Halifax’s Like a Motorcycle have been through a bit since their 2016 debut album, High Hopes. I mean, sure, we’ve all been through a bit in the last year, but were you about to write an album about it?
Like a Motorcycle have saved you the trouble and announced the release of their upcoming sophomore album, Dead Broke – an album that documents the hefty list of woes they’ve had to endure mentally, emotionally, professionally, and yes, financially. To mark the occasion, they’ve also released a lyric video for their fourth single from the album, “Swept Out”.
Like A Motorcycle describe the time since their last album like the acts of a Shakespearian tragedy, or a glance at whatever is trending on Twitter at the moment: they’ve had to navigate substance abuse, struggling with mental health/trauma, familiar separation, internal romantic break-ups, health issues, a label that nearly destroyed them, and did we mention there’s a plague?
Those are some hellish circumstances to produce an album in, but they still managed to travel across the country from Halifax to Vancouver to work with veteran producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, Mother Mother). The resulting tracks summarize a lot of what to expect from a career in the music industry at the moment, and, generally, the worst of what can be thrown at you. It’s bleak, but at least you know it’s a shared experience.
“‘Swept Out’ is a song about being in crisis and feeling consumed with hopelessness,” says the band. “It’s about the naïve thought that things couldn’t possibly get worse until they do, and no longer having the strength to fight the tide.”
Following the three previously released singles (“Satan Does The Numbers”, “Wide Awake” and “Idols”), “Swept Away” continues in Like A Motorcycle’s proud tradition of throwing food at things.
The band admit they’re not the biggest fans of lyric videos themselves, saying that they would “rather watch a pot boil than watch a lyric video,” and so the results are as you might expect. The lyric video screams, “Hey, it’s a pandemic in the middle of 2020! Did you not hear what we had to endure to produce this album?”
But what did you expect? You wouldn’t judge a song by it’s cover, would you?
Dead Broke is scheduled for release on October 30, 2020 via Known Accomplice. You can pre-order the album here.