When Soap Opera recorded their latest album, Be Fire, in the summer of 2019 it was with a certain level of uncertainty in mind. Bandmates Adam Engram and Peter Lannon found themselves going through a period of big changes while the songs were being written. But it was the normal everyday kind of changes they were experiencing: love, work, school, and the other usual events that make up a life. They weren’t expecting the kind of unifying changes that could halt any plans for touring a new album and re-recording and re-releasing a new at-home version of their single “Tension Mountain”, but here we are.
The single itself was more specific. Inspired by happier and far more social times, it’s a scene that’s been played out a million times in countless crowded rooms by strangers exchanging a momentary glance.
“Tension Mountain” was initially described by the band as an untouchable yet imminent climax that can never be reached and the sort of interaction that is best enjoyed as no more than fantasy. That was 2019. In 2020 it has become the modus operandi for socializing during the quarantine.
Making eye contact at the grocery store? You may have taken it for granted before, but now it’s the equivalent of second base. Were you thinking about holding someone’s hand? Better put a glove on.
“I asked all of my friends if I was acting foolish and they said, ‘Of course you are, Peter, but that’s what makes you human’,” sings Engram. It’s with that sentiment that the song captures the imperfect perfection of a fleeting moment never brought to fulfillment.
And maybe there’s an upside to all of this. Maybe the moments we spend being entirely human, foolish or otherwise, will be valued all the more for it. Will we come to value our social experiences all the more in the future? Shall we treasure the fleeting glances and the half-imagined smiles hidden behind the masks? If a year of uncertainty is what it takes to realign our values, I say we take it.