Two years after The Social Smokers Club formed in November of 2016, the Prospect, Nova Scotia band have released, as a single, the first song they ever wrote. Their third single released so far, “Speak into the Dark” transports us back at least 20 years.
Something like Bush sans Gavin Rossdale or Pearl Jam sans Eddie Vedder, “Speak into the Dark” resonates with the sounds of the ’90s, so much so that if you were to tell us it was recorded in 1996, we may even believe you.
“It was the first song written after we formed in November 2016,” says guitarist and vocalist William Robbins.
“I wrote the song myself in the middle of the night, like I do all my songs, as an ode/love/acceptance song to Death—‘Speak into the Dark’ being a metaphor for confronting death and your fears. Like, would you be afraid of the dark if you could speak to it?”
In his lyrics, Robbins says he turns his views into something like a story told from a perspective other than his own.
“In this song, our protagonist has come to the realization that any ‘fear’ he has had throughout his life has become irrelevant since realizing he wasn’t afraid of society’s biggest fear: death and the afterlife,” he continues.
“So much of the world spends every day living their days trying to certify themselves a life after death, or being afraid of not meeting the ‘standards’ to get that life they want, that the beauty of the here and now of the world and nature is completely missed or gone unappreciated.
I believe that if you aren’t afraid to die and can accept death as an inevitability or fact, then no rational or irrational fear could ever truly effect you.'”
While the track’s sound matches that of many bands from the 90s, it’s not a sound that matches many today. Instead of incorporating the contemporary and polished touches that give away the modernity of other ’90s-sounding bands, The Social Smokers Club stick to their style and use the rawness of their sound to their advantage.
The track contrasts loud distortion with properly-placed bits of stillness, giving us just the right amounts of both grunge and soft acoustics.
Though no date has been made concrete, the band are anticipating an album release in early 2019 and say the rest of the album’s tracks are written with concepts similar to “Speak into the Dark.”