Members of the Lawrence Arms have also played in The Broadways, Slapstick, Tricky Dick and Baxter.
The three musicians came together to form the Lawrence Arms in 1999. Although punk rock bands in their infancy generally start out by releasing EPs and 7" vinyl singles, the band members used their existing relationship with Asian Man Records to immediately begin recording a full-length album, a guided tour of chicago, which was released later that year. A second album, ghost stories, followed in 2000. Both albums focused heavily on the members' own stories of growing up and living in Chicago.
The band's next two releases were split EPs with other bands. The first, a split with Shady View Terrace, was released in 2000 and was their first release to be recorded by Matt Allison, who would continue to record and produce all of their subsequent releases. A second EP, Present Day Memories, was released in 2001 and was a split with The Chinkees.
The band's records and touring schedule had brought them to the attention of Fat Mike of NOFX, who signed them to his label Fat Wreck Chords in late 2001. Their first release on the label was a 7" vinyl single, part of the label's "Fat Club" series of 7" records. This was followed by the full-length album apathy and exhaustion, released in 2002. The album spawned the band's first music video, for the song porno and snuff films and they toured extensively with NOFX and other bands from the label.
Their next album was 2003's the greatest story ever told. Arguably their most ambitious album to date, it demonstrated the band members' continued growth as musicians and songwriters and included extensive footnotes to the lyrics detailing their many references to history, literature and pop culture. It also showed an evolution in the band's vocal style. Kelly had sung most of the vocals on their first album, while on subsequent releases he and McCaughan had split vocal duties almost equally from one song to the next, with Kelly's voice tending to sound more harsh and urgent while McCaughan's sounds more relaxed and melodic. With this release, however, the two began to move towards more of a duet style of singing which would feature prominently on their next album. Extensive touring following the album's release saw the band on the road for much of 2003 and 2004. They also contributed a song to the Fat Wreck Chords Rock Against Bush, Volume 2 compilation, leading up to the 2004 presidential election and became involved with the Punk Voter campaign.
In December of 2004 Kelly and Hennessy joined with fellow Chicago natives Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio (who had played with Kelly in Slapstick) and Todd Mohney, formerly of Rise Against, to form The Falcon, and released an EP on Red Scare. Meanwhile, with interest in the Lawrence Arms increasing and their EPs out of print, Asian Man Records planned a CD release of the band's EP tracks. The resulting compilation album, Cocktails & Dreams, was released on Asian Man in June of 2005 and included their songs from both EPs along with nearly all of their compilation tracks, rare songs and b-sides.
The Lawrence Arms re-entered the studio in October and November of 2005 and recorded the album oh! calcutta!, which was released on Fat Wreck Chords in March of 2006. It had an overall faster and more urgent feel to it than their previous album, and demonstrated another step in the development of their singing as Kelly and McCaughan shared vocals in a duet style on nearly every song. They filmed a music video for the song the devil's takin' names.
The Lawrence Arms spent most of 2006 touring extensively alongside bands such as NOFX, Alkaline Trio, The Draft, Lagwagon, and A Wilhelm Scream. The full-length debut by the Falcon was released that fall on Red Scare. In December, the Lawrence Arms embarked on their first headlining tour of Australia, also playing supporting shows with Frenzal Rhomb.
In March of 2007, guitarist Chris McCaughan released the debut album from his acoustic side project Sundowner, entitled four one five two.
The band toured again in 2007, with their side projects The Falcon and Sundowner as openers along with the recently reunited American Steel.
The 2010s saw minimal studio activity by the band, but for one album. 2014's Metropole was received well, and marked the band's first full-length in eight years. The band took another extended break in between albums again, taking six years before releasing their seventh album Skeleton Coast in 2020.
Metropole
The Lawrence Arms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm buried in the distant dusk
Winding past certain roads history's remapped
I'm not together I'm apart.
I'm not together I'm apart.
The wilderness of these streets
The neon trees shine their lights down on me.
Years on repeat.
Mother I don't even care, I thought I tried
I'm so sorry I never call and I never write
The traffic light blinked a million times
I blinked twice and twenty years went by
Twenty years went by
The wilderness of these streets
The neon trees shine their lights down on me.
Years of defeat.
Years of defeat.
We're stuck somewhere in between
The sounds of the orchestra rise
And swell all around me
This is the end of all things
This is the end [x4]
This is the end of all things.
In the song Metropole, The Lawrence Arms paints a bleak picture of wandering through the streets of the big city. The lyrics "brush off the hours of your day," suggest that the singer is attempting to escape the mundanity of daily life. They are "buried in the distant dusk" and "winding past certain roads history's remapped." These lines suggest a feeling of disorientation and detachment from reality. "I'm not together I'm apart" repeat twice, perhaps signifying the singer's duality or fragmentation of the self.
The chorus reflects a sense of defeat in the face of urban life, with "years on repeat" and "years of defeat." The singer also admits to neglecting their relationship with their mother, asking for forgiveness for not calling or writing. The imagery of the blinking traffic light is used to symbolize the passage of time. Twenty years have gone by in a blink of eyes, suggesting a feeling of life slipping away.
In the final verse, the singer describes themselves as "stuck somewhere in between," possibly between the reality of their life and their desire for escape. The "sounds of the orchestra" could represent the overwhelming noise and chaos of the city, or perhaps the symphony of emotions in the singer's mind. The repetition of "this is the end" gives the impression of acceptance of the futility of running away.
Line by Line Meaning
Brush off the hours of your day
Don't let the monotonous routine of your day-to-day life bring you down.
I'm buried in the distant dusk
I feel lost in the darkness of my own thoughts and struggles.
Winding past certain roads history's remapped
As time passes, society and its norms change, resulting in a remapping of history.
I'm not together I'm apart.
I feel disconnected and alone, unable to find my place in the world.
The wilderness of these streets
The chaotic and unpredictable nature of the city streets.
The neon trees shine their lights down on me.
The bright lights of the city, while captivating, can also be overwhelming and suffocating.
Years on repeat.
The cyclical nature of life, with the same patterns continuously repeating themselves.
Mother I don't even care, I thought I tried
I want to care, but sometimes it feels like it's too much effort to even try.
I'm so sorry I never call and I never write
I feel guilty for not putting in enough effort to maintain a relationship with my mother.
The traffic light blinked a million times
Time can pass by quickly, and it's easy to feel like life is on autopilot.
I blinked twice and twenty years went by
Time passes by so quickly that it can be easy to miss important moments and milestones in life.
Twenty years went by
Time moves quickly, and it's important to make the most of it while we can.
Years of defeat.
Years of feeling stuck, struggling to overcome obstacles, and failing to achieve goals.
We're stuck somewhere in between
Feeling stuck in an in-between state, unable to move forward or backward.
The sounds of the orchestra rise
The beauty and complexity of life, with all of its highs and lows.
And swell all around me
Feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of life and its experiences.
This is the end of all things
Everything comes to an end eventually, and we must be prepared for that.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Blinkettaro182
Great sound!
Blinkettaro182
Manuel Ruiz TRUE! But the best song ever of them with an amazing sound (for me) is "The Slowest Drink at the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City", with also the best title ever! :D
Anyway This new album is fucking amazing!
Manuel Ruiz
All the songs of this band are very great!
JT Tuplin
a podcast played the first 3 lines and i got hooked!
Jerry
Badass