Words by Cora Lynn Hernandez
“I’m creepin’ myself out again, I had to call all of your friends”
I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone is a daunting shoegaze album full of haunting lyrics, screeching guitar sounds, and past memories of mine I find to be too close and personal. Some of my personal favorites from the album are “Billboard,” “November,” “Maura,” and “Coyote.” Here’s why I like each song individually.
“Billboard” starts off with a comforting yet haunting guitar riff for the intro of the song. Karly Hartzman, frontwoman and main lyricist for the band, soft yet dominant and tantalizing, starts with the lyrics “I’m creepin’ myself out again…” and the rest of the band comes in right after. The shoegaze track moves like a well-oiled machine, with the different instrumental parts of the song moving together in sync. The song ends with the lyric “Billboard made me change my mind again,” a lyric I always interpreted as a reference to religion and seeing one of the many religiously ominous billboards that can be found in the midwestern and southern parts of the United States. (see the infamous “HELL IS REAL” billboard located not too far out of Columbus) This track is a certified banger.
“November,” the 5th track on the record, starts with angelic vocals from Hartzman and deeply toned guitar chords. The first verse is filled with beautiful, sparkling lyrics and visuals in reference to someone.
The evening hydroplanes, the streetlights, they start screaming
The air is thick enough to hold, your nose starts bleeding
You kindly, slowly walk around your empty house
The smallest sight of you is shimmering on the ground
The only words in the chorus are “November”. Hartzman sings them with a deep, dark yearning, unlike anything I have heard before. Her voice is backed by MJ “Jake” Lenderman, who delivers rich harmonies. The pair work together musically like the best combo you’ve ever seen. Bread and butter. Cheese and crackers. I am not sure why I’m using food analogies, but they pair together like a nice meal and a glass of deep red, bitter wine.
My favorite lyric on this track is “There’s nothing like the way you loiter in my heart.” I have remembered this lyric; it has loitered in my heart in a way that no other lyric ever has. I find myself reminiscing on every relationship and breakup I’ve ever had, all the times it didn’t go well and I wondered why, all the times I was yearning for something I didn’t even realize I wanted. It all comes flooding back to me when I hear this song. It’s a good one.
“Maura,” the sixth track, is more of a fun one. The song is about Hartzman’s older sister, and what I am assuming their relationship has been like growing up together. This track gets me amped up.
Maura’s yelling over music playing at the party
She knows options make me nauseous
She knows I’m annoyed and cautious
She knows stupid things can stop this
I am looking up pink coffins
This track is sprinkled with pop culture references, and is lyrically my favorite Wednesday track (all of them are good; this one rises above). There are references to Ari Aster’s directorial debut, Hereditary, which came out in 2018. There are references to The Addams Family and quotes from Morticia Addams, one of my favorite characters in the Addams family.
Instrumentally, this track offers a bit more hope and exhilaration. I often use this track as a hype-up song for myself. The intro begins with a build-up, and when the track gets going, you just can’t stop it. The chorus is simple, only two lines, but the instrumentals drive the lyrics, and they work together like a pair of hardcore kids learning how to two-step in their mom’s basement. This track is GOLDEN
Coyote is my last favorite on the album. It reminds me of one of my favorite Columbus bands, Starling (RIPPPPP miss you :/) and their song “colors only birds can see” can draw a lineage between the two songs, as I interpret them taking the same form and movement throughout each (the Starling one is so great, you should check it out. They’re on spotify as “starling.”).
This one is my favorite because it’s creepy as fuck. I literally cannot listen to it late at night because it disturbs me. Of course, there are so many lyrics here I can parallels to.
“Don’t wash your hair
The socks and shoes and underwear
The attic light left on all night
My back against your chair”
These lyrics remind me of when I was growing up and experiencing depressive episodes. I was only 13 or 14, and I wasn’t taking care of myself properly. I would spend way too long in my attic making music or watching music videos on my computer. I would leave the attic light on because I was scared to be alone in the dark. Dark times, but good times for sure. I was learning, I was growing, and I was loving the things around me.
This track is an easy one to move through instrumentally, but you have to listen to it to figure that out for yourself. It’s not too hard to digest musically, so I won’t put you through my breakdown of it.
This album is a CERTIFIED BANGER™. I love it with all of my heart. I could go on and on about it, but I believe I have said enough for now.
Listen to it on Soundcloud here.
Polyvox Magazine 
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