But, as always, I am getting ahead of myself.
As Sirens Fall is an alternative rock band based in West Yorkshire composed of Mikey Lord (vocals), Adam Doveston (guitar), Jason Doveston (bass) and Bailey Roper (drums). Since their formation in 2016, this group has released two EPs, ‘The Hospital Party’ and ‘Where Lost Things Go’, along with a number of singles such as their latest ‘Holy Water’ which was released in February of this year.
I would like to now backtrack a bit to a previous comment I made about the band’s genre. While I labeled it as “alternative rock”, frontman Mikey Lord has a bit of a different take on the music they create. I had the immense privilege of speaking with Mikey and he described the music as just “them”. As put by Mikey himself, “We’ve never liked the idea of genre or imposing any kinda creative limits on ourselves… The music is honest, impulsive and as mad as we are.” That, in my opinion, is what makes this band truly stand out. In this day and age, it is difficult to find music that doesn’t try and shove itself into the boxed confines of music industry labels, of what genre it is “supposed to be”. But As Sirens Fall seeks to break from that mould and just create. “There’s people out there that don’t quite get it, and that’s okay, because the people that do get it are so wonderfully supportive of it. It’s all a reflection of who we are and what we’re dealing with at the time - it’s the way we’ve always been.”
When interviewing Mikey, I took the opportunity to ask him about how the current state of the world has affected the band on a creative level. According to him, he has “started writing a mad amount of songs, but the excitement has seemed to die pretty quickly, so they’re not getting finished.” He then went on to expand on that by saying, “I also feel like the fact that we can’t go out and play shows is really getting to a lot of the musicians out there right now. The only time I’m really able to just let loose and be me is when I’m shaking it on a stage and the idea that being able to do that is so far away is really scary.”
Despite this halt on musical production, the songs they have released are absolutely. Get comfortable, my dear reader, because I am about to rant like I have never before. Let’s start with their newest release, 'Holy Water'. The first time I heard it, I instantly fell in love - which, ironically enough, is what the song is about: love. While on the surface, it is about a hollow, superficial love with lyrics like “you are a means to an end” and “let's both find out how hollow love tastes”, there is also an underlying tone of a genuine love like with the lyrics, “despite my reservations you are everything that I need”. There is almost a back and forth of emotions going on in it - be it between two people or within one person - which is then reflected in the instrumentals as well as it goes from soft piano to heavier vocals and guitar to choral background singer.
According to Mikey, there’s a massive soft spot in his heart for 'State of the Artist', because he really feels for the messed up, confused and angry kid behind those lyrics. And I can’t say I disagree; I personally connect to the lyrics myself, being a struggling artist as well, desperate to please everyone instead of realising that the only person I needed to make happy was myself. But what really hit me about the song is the progression from “I need to please everyone” to “I'm tearing down this prison you put me in”. Not many artists have the courage to create only for themselves, and this song reminded me that I didn’t and that my work didn’t need to be perfect all the time for everyone else.
I think my own personal “soft spot” lies with the song ‘She Runs with the Wolves'. I just instantly connected with it. It’s all about not letting your past ruin your present and future because, as they put it, “scars fade, pictures degrade, endings can always change”. And that really got to me. Because I know what it’s like to struggle with demons from my past coming to haunt me and believing that I would never be able to beat them. But this song tells me, and so many others, that you can’t let the monsters win. We are the authors of our own lives, and if you don’t like your ending, then change it.
I haven’t connected with music as much as I have with this band in a while. And I hope this article pushed you to go listen to them. I promise you will not regret it. I will leave you with Mikey’s message to his fans: “I do what I do for the fifteen-year-old kid that I was. I sing the songs I sing and make the music I make in order to give someone else the same lifeline I was thrown when I found music. Knowing that someone out there understood what I was feeling kept me going. You’re not alone, no matter how on your own you are. Promise.”
All images courtesy of Apertunes Photography
