Lo-Pro’s climb has been steep but rewarding, and is reflected with brutal honesty in Revenge’s 14-song rollercoaster. While so many modern rock crews wallow in unearned misery, frontman Pete Murray bluntly and unapologetically retraces his band’s rocky road, from the infectious gallop of “Texas” (“Maybe I did it all because I wanted to”) to the jarring chugs of “Early Morning Anger” (“Was I so out of line to think you’d be there?”) Yet, the quintet is just as adept at conjuring mid-tempo thunderclaps (“A Life That’s Just Begun,” “Wasting Away”) that boast Murray-favorite U2’s sprawling emotional majesty. This is an angry record, but it’s just as confessional and introspective.
“It’s been a challenge,” Murray laughs of his band’s layoff. “That was definitely helped by picking up yoga. I went through a period when I was pissed off, and some of those songs are on the record—but lyrically, the songs track a journey. It goes from finger-pointing to a way more hopeful vibe.”
Little comes easy in the Lo-Pro universe, and that includes geography: guitarist Pete Ricci lives in Massachusetts, and the rest of the band—Murray’s longtime Ultraspank writing partner, guitarist Neil Godfrey, drummer Tommy Stewart (ex-Godsmack) and bassist Jerry Oliviera—are spread out through L.A., Santa Barbara and San Diego. Subtle changes in approach have made Revenge easily their most accomplished work, with principal writers Murray and Godfrey remaining tight through both lean and boom times.
“[The Aaron Lewis acoustic tour] opened up this whole new way of writing, where we started writing everything on acoustic guitar first and building from there,” Murray reveals. “We usually write the music first and I’ll do vocals. Now we strip out the music and I send back [Godfrey] songs with drums and vocals, and he rewrites around the vocals.”
“[Neil and I have] been writing music for almost 20 years now. We’ve known each other since we were little punks out in Isla Vista, CA. We were playing in rival bands for a while; we hated each other for a long time. Now we’ve been writing music together forever, and it’s great. We can criticize what we do and it isn’t a personal attack, which is a huge thing to overcome.”
From the sweeping electronic flourishes on the evocative mid-album segue “Say” to the layered spoken word breaks on the volcanic “Ingenious,” it’s obvious that Lo-Pro couldn’t have picked a better time to be so inspired.
Aaron Lewis of Staind says, “People in the business have come and gone. I’ve always believed in the music, and Lo Pro is the real deal. That’s why I’m still here.”
“The business is brutal,” Murray shrugs. “It’s chewed us up a couple times. We just want to play music—that’s all I’m in it for. From where we’re sitting, we’re in a great place.”
New album The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge out June 8th, 2010.
Hang On
Lo-Pro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The situation is out of control
The walls are caving in all around you
You feel like your always left of the center
in a loneliness you know so well
You don’t feel like you can deliver
but you can’t stay locked up in this shell
Things can only get better than this so why can’t you just leave it all behind you
Hang on
Why should this be any different now
At least that’s what you keep saying to yourself over and over again
Home is long ago and far away
Like a memory your stuck in the middle
of what you are and what you were
Until you believe that it’s all just a riddle
it doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
And it starts
And it starts again it will
And it will leave you in the dark
You might know you’re alive
when you leave this all behind
You won’t know until you try
hold on now it just takes time
The lyrics of Lo-Pro's song Hang On describe a situation where the singer is feeling trapped, lonely and out of control. The walls are figuratively closing in on him and he feels like he is always left out of the center of things. He is stuck in the middle of what he is and what he was, and it doesn't matter what he's heard. He realizes that he needs to break out of his shell and stop feeling like he can't deliver. He needs to hang on, just a little bit longer now because things can only get better than this. He needs to leave it all behind him, even though it might be hard, and he needs to believe that it's all just a riddle.
The song is delivered with an emotive conviction that is sometimes missing in today's music scene. The vocals are raw and full of emotion, and the instrumentation complements the message perfectly. The lyrics encourage the listener to keep going and to try to break out of their shell. The song is a reminder that no matter how tough things may seem, there is always a way out, and that it takes courage and perseverance to make it through.
Line by Line Meaning
The day is gone it starts to hit you
The realization of the situation hits you at the end of the day
The situation is out of control
The situation is beyond your control
The walls are caving in all around you
You feel like everything is closing in on you
You feel like your always left of the center
You feel like you're always left out or different
in a loneliness you know so well
You're familiar with the feeling of loneliness
You don’t feel like you can deliver
You don't feel like you can meet expectations
but you can’t stay locked up in this shell
You can't continue to isolate yourself
So hang on just a little bit longer now
Hold on, it's almost over
Things can only get better than this so why can’t you just leave it all behind you
Things will improve, so why not move on?
Why should this be any different now
Why should you expect anything to change?
At least that’s what you keep saying to yourself over and over again
You keep telling yourself this to cope with the situation
Home is long ago and far away
The feeling of home is distant and unattainable
Like a memory your stuck in the middle
You're stuck between the past and present
of what you are and what you were
Of who you are now and who you used to be
Until you believe that it’s all just a riddle
Until you realize that it's all a mystery or puzzle
it doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
It doesn't matter what others say or think
And it starts
The cycle begins again
And it starts again it will
The cycle will continue
And it will leave you in the dark
It will leave you confused or unsure
You might know you’re alive
You'll realize you're alive
when you leave this all behind
When you move on from the current situation
You won’t know until you try
You won't know until you make an effort
hold on now it just takes time
Keep holding on, it will take time to get through this
Contributed by Victoria Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.