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.
You In This Light
The Hotelier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
moving like wash against the limestone
leaving you cold
when I'm leaving you all alone.
Hugging the walls
finding the switch to turn the light on
to find you in a ball
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Feeling disarmed, a little raw, and decentered.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
What if we don't?
What if we never know?
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Clutching you close your body felt like December
shook awake early from the rock of your tremors.
Tracing my thumb over the miles of your memory.
Now a bit brighter with a smile and a laughter.
One in the same and what am I to be after,
dancing in private with the concept of never?
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Coming around again,
making some space to mend,
gaining the strength to stand,
feeling the love again.
The lyrics of The Hotelier's song You In This Light paint a picture of emotional turmoil and confusion within a relationship. The use of metaphors like "feeling erodes" and "moving like wash against the limestone" suggests the gradual fading away of emotions and the wear and tear caused by time. The singer is aware that their departure from the relationship is affecting their partner negatively, as evidenced from "leaving you cold when I'm leaving you all alone."
The singer finds their partner hugging the walls and curled up in their bedding, and although they know they should comfort them, they feel detached and unable to connect emotionally. The repetition of the line "You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember" highlights the difficulty the singer has remembering the love they once shared with their partner. The line "what if we never know?" shows that the singer is anxious about the uncertain future of their relationship and whether they will ever regain the love they once shared.
The song progresses with the singer reminiscing about the past, holding onto past memories of their partner. They describe the feeling of holding their partner during their tremors and tracing their thumb over the miles of their memory. The mood of the song shifts towards a more positive note towards the end with the singer describing gaining the strength to stand and feeling the love returning.
Line by Line Meaning
Feeling erodes
moving like wash against the limestone
leaving you cold
when I'm leaving you all alone.
Feeling drained and worn out, emotions gradually fading away like water eroding against a rock, causing you to feel lonely and abandoned.
Hugging the walls
finding the switch to turn the light on
to find you in a ball
wrapped in the bedding. But
Trying to navigate your way through the dark and unknown, searching for a source of comfort, only to find the person you were seeking curled up in a ball, possibly in despair.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Feeling disarmed, a little raw, and decentered.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Seeing you in this state is so unfamiliar and unsettling that it's like a hazy memory that can't be recalled, causing a sense of vulnerability, emotional exposure, and imbalance.
What if we don't?
What if we never know?
Questioning the possibility of never having answers or closure to the unsettled emotions and situations between two people.
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Clutching you close your body felt like December
shook awake early from the rock of your tremors.
Tracing my thumb over the miles of your memory.
Now a bit brighter with a smile and a laughter.
One in the same and what am I to be after,
dancing in private with the concept of never?
You in this light feels like a thing I can't remember.
Although seeing you like this is distressing, I hold onto you tightly and try to soothe you, feeling a sense of familiarity and warmth that reminds me of December. You shook me awake with your tremors, but I'm still here, gently trying to ease your pain and remind you of the good times together. However, I'm still uncertain of what to do next since we can't seem to move beyond the past. Even with our moments of happiness, the uncertainty of our future still lingers, making it hard to see you in this unfamiliar light.
Coming around again,
making some space to mend,
gaining the strength to stand,
feeling the love again.
Trying to overcome past hurt and move forward by taking time to heal and regain inner strength, with the hope of rediscovering love once again.
Contributed by Vivian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@theoladany505
Absolutely underrated
Amazing song,perfect record, perfect band