“Heart and Panic,” the latest single from Saint John-based math rockers, Nurture Nurture, is about panic attacks. In particular, they’re about lyricist, vocalist and guitarist Jeff Cook’s panic attacks, and how they’ve affected him emotionally, physically, professionally, and romantically.
“My panic attacks are landmarks, plotted near my life’s most stressful moments,” says Cook, noting that panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks.
The specific panic attack behind “Heart and Panic” came at a time when Cook was questioning the stuff of his existence, and rather understandable, brought things crashing down.
“[It] happened when uncertainty in my professional, social and creative life accumulated and broke my meagre coping mechanisms. I beat it with mindfulness: weaponizing the positive things in my life against its onslaught,” says Cook.
“Musically, ‘Heart and Panic’ is my strongest song. It leverages tension, release and repetition to guide the listener through what an attack feels like. My influence from quintessential UK matt rockers, Tangled Hair, is really evident here.”
Cook also notes that drummer Scott Dincorn contributes some two critical components to the operation, the first being the precision drumming that transforms Cook’s tappity-tappity guitar playing into “distilled, true-to-genre math rock.”
“The second is the soaring outro Nurtles (the demonym adopted by the band’s fanbase) greet by typing ‘Bon Iver has entered the chat’ during livestreams,” says Cook. “Scott’s parts are my favourite.”
No one could ever accuse Nurture Nurture of failing to be engaging. It’s a skillset employed front and center by the duo, particularly when it comes to making a connection and advocating for mental health, and providing support.
“Heart and Panic” isn’t simply one more thing to sing about, but Cook relating to others his own experience with panic attacks, how they’ve felt in the moment, and the impact they’d had on his life.
“I can’t tell Nurtles what to do when experiencing what the lyrics describe. That’s why we’re partnering with local clinicians to provide support as we prepare for the song’s release,” says Cook.
Cook says that the success of their previously released single, “Lonely Habits,” has empowered his advocacy for mental health and helped him connect their audience with mental health professionals, and hops that “Heart and Panic” will do the same.
While the details of the partnership have yet to be announced, you can support Nurture Nurture and their quest for mental health advocacy by visiting their Bandcamp, or joining their Discord.