San Francisco based band, Panic Is Perfect, came to be in a very roundabout… Read Full Bio ↴San Francisco based band, Panic Is Perfect, came to be in a very roundabout way. Founders, Jeremy Belzer and Mike Hoffman actually formed the project in Southern India by way of travel throughout their relative lives from Kansas City, Portland, Los Angeles, Ghana, Thailand, Korea, China, India eventually settling in the Bay Area and completing the 5-piece live band with the addition of Ty Parker on drums, Joey Hassid on synths, and David Monzon on guitar.

Jeremy chased the arts and was awarded a scholarship to CalArts taking 1st place in a nationwide painting competition. He spent nights listening to records in the library and wound up majoring in Music Composition. After college, he decided to take to the world with his laptop, guitar and microphone and wrote and recorded hundreds of songs while living in the jungles of Thailand, seeking higher consciousness in India, and sweating in tiny apartments in Korea and China.

Mike, a drummer since the age of 10, dropped out after his first year of music school to travel to West Africa and study with a Master tribal drummer in rural Ghana. Mike played heavily in the local African and Afro-pop scene upon returning home, later moving to LA to finish his education at CalArts. It was there that he was turned on to writing and producing music, making his first solo album on an 8-track tape recorder.

Music became the driver and underneath their syncopated, multi-layered rhythmic arrangements, Panic Is Perfect writes simple indie pop songs with meaningful lyrics and melodies that stay with you long after the songs end. Sharing vocals, Mike and Jeremy sway the listener in and out of catchy vocal and melodic hooks, danceable beats and textures that reflect their well-travelled global tastes and influences. As multi-instrumentalists, they both play most of the instruments on their recordings. They each sing lead vocals on the songs that they contribute as writers, adding more diversity to the overall sound. Ultimately Panic is Perfect writes songs that, when stripped of all their elaborate production, are meaningful, memorable and undeniably unique and infectious.

Echo
Panic Is Perfect Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your hands are shaking, I see your lips move
We can have it out tonight, like we used to
Into the salt room, anticipated
Whatever the words you choose, already wasted

Scream if you want to
But the sound's not traveling
I hear you echo, echo

I hear you echo, echo
Scream if you want to
But your words aren't carrying
I hear you echo, echo
I hear you echo, echo

Take back your kisses, break all the dishes
Push me down to the floor, I know you miss this
A little louder, I couldn't do it
Throw it back and ask for more, we're getting to it

Hey! Hey!

The conversation, we've been repeating
Stuck between the words you say, and what you're feeling

A little closer, when we're together
Oh tell me what you really feel, not just whatever

Overall Meaning

In Panic Is Perfect's "Echo," the lyrics describe a reconciliation or confrontation between two people who once had a strong emotional connection. The first verse references physical cues of nervousness and tension, indicating that the conversation is one that is emotionally charged. The line "whatever the words you choose, already wasted" suggests that there have been previous attempts to communicate, but they were unsuccessful or unproductive.
The chorus highlights the theme of the song, the idea that words can only carry so far and emotions can only be expressed to a certain extent. The singer encourages the other person to scream if they need to, but acknowledges that their voice will only echo, indicating a sense of distance or disconnection between the two individuals. The second verse emphasizes the physical component of their previous relationship, referencing the breaking of dishes and the physicality of their intimacy.

Line by Line Meaning

Your hands are shaking, I see your lips move
I can see that you're nervous because your hands are shaking and your lips are moving.

We can have it out tonight, like we used to
Let's have a serious conversation tonight, like we used to in the past.

Into the salt room, anticipated
We are heading towards the salt room, eagerly looking forward to what happens next.

Whatever the words you choose, already wasted
No matter what you say, it won't matter because we have already wasted so much time on this issue.

Scream if you want to
Go ahead and scream if you need to vent your frustration or anger.

But the sound's not traveling
Unfortunately, your scream won't be heard by anyone else.

I hear you echo, echo
I can hear the echo of your voice bouncing back, but that's all that remains.

Take back your kisses, break all the dishes
Let's break off our relationship and fight, if that's what it takes.

Push me down to the floor, I know you miss this
We used to be passionate with each other, so let's see if we can rekindle that intensity.

A little louder, I couldn't do it
I want you to speak a little louder because I couldn't hear you clearly enough.

Throw it back and ask for more, we're getting to it
Keep going and ask for more because we're making progress in our conversation.

The conversation, we've been repeating
We keep having the same conversation over and over again without making any real progress.

Stuck between the words you say, and what you're feeling
You're having trouble expressing how you really feel and it's causing a disconnect between us.

A little closer, when we're together
We need to get closer to each other, both physically and emotionally, to resolve our issues.

Oh tell me what you really feel, not just whatever
Please be honest with me and tell me how you really feel instead of just saying what you think I want to hear.

Writer(s): Jeremy Belzer, Mike Hoffman

Contributed by Annabelle P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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