Singer/ guitarist Boyer and bassist Resende formed the pop combo as students at the University of Rouen, sharing an affinity for indie music, new wave and sixties pop. Taking their name from a souvenir t-shirt given to Boyer's father in 1980, the duo recruited guitarist Mederic Gontier, and with the addition of drummer Sylvain Marchand a year later, the lineup was complete. The foursome released a self-produced and self-financed EP, "20 Minutes" (Bobby Records 1996) which resulted in them signing a deal with French label Atmospheriques.
In 1998, the band flew to NYC to record their first album “Puzzle” with Andy Chase. Featuring contributions from Eric Matthews and Adam Schlesinger, "Puzzle" was mixed in Sweden with Tore Johansson. The record, released between the end of 1999 & early 2000 received much praise from the press (band of the week in Melody Maker in Spring 1999), and saw the band touring the world to promote it. “Puzzle” eventually went gold in Japan. Of all the singles taken from the album, "Heartbeat" was the most successful. Tahiti 80's US label, Minty Fresh, released a mini LP called "Extra Pieces", which included B-sides, remixes & other rarities.
In 2001, the band re-united with Andy Chase to record a more experimental follow up album: “Wallpaper For The Soul”. The sessions took place in Rouen, NYC, Etretat, London & Portland (Oregon). Collaborators on this effort include mixer Tony Lash and Let It Be arranger Richard Hewson. “Wallpaper For The Soul” was released in 2002, garnered good reviews (it was selected as one of Uncut’s top 10 albums of the year) and was followed by another mini album "A piece of Sunshine" made up of out-takes from the prolific album sessions.
Following that, Xavier Boyer selected songs for a compilation called "A Piece of Gold” on behalf of the band. Featuring various artists such as Todd Rundgren, The Small Faces, Donald Byrd....) it was only released in Japan for copywrite reasons.
For their third album, from 2003 – 2004, Tahiti 80 spent several months at their own recording studio, the Tahitilab. The way of working was different this time: as opposed to "Puzzle" & "WFTS", the songs were mostly improvised and written in the studio. The soul journey which began on songs like "Heartbeat" and "1,000 Times" matured on "Fosbury". They collaborated with Neal Pogue (co-production & mix) and Serban Ghenea (mix), respectively Outkast’s and NERD’s sound engineers, with British singer Linda Lewis duetting on "Your Love Shines". And "Better Days Will Come" was featured in the first episode of the fourth season of Smallville (an American television series) in September, 2004.
Between tours, Boyer & Resende produced a couple of albums by friends (Fugu, Calc) whilst Xavier Boyer - under the anagram pseudonym Axe Riverboy - recorded the somewhat folk-influenced solo album "Tutu To Tango".
In 2007, the band transferred to Universal's Barclay label and in 2008, they went back to the Tahitilab to record "Activity Center". It was described by the critics as a back to basics album, with a rawer sound and a rock production style. Sylvain Marchand wasn't involved as a drummer as ear problems which had plagued him for years, prevented him from recording his drum parts. Drums were subsequently played by Julien Barbagallo with percussion by Raphael Leger (respectively Tahiti 80's live keyboardist/percussionist and drummer). To promote the album, the band explored new territories (Taiwan, South America) and they even licensed the album for release in the US on their own imprint "Human Sounds" (a reference to "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys).
In 2010, Tahiti 80 will record their 5th album for release on their own label.
Easy Way Out
Tahiti 80 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You bend you head and run away
If it's not true I wish it were
Cos' we still talk but it's even worse
You don't even dare to look
into my eyes
For so many hours
About things that only
We could understand
Now I wish I could forget all this
By closing my eyes
It never happens this way
Oh it would be too easy
Because there's no easy way out in friendship
Yesterday I dreamt I was
Swimming in a giant beer mug
And that you were trying to
Whisper something in my ear
It never happens this way
Oh it would be too easy
Because there's no easy way out in friendship
There were sometimes when I thought
We could have patched things up
Now I don't know
Things never happen the way
You thought they would happen anyway
So why try to find an easy
Easy way out in friendship
There's no easy, easy way out
I try to find an easy way out in everything...
The lyrics of Tahiti 80's song Easy Way Out is a heartfelt confession of a person who is struggling to come to terms with the changing nature of their friendship. The persona calls out their friend's name but receives no response, except a silent retreat. They acknowledge that they used to engage in long and meaningful conversations, but now it's just shallow, leaving them wishing things were back to how they used to be. The persona reminisces and wishes they could forget by closing their eyes. But they know there's no easy way out in friendship, much like the dream they had where they were swimming in a giant beer mug, and their friend was whispering something in their ear. The whole song has a sense of longing, confusion and acceptance.
The song was released first in 2002 and featured in the album, Wallpaper for the Soul. It has an indie pop, dreamy vibe and is reflective of the post-modernist genre of music.
Line by Line Meaning
I call your name but you never answer
I attempt to reach out to you, but you never respond to me
You bend your head and run away
You avoid me by lowering your head and leaving the situation
If it's not true I wish it were, cos' we still talk but it's even worse
Although we continue to communicate, it would be better if the rumors about us were actually true
You don't even dare to look into my eyes
You lack the courage to meet my gaze
In the past we used to talk for so many hours, about things that only we could understand
We used to have deep conversations that only we could relate to for long periods of time in the past
Now I wish I could forget all this by closing my eyes
I wish I could erase all the problems between us simply by closing my eyes and pretending they don't exist
It never happens this way, oh it would be too easy, because there's no easy way out in friendship
Things never resolve themselves that easily, especially when it comes to friendship
Yesterday I dreamt I was swimming in a giant beer mug and that you were trying to whisper something in my ear
In a dream, I found myself swimming in a beer mug, and you were trying to tell me something in secret
There were sometimes when I thought we could have patched things up, now I don't know
At times, I thought we could resolve our issues, but now I'm not so sure
Things never happen the way you thought they would happen anyway, so why try to find an easy easy way out in friendship
Things rarely go according to plan, so why try to simplify friend issues
There's no easy, easy way out
There isn't a simple solution or path to resolution
I try to find an easy way out in everything...
I tend to seek the most straightforward solution to all problems in all areas of life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MEDERIC CHARLES DENIS GONTIER, RESENDE PEDRO CARLOS DA SILVA, SYLVAIN EDMOND MARCEL MARCHAND, XAVIER ANDRE MARIE BOYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind