The Hotelier formed in June 2009 when lead singer Christian Holden met Chris Hoffman, Zack Shaw, and Sam Frederick while attending high school in Dudley, Massachusetts. In 2009, the band released their first EP, titled We Are All Alone, which received little success outside of Massachusetts. At the end of the year, the band released Two Song Demo. In 2011, the band released their first album, titled It Never Goes Out, receiving some attention.
Originally named The Hotel Year, the band changed its name because they did not think the name was particularly good, and there was a band called My Hotel Year which they did not want to be confused with.
The band released their second album in 2014 titled Home, Like Noplace Is There, which brought the band to attention in the emo revival scene. After releasing the album, vocalist Christian Holden stated in a blog post on the bands Tumblr that "Our new album deals with some real dark stuff. So to all my brooding and slightly damaged friends, have your a happy album or Rugrats in Paris nearby. It’s partly about my experience with friends and loved ones in the past three years which were very complicated, toxic, and abusive. But laid within is a lot about the deconstruction of self for personal growth and transformation. I hope it helps you live and stuff. Apparently we are emo now." Home, Like Noplace Is There ranked at number 1 on the AbsolutePunk staff's top 30 albums of 2014, and number 6 on the users' top 50 albums of 2000-2015. According to Marc Snitzer, writer for the Philadelphia City Paper, The Hotelier was named one of two bands "leading the emo revival". The release of the band's sophomore album was ranked number seven on Alternative Press's list of the "12 Biggest Moments of The #EmoRevival in 2014". Leor Galil, writer for the Chicago Reader named it his favorite record of 2014. The band was also featured (for their second album) in a Boston Globe article highlighting the best music from Boston in 2014. The album was included at number 29 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.
The band was featured on Property of Zack's "Artists To Watch in 2015". The band performed at the 2015 Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain. In the spring of 2015, the band supported La Dispute and Title Fight on their co-headlining tour.
On 15 February 2016 Christian Holden wrote a blog post on the band's Tumblr account in which they mentioned an impending album announcement for an album entitled Goodness. The album was formally announced the next day. At the same time the band released a trailer for the album set to the song Goodness Pt I, a song sold as a limited edition numbered vinyl during the band's 2015 tour.
The band premiered their second single titled "Soft Animal" on April 22, 2016. The album itself was released a little over a month later, on May 27, through Tiny Engines.
Among the Wildflowers
The Hotelier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fill in the gaps.
Spinning gears keep catching your cracks,
skipping teeth,
keep calling you back,
telling stories pretending they're fact.
Let me go. Too unstable to wane.
Chewing wildflowers to numb the pain.
Cut the lines. You'll be fine
but if you break when I break, will you carry me away?
Will you fall on your blade just to hear when I'm saying I can't?
You came out. Started bruising.
Find it tough to admit when your losing.
Oh, what should i think?
Carefully crafted commercial disaster.
They take what you're after to get what they want out of you.
Dissociate from touch.
You're tilting to pull the others with you.
Posed shakespearean skull, we see in different pictures.
You play the imperial
stealing the power to waste away.
You took the comfort from the lights in her soul.
Projected map of the body:
it's crass, abject, colonial.
You passed dis-ease presented to you at birth.
Held underwater told to scream your self worth.
It wasn't good enough.
Entrust the secrets to the backs of your arms.
Killing the self as to protect it from harm.
The song "Among the Wildflowers" by The Hotelier is a poignant reflection on the struggles and pain of life. The opening line, "You were born on a leap year," sets a tone of uniqueness and isolation right from the start. The reference to "filling in the gaps" suggests a sense of incompleteness or missing pieces, which is reinforced by the imagery of "spinning gears" catching "cracks" and "skipping teeth."
Throughout the song, there are references to pain and the need for escape, such as "chewing wildflowers to numb the pain" and "dissociate from touch." The singer is reaching out for someone to lean on, asking "if you break when I break, will you carry me away?" But there is also a sense of self-destructiveness, with lines like "will you fall on your blade just to hear when I'm saying I can't?"
Overall, the song is complex and multi-layered, offering a glimpse into the complicated emotions and struggles that many people face throughout their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
You were born on a leap year.
You are unique and different, born on a rare day that only comes once every four years.
Spinning gears keep catching your cracks, skipping teeth, keep calling you back, telling stories pretending they're fact.
You are struggling through life, facing challenges and obstacles that keep bringing you down, and the voices in your head keep telling you lies that you believe to be true.
Let me go. Too unstable to wane. Chewing wildflowers to numb the pain.
You are in a dark place in your mind, feeling unstable and not strong enough to cope, resorting to using wildflowers to numb the emotional pain you are feeling.
Cut the lines. You'll be fine but if you break when I break, will you carry me away? Will you fall on your blade just to hear when I'm saying I can't?
If you cut ties with the things that are holding you back, you will be okay, but if you crumble under pressure and fall apart, will you still be there for me, or will you abandon me when I need you most?
You came out. Started bruising. Find it tough to admit when you're losing. Oh, what should I think? Carefully crafted commercial disaster. They take what you're after to get what they want out of you.
You emerged onto the scene, only to be met with disappointment and setbacks. It's hard for you to acknowledge when you're failing, and you feel like a failure. You are being used and manipulated by those around you, who are taking advantage of your weaknesses for their own gain.
Dissociate from touch. You're tilting to pull the others with you. Posed Shakespearean skull, we see in different pictures. You play the imperial stealing the power to waste away. You took the comfort from the lights in her soul. Projected map of the body: it's crass, abject, colonial. You passed dis-ease presented to you at birth. Held underwater told to scream your self worth. It wasn't good enough. Entrust the secrets to the backs of your arms. Killing the self as to protect it from harm.
You have become disconnected from reality and are trying to bring others down with you. You are wearing a façade of power and control to hide the fact that you are wasting away inside, and you have caused pain and sadness to those you care about. You have been dealt a hard hand in life, and you were taught to hide your emotions and not express yourself, leading to a lack of self-esteem. You are keeping your secrets hidden and harming yourself to protect them.
Contributed by Claire C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sarajeanette8355
You we born on a leap year.Â
Fill in the gaps.Â
Spinning gears keep catching your cracks,Â
skipping teeth,Â
keep calling you back,Â
telling stories pretending they’re fact.Â
Let me go. Too unstable to wane.Â
Chewing wildflowers to numb the pain.Â
Cut the lines. You’ll be fineÂ
but if you break when I break, will you carry me away?Â
Will you fall on your blade just to hear when I’m saying I can’t?Â
You came out. Started bruising.Â
Find it tough to admit when your losing.Â
Oh, what should i think?Â
Carefully crafted commercial disaster.Â
They take what you’re after to get what they want out of you.Â
Dissociate from touch.Â
You’re tilting to pull the others with you.Â
Posed shakespearean skull, we see in different pictures.Â
You play the imperialÂ
stealing the power to waste away.Â
You took the comfort from the lights in her soul.Â
Projected map of the body:Â
it's crass, abject, colonial.Â
You passed dis-ease presented to you at birth.Â
Held underwater told to scream your self worth.Â
It wasn’t good enough.Â
Entrust the secrets to the backs of your arms.Â
Killing the self as to protect it from harm
@cardboardbass
Not sure if you're asking about the last 2 lines of the song or the chorus, so I hope I'm not boring you with my interpretations!
Last 2 lines of chorus:
but if you break when I break, will you carry me away?
Will you fall on your blade just to hear when I’m saying I can’t?
This song opines on friendship and addiction. Wildflowers can be viewed as poppies--the flower that is the source of popular opiates including heroin. The last 2 lines of the chorus are asked by the narrator to the friend whom was lost to addiction. Essentially they're both in the throes of their addiction but the narrator is able to think rationally--as you put it "to keep (one's) own head above water when (their) friend is in a dark place". The narrator wonders who he and his friend can rely on when their addictions aim to destroy them. If they both break, who will be there to help them? This is a startling thought to the narrator but one that doesn't quite reach his friend. The narrator's able to pull back and see he needs help, his friend isn't as lucky, perhaps due to genetics ("You passed disease presented to you at birth").
As this album deals with self-destruction and a friend's suicide, the next line is a rhetorical question asked by the narrator through the perspective time brings. The narrator views their addictions as a pact--an implicit, mutual agreement to kill themselves through drug use. "Will you fall on your blade just to hear when I'm saying I can't" means will you continue to use drugs or continue through with killing yourself when our pact is broken? When the narrator realizes he can't continue to use as his friend uses, will it mean anything to his friend or will his friend continue down the path towards self-destruction under the false pretense that the narrator will be with him the entire way, as was assumed at the beginning of their relationship with addiction.
The last line of the song (if this is what you're asking about) is an indictment but an understanding of the narrator's friend's actions--and the line can be interpreted as suicide or escape through drug use. Losing one's self with the misbelief that the individual left will be better off. Running from one's problems through drug use or suicide under the misjudgment that this will solve the individual's pain.
@Olle.Larsson
This song used to be one of the song we, my sister and I, always would start singing together in my car when we had visited our parents for the weekends. We were studying at the same town so we shared a super small appartment. Everytime we would turn the volume up extra and sing along. Until the summer of 2018 where she passed in a car accident. I don't really talk enough about the pain I feel or the absolute vouid without her. Everytime this song comes up on spotify or this time where it came up as recommended I just cry so much. I can't listen to this stupidly perfect song without remembering her voice explaining the kid in the outro. I'm sorry for wasting you time reading this but I needed to just get this of my chest in any way possible without making my friends or family worry.
I just miss you sis. I couldn't keep you safe and not get hurt. I'm sorry.
@DMarci2001
My deepest condolences, so sorry for your loss, much love to you
@Nomad_Nate
God damn man, that's terrible. Hope you're ok.
@Olle.Larsson
@@Nomad_Nate never been since but I manage <3
@theunderwritingdepartment4456
What's the story of the kid in the outro? What's she saying?
@jacebrock5084
God loves you bro
@theinternauts1161
This song played randomly on my phone at 6:30 in the morning of January 27th 2016. I know that because at that exact time I was standing alone, in the pouring rain in the parking lot of the local hospice. I was waiting for my family to arrive to go say goodbye to my father's dead body. This song is stuck with me now. I always think of that morning, just watching the rain fly past the street lights and pondering the entirety of life. The tragic, but poetic feel of it all. Now I just chew wild flowers to numb my pain.
@denabrowning7816
+The Internauts Michael?
@theinternauts1161
+Dena Browning Hello there.
@judyc3229
+The Internauts fuck dude. hope you and your family have healed as much as that wound is going to. peace to you and yours.