Like a foot throttling a gas pedal, Chase Petra’s “Centrifugal Force” is where the desire to understand your own self-worth reaches maximum velocity, leaving tire streaks behind.
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Stream: “Centrifugal Force” – Chase Petra
The up-and-coming pop group Chase Petra’s new record, Lullabies for Dogs, ushers in a continuation of their identity evolution.
The Long Beach-based trio lives in a space somewhere between straight pop and an indie-like sound, which oscillates from Hunter Allen’s voice and the uncommitted composition of keeping all the songs in a 4/4 beat. Even when they are playing in a 4/4 beat, there is so much space between the instruments where the guitar bending can be heard clearly, where the rumble of the bass is felt, and where the layers with Allen’s voice are weaved together skillfully. Sometimes, the band contains echoes of math rock, though Allen’s voice demands the essence of pop because it’s powerful, translucent, and commanding.
The song “Centrifugal Force,” released on March 7th from the album Lullabies for Dogs, seems to be an energetic offering about finding one’s truth. The guitars have sparse licks with major chords in high tones that complement the warmth around the energy created by Allen’s voice. The drums are poppy and light on their feet, making a high-octane song. The trio makes songs that infuse inspiration and seek to make listeners move their bodies.
We’re spinning,
but I can’t feel the gravity
What is winning if I can’t
see the floor beneath my feet? (hold up)
Untethered disbelief (sit tight)
They suggested,
hey maybe this is providence
But purgatory appeals to my
common sense, could I (hold up)
Be omniscient this one time? (sit tight)
The fear of not knowing what’s on the other side of this “Centrifugal Force” is a scary thought, followed by biblical and biblical-like words such as providence, purgatory, and omniscient. Within this purview of velocity, the idea of isolation looms, and the desire to be able to see is strong.
In the chorus, the drums slow down and prioritize the tom-toms. The guitars are mutedly plucked, expressing the trepidatious feeling sung in this song. Allen’s voice calms.
I only listen to songs
that are trying to unmake me
Pull my hair and degrade me
The sky may not be falling today
But my roof has started caving,
the foundation is breaking
In the chorus, it’s hard to tell if Allen is being entirely serious or if this is the outcome of some kind of separation. Maybe the foundation is breaking, and perhaps the roof has started caving in, but she doesn’t say what’s on the other side in this song, and because of that, the song’s tension stays high, like a bubble waiting to burst. The song reaches a refrain in the second chorus, though the lyrics are extended.
Spin out and give in,
spin out and give in
Centrifugal force ain’t working
and won’t listen
Forgot to question,
I forgot to question
The laws of physics,
now they’re gonna do me in
In, in
There is a recognition of this uncontrollable sensation of spinning out. Allen talks about forgetting to question in this world in the supposed laws of physics. Are the laws of physics real? Is everything everyone says real if they say it is the truth? This is one of the most beautiful parts of the song. There is a very tiny light at this end of the tunnel, a possibility of hope. This hope of self-identity, pushed away from society, pushed into something exciting, made into one’s vision of life not entirely dictated by others.
consider that I was raised on a fairytale
one I insisted on repeating ad nauseam to myself
could I have had it wrong this whole time
a world held together with few truths
what happens when those truths are removed
when I don’t know the rules
This song, “Centrifugal Force,” perfectly represents the confusing desire to escape what is projected onto other people’s souls and lives.
Chase Petra’s first song on their second record is energetically explosive, identity waiting to burst, trying to deny everything negative. This song is filled with hope, a future, and the feeling of bubbling excitement, waiting on the other side.
uncertainties got his knee between my thighs
I see stars and I sigh
melancholys got her teeth in my neck
think I forget to breathe
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:: stream/purchase Lullabies for Dogs here ::
:: connect with Chase Petra here ::
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Stream: “Centrifugal Force” – Chase Petra
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