front and center, at Edgefest one year. Best mistake ever, best live performance ever. Such an incredible band.
@heathermartin6961
Lucky ❤
@mcthirsty69
this is the best music discovery I've made in a long time!!! And they're Canadian! ! Rock On!!
@voyajah
Some of the greatest musicians are Canadian. :)
@WhiteRabbit5244
Hell yeah! ..eh? :)
@redemptionwins
Shame about beiber
@songbirdandthenest
gail mcphail yes!!
@1k_eggsshort_egg682
Canadians ROCK.....🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 I'm Proud to be a Canadian.
@brucemaclean241
I'm 62, been a music addict for 50 of those years...and I find them quite appealing. Sure, both their voices are basically borderline weird ( I'd describe him as a young Cohen crossed with a Waits who didn't gargle quite so much Drano ), but I love the way they work together, and it's got the type of tempo I've always loved....so there.