Aching with a bleeding heart, Heartracer’s “Darling” is a raw ’80s power-ballad surging with echoing guitars, pulsing beats, and a tender, moody vocals.
for fans of The 1975, U2, Genesis
Stream: “Darling” – Heartracer
There’s something instantly classic about Heartracer’s emphatic new song. Aching with a bleeding heart, “Darling” is a raw ’80s power-ballad surging with echoing guitars, pulsing beats, and a tender, moody vocals.
You threw the map across the table
and said I don’t understand
Leaving out the palm of your hand
You grew up on the north
side of that subtle town
Staring at the edge of it all
Baby if our days are numbered
then just leave me on the floor
Cuz’ it feels like we’re closer
Now that we’ve grown older
And I’m over, i’m under
The rain it came with thunder
And I feel my heart aching
I’m on the floor shaking
And I can’t be under
That spell we’re under
Darling… Darling…
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the single and Ted Comerford-directed music video for “Darling,” Heartracer’s first single of 2020. Hinged on “synth-pop nostalgia” with a love of “timeless hooks, resonant lyrics, and emotional wallops,” the Richmond, Virginia-based band have been basking in their own inspired limelight since they debuted in 2015. Consisting of brothers Chris and Chip Cosby, Wes Tatum on bass, keyboards, and backup vocals, and Bryan Reyes on drums and percussion, Heartracer inject emotion into our doldrum days and energy into those long, draining nights.
Sonically akin to Joshua Tree-era U2 and The 1975, “Darling” arrests the senses through a seamlessly-orchestrated balance of emotion and intent. Heartracer drench our ears in a gorgeous wall of sound, with The Edge-inspired guitar licks and stadium-sized drumming pushing the song forever forward.
Heartracer’s lyrical themes are as familiar and engorging as their sonic techniques: “Darling,” the band explains, captures the inescapable turbulence and beauty of interpersonal relationships.
“Relationships are inescapable; from humanity’s relationship to the planet to the bond a daughter shares with her mother,” Heartracer explain. “They in many ways form who we are and who we will become. ‘Darling’ is a song about the unavoidable nature of relationships and the enduring effects they can have on us. The first verse refers to a couple who are from different parts of the globe, that grew up under very different circumstances yet found love in a miraculous way. “You threw the map across the table and said I don’t understand, leaving out the palm of your hand. You grew up on the north side of that subtle town staring at the edge of at all.” The second verse refers to that same young girl’s bond with her father, a relationship that has become tumultuous due to his divorce of her mother. “Daddy didn’t wait around and someday you will find, maybe this was part of the plan.” In many ways as we go through life, certain people or situations come into our lives at the perfect moments and it helps to balance out the positive and negative elements of our lives.”
They continue, “The essence of ‘Darling’ in many ways parallels with the nature of the songwriting process. When Heartracer begins working on material the songs start out in a bare bones almost “infant-like” structure. Through production and mixing the song begins to change and grow and take shape like during adolescence. By the time the song is completed and ready to be heard by the world, it’s ‘as if’ the song is entering adulthood and ready to form a bond with each person as they connect to the music. Just like the relationships in your life that are most precious to you, this song yearns to be there for you through the good times, the bad times, and on the most important days of your life. “Darling, don’t you leave me, we’re gonna run this town.””
Daddy didn’t wait around
and someday you will find
Maybe this was part of the plan
But you didn’t like the former
The way it was when she was seventeen
And it feels like we’re closer
Now that we’ve grown older
And I’m over, i’m under
The rain it came with thunder
And I feel my heart aching
I’m on the floor shaking
And I can’t be under
That spell we’re under
Darling
Don’t you leave me
Darling
We’re gonna run this town
For all the pomp and circumstance Heartracer use to fluff up their music and captivate our senses, at its heart “Darling” is a simple song about a relatable, universal struggle. Communication is key to all relationships, and while that’s so much easier said than done, the key is that we are trying to understand one another. It may not always work out, and we may fail as often as we succeed, but as one band notably once said, “In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” We get out of it what we put in, and for Heartracer, they’ve given it their all.
Stream “Darling” exclusively on Atwood Magazine; the single is officially out Friday, February 28, 2020 on all platforms!
Stream: “Darling” – Heartracer
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