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 Title: “Gem”Artist: Penetralia From: “In Fear, Faith and Flaws” (2015) Release Date: March 23, 2015 Length: 4:32 Format: CD Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay Recorded: Clear Lake Recording Studios, Hollywood, California Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock Label: Liberation/Nomad Records Writer(s): Koda Espinosa Producer(s): Penetralia, Bill Owens is officially the seventh single released from American post-hardcore four-piece ‘Penetralia’, the California based band have quickly became one of the bigger names in the rock scene since making their breakthrough a little over a year ago. From August to December 2014 they worked sporadically on their highly anticipated sophomore album and finally released the record at the beginning of 2015. Their previous single “Stargazing” was released back in November 2014 and their latest effort marks their first single of the new year, with reports seemingly indicating that they may not be releasing anything else from the record since they shifted labels to ‘Songs to Love and Die By’ very recently. It may come as somewhat as a surprise considering the success that this band have had when it comes to the singles charts, but it appears that they’re looking to support their previous record primarily through touring rather the traditional means of single promotion. Following the release of their previous album “In Fear, Faith and Flaws” the band came to the end of their two album recording contract with ‘Liberation/Nomad’ records and opted to jump ship to ‘Songs to Love and Die By’ who were reportedly the only label to show interest in signing the band. An agreement was reached where the band would put out one final single from their latest album which would draw a line over their time at ‘Liberation/Nomad’, meaning that despite being signed to a new label almost all financial incomings from the single will be going to their former label, this was reportedly agreed before they signed their new record contract. The change of labels is also noted as the primary reason why the band have yet to head out on tour in support of their latest album, but with this final obligation to their previous label out of the way it gives the band the freedom to begin preparing their 2015 touring schedule with their new label. The track clocks in at 4:32 and begins as Koda’s voice booms passionately over the sound of the guitars as he sings the opening lyrics, “She stares at the walls, regretting her choices/When she closes her eyes all she hears are familiar voices/She looks at her wrists, no scars in sight/But wonders if she’ll make it through the night.” it becomes clear that this is a song for their audience, for their current fanbase, it’s obviously tailor-made for their current fans both from the instrumentals to the lyrics and it’s another that will no doubt continue the adoration that their fans seem to give the band and in particular their lead singer with it’s lyrics drenched in dramatic and painful beauty, it’s obvious that Koda’s niche as a songwriter is singing about girls and emotional struggle and turmoil and he does it to the point where he’s become a messianic figure to his fans. With the second verse of the song, we hear the power of the band as a whole with the combination of drums and bass guitar echoing loudly which sets things up for a huge emotional wail from Koda as he once again finds that passion in his voice and delivers the lines, “It’s hard standing back and tryin to be happy/When all that I wanted was in front of me/It’s hard knowing that I’ve came in second place again/And all those dreams failed to come true.” again the music adds to the meaning of the lyrics and provides a balance between emotion and aggression/passion, since Koda gets all of the credit for the vocals and lyrics then you have to look at the band and point out that it’s their instrumentals that provide the platform for his voice and emotion. But the highest point of the song comes when he unleashes the other side to his vocal, the band generally keep their screaming to a minimum but they try to do it at the right time with the right words and they manage to achieve that once more as their frontman passionately screams out about what this girl means to him, “She’s my rhinestone and she’s my diamond/She’s my snowflake and she’s my spark/She’s my hero, she’s my everything/She’s forever in my heart.” and from this moment onwards, we find the band softening the sounds a little, the passion has been replaced by a slight calmness and suddenly the song feels very intimate and tender. The track lasts just over four and a half minutes in length, recorded and produced at Clear Lake Recording Studios in Hollywood, California in late 2014 by Penetralia and Bill Owens. Set for release on March 23, 2015 as a CD Single, Digital Download and Weekly Airplay, it will be the final single released by the band under Liberation/Nomad Records.
Songwriters CommentsQuote:“I think that this single is the most important one for ‘Penetralia’ as a band, after two albums it’s important for us to show a sign of gratitude to the label that took a chance on us and gave us the opportunity to be in the position we’re in today. We’re not the sort of people to get bogged down in contractual stuff and that side of the business, we’re just a band that wants to write, record and play our songs live and so I think it was important for us to end things on good terms with ‘Liberation/Nomad’ and the way to do that was to put out one final single with the label before we begun this new chapter of our careers with ‘Songs to Love and Die By’. So in a way, this latest song is a thank you of sorts to the label and everybody who works there.
So let’s talk about the song. The majority of what I write comes from a real place, a real situation or mind frame in my own life, this track in particular which I think is personally my favourite song that we’ve created as a band. It’s about a friendship, I guess it’s about a crush too. At sixteen years old, this was the big painful crush, we’ve all got that one major crush and heartbreak moment in our lives and this song is sort of about that time. I won’t name names, but she’s an incredibly special person. In a way the song is for all those people that are forever defined as the ‘best friend’, I don’t necessarily agree with the whole friend zone thing, but sometimes no matter how close a bond you have with somebody, no matter how strong the connection is, for some reason it just can’t happen, for some bizarre reason the stars just don’t quite align for you.
So it’s kind of like that mindset of truly believing that all of your individual problems in life would be erased if you were with this one person and all the pain would somehow wash away if you were with each other. Looking back now? It’s sort of teenage dreamer stuff, but it’s how you feel and you may be blinded by infatuation but you truly believe these things. So that’s the mind frame of why the song was written and what it means to me personally but the general take away thing is, this is just a song saying that I think you’re the f*cking greatest thing in my life and even if things don’t go as I’d dream they would go, that’s okay, because you’re everything to me and if I’m only ever just a friend then that’s okay because you’ll still be in my life. It’s an overly romantic way of looking at things, I know this, but sometimes you just have to look at things in such ways.”
- Koda Espinosa
ReviewI've loved Pentetralia, for a while now. Their songs seem to really be for those kids who don't want anything to do with the mainstream crap being played on the radios, but they want the gritty, dirty, truth. I respect that and I respect this band. It almost seems like they have the aura of veterans but this is only their second album. So there's a little backstory for some of my new readers. To those who are already familiar with them, their consistent amazing discography is no surprise. Their latest single, "Gem" was the work of Penetralia and their musical collaborative experiment with Bill Owens (see "The Enlightened" and co). But when rock artists and producers get together, they tend to really come up with something much better than expected, and this is no exception. As with every Penetralia song, Koda is the forerunner, with his booming and easily recognizable voice. Maybe it's that way for a reason, maybe it's just how my ears hear it, but it's not hard to pick out the leader. He's spewing the typical, alternative lyrics, which are usually about love, loss of love, or all of the above. After hearing the song for the first time, you probably get confused and have no idea what's being talked about but after my second listen, I discovered it was simply about being in the "friend zone." But of course, it had to sound cool so enter Penetralia.
And it wouldn't be a great song without screaming, which they don't forget to incorporate, clearly my favorite part. The song makes me excited for the upcoming album and their next single as well. A powerful tune from the band about to take over the WORLD (or at least the rock portion of the industry).Highlight of Song: "She’s my rhinestone and she’s my diamond
She’s my snowflake and she’s my spark
She’s my hero, she’s my everything
She’s forever in my heart
I can see that she’s a f*cking gem
This girl means the whole god damned world to me
She’s my entire universe
For as long she’s breathing then f*ck it, I ain’t ever leaving"Honor Rates 'Gem' 4/5 Stars
Lyrics;“She stares at the walls, regretting her choices
When she closes her eyes all she hears are familiar voices
She looks at her wrists, no scars in sight
But wonders if she’ll make it through the night
She holds a pillow to her head
And lets her tears fall
She regrets not letting her heart decide
As she now realizes that she could have had it all
Everything she wanted
In arms reach
But she just turned away
It’s hard standing back and tryin to be happy
When all that I wanted was in front of me
It’s hard knowing that I’ve came in second place again
And all those dreams failed to come true
She confessed that she feels stronger about me than him
But I can’t understand how I still didn’t win
But I carry on
Because without her I’m gone
I know this is not the end
But I guess I’ll only ever just be her friend
She’s my rhinestone and she’s my diamond
She’s my snowflake and she’s my spark
She’s my hero, she’s my everything
She’s forever in my heart
I can see that she’s a f*cking gem
This girl means the whole god damned world to me
She’s my entire universe
For as long she’s breathing then f*ck it, I ain’t ever leaving
I know you better than you know yourself
And I’m there for you
When there’s nobody else
I feel your pain
Whenever you’re sad
And I can’t ever just walk away
Because some people feel more than they say
Well, did you know that I’ve been dying every single day
Just praying that you’ll say you’re okay
She’s my rhinestone and she’s my diamond,
She’s my snowflake and she’s my spark
She’s my hero, she’s my everything
She’s forever in my heart
I can see that she’s a f*cking gem
This girl means the whole god damned world to me
She’s my entire universe
For as long she’s breathing then f*ck it, I ain’t ever leaving”
PersonnelKoda Espinosa - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, lyrics, composition, production Beau Nero - lead guitar, composition, production Gunner Lee - bass guitar, composition, production Jonah Espinosa - drums, percussion, composition, production Bill Owens - production, engineering, mixing OOC: Credit to RoseJapanFan for the review :) |
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