A Monster Monster is on the loose.
The Almost’s second album for Tooth & Nail/Virgin Records began taking shape just as soon as the band came off the road after touring for their 2007 debut, Southern Weather, including a stint on that summer’s Warped tour.
That album, which debuted at 39 on Billboard’s Top 200, earned them a Top 10 single at Alternative radio, and a spot on MTV’s Discover & Download, was essentially the work of a single individual—Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie, who wrote all the songs, played all the instruments and then recruited a band to play them live, starting with fellow Floridian Jay Vilardi, a veteran of several well-known area bands like Metal Blade’s Phoenix Mourning and Orlando-based Hand to Hand.
“My job was to teach everyone the songs,” explains Vilardi, who describes himself as the band’s musical director. The addition of Philadelphia-based guitarist Dusty Redman, himself a veteran of Tooth & Nail bands like Beloved and Dead Poetic and Salt Lake City bassist Alex Aponte rounded out the line-up.
The now thoroughly road-tested band was intent to make their latest a completely collaborative effort, melding their talents into a whole that was more than the sum of its individual parts. The process began with Vilardi, Redmon and Aponte e-mailing files back and forth to Gillespie, who was busy penning lyrics and coming up with musical ideas of his own while touring with Underoath, before all four of them got together in the studio to jam and work out the arrangements.
It was a system that resulted in a powerfully cohesive album that melds their diverse songwriting skills, from the thudding, Raw Power-like stomp of the title track and “Young Again,” to the stark acoustic blues and closing psychedelic jam of “Monster,” the techno-rock laced with tribal drums of “Books & Books” and the melodic Coldplay/U2/Kings of Leon arena-rock anthem, “Hands.”
“It turned out to be a really good process because we wound up with a tremendous amount of material we can use,” says Vilardi.
“We jammed on these tracks for hours before we actually laid anything down,” nods Gillespie. “This now feels like a real band. Everyone gave up a piece of his own agenda for the good of the final result. And that’s how you end up with something special. It was a relief for me because it took a lot of the weight off my shoulders. They supplied the bricks and we built the house together.”
The guys also enlisted the help of steel guitarists Chris Scruggs (grandson of bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs) and John Davis (Superdrag vocalist/guitarist) while in the studio. Both Scruggs and Davis helped they guys broaden their musical pallets on a few tracks like “West” and “Hand Grenade.”
“It was whatever each of us could do for the song,” agrees Redmon. “There were no ego issues, no one screaming, ‘I’m Eddie Van Halen!’”
Gillespie says the songs are about the dark side of the human condition, battling your demons to come out the other side, starting with the album’s title.
“I’m giving in to you,” he roars in “Lonely Wheel,” though in “No I Don’t,” which segues from an acoustic beginning to an anthemic rock chorus, he admits, “I’m learning how to wait.” The hard-hitting “Young Again” and the country-flavored “Hand Grenade” (“Oh to be young/It sounds like so much fun”) are both about lost innocence, while “Souls on Ten,” with its piano flourish and urgent intensity, has a Springsteen feel and the grungy garage-rock of “Summer Summer” offers an elegiac nod to vintage Neil Young with Crazy Horse.
“It didn’t start out as a concept album, but by accident, I think it became one,” says Aaron. “It’s about the ‘monster’ that lives inside of all of us, which we have to fight to get rid of. It’s a battle you live with every day. In the end, when that stops, the question remains, can you now live your life? Can you get all of who you are, can you find a place that makes you happy?”
That catharsis comes across loud and clear in the final song on the album, dubbed “Monster,” which starts with Gillespie alone, accompanied by a single dobro. “Learning how to see/In this weird change of space/I’m learning to believe in this life… I feel you helping me.” The song builds until, about two-thirds of the way through, the rest of The Almost come in, embarking on a spontaneous acid-soaked jam, recorded live, that provides the ultimate release.
“Everybody needs that,” says Gillespie. “For some people, it’s drinking, others run, some throw baseballs. I play music. That’s what I do. That gets rid of the garbage in my life.”
“It’s about how terrible we can be at times,” says Vilardi. “It’s hard to be a person today who stands for something. It doesn’t make you better… sometimes it even makes you worse.”
On “Hands,” the band prove they can create an arena- and radio-ready rock anthem, with its martial beat, chiming keyboards and lush ‘80s new wave fizz.
“It’s like an Achtung Baby vibe,” nods Dusty. “That song came out of nowhere. We demoed it, then got into the studio and started playing it and just got real excited.”
“I like working with a song structure,” says Gillespie. “In Underoath, that’s not what we do. We create moments, which is important, but The Almost is something different.”
“Monster Monster” and “Young Again” demonstrate Jay and Dusty’s love of classic garage punk, like The Stooges and The Velvet Underground
. “We really want to put the middle finger back in rock,” says Vilardi. “We love the attitude of bands like Guns N' Roses.”
And that’s strange, because it turns out that rebellion doesn’t conflict with being on Tooth & Nail, where the support of community is almost as important as the religious implications.
“Music should reflect who you are,” says Aaron. “I believe there’s hope in finding who you are. That’s my conviction. At the same time, I want anybody, no matter their affiliation, to react to the music in the same way. I don’t want people to feel they’re being judged.”
With the addition of drummer Joe Musten (Gillespie played all the drums on the album), The Almost is ready to hit the road and do what they do best, play for their increasing fan base around the country.
“We plan on hitting it as hard as we can,” laughs Vilardi. “We’d like to leave and not come back for two years.”
“We’re just beginning now to establish our identity,” concludes Dusty. “There were a lot of people now who are finding out about Underoath through The Almost.”
Now there’s a transformation for you.
Free Fallin'
The Almost Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Loves Jesus and America too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
It's a long day livin' in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for awhile
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
The song "Free Fallin'" by The Almost is actually a cover of Tom Petty's iconic hit from 1989. The lyrics describe a good girl who loves her family, country, and famous icons such as Elvis Presley, but also her boyfriend and horses. The singer is a bad boy who lives in Reseda, a suburb in California with a freeway nearby, and admits to breaking the good girl's heart. Despite this, he finds himself experiencing freedom and the thrill of falling.
The second verse describes a scene in the San Fernando Valley where the singer sees vampires walking and bad boys lurking in the shadows while the good girls are at home with broken hearts. The final verse expresses the singer's desire to glide down over Mulholland Drive, a famous winding road in Los Angeles, write the good girl's name in the sky, and free fall into nothingness, leaving the world behind for a while.
Overall, the song explores the themes of freedom and letting go, even in the face of heartbreak and uncertainty. The singer finds solace in the rush of falling and the potential for new beginnings, symbolized by the sky and the open road.
Line by Line Meaning
She's a good girl, loves her mama
She is a well-behaved person who loves and respects her mother
Loves Jesus and America too
She is also devoted to Christianity and patriotism
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
She loves Elvis Presley and is enthusiastic about him
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
Apart from Elvis, she also loves horses and her boyfriend
It's a long day livin' in Reseda
Living in Reseda can be tiring and exhausting
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
A highway runs through the yard, possibly causing disturbance and noise
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
The singer is a bad person because he does not miss the girl who loves him
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart
He feels guilty for breaking her heart
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
Despite being guilty of wronging someone, he feels free and liberated
All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Some people who are bad or cruel are present in the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd
They are moving down Ventura Blvd towards the west
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
The bad people stay hidden in the shadows and often do not come out in the open
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
The good people stay at home, sad and hurt
I wanna glide down over Mulholland
The singer wants to smoothly fly over Mulholland, a scenic road in Los Angeles
I wanna write her name in the sky
He wants to write her name in the sky as a symbol of his love and devotion
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
The singer wants to fall into void and emptiness, away from the world's complications
Gonna leave this world for awhile
He wants to take a break from this world and its worries
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'
Even though the singer is in distress, he feels free when he is falling
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Lynne, Thomas Earl Petty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Timothy Arvin
I love this one it's definitely better than the original I grew up listening to this song
Jason Gonzales
Love this version
Keshin Martin
I like this better than the original, I like both but this is my favorite version.
Danielle Cummings
yep!
Mr. Geoff
Same here... Aaron’s voice is just perfect in this cover!
Nads
My Mom usually doesn't like cover songs but she loves it and so do I
AllThatRemains5
your mom rocks
Bas USW
This is a seriously underestimated cover, and I don't know why, 'cause is a great cover, and I like better than the original song. The alternative rock rhythm, the pop punk force and the emo feeling makes this Tom Petty's cover an amazing song
Joe Scha
I like Tom's version but these guys rock.
ziilac
I'm obsessed with this