“I’m not good when the party’s packed/I’m not good when there’s nobody left.”
It’s amusing to imagine POSTDATA’s Paul Murphy (also of the Juno Award-winning band Wintersleep) standing in some ever-so-slightly quieter corner of a party, humming away to himself and pulling together the lyrics to “Nobody Knows.” It’s the sort of thing I would do — a little mental exercise to stave off the existential dread. Murphy, however, is not contented with the simple social anxieties of a single party. Instead, we’re treated to a whole laundry list of potentially disastrous situations.
The number of uncomfortable situations Murphy finds himself in might seem hefty, even by 2020 standards (or especially by 2020 standards, given the context), but his approach to it won’t let it keep him down… sort of. The new song takes a moment to recognize those situations, accept them for what they are, internalize them and only then do we slap on the Instagram filters.
Murphy explains that he wrote “Nobody Knows” on a sunny afternoon. Far from the turbulent waters of social interaction, the lyrics and melody came to him quickly over a few quick hours, which might explain the bright – even jaunty – melody to the song.
“Nobody Knows” is not the doom and gloom soundtrack of a man who has just recorded an album largely in the isolation of a pandemic, but the song of an artist who is kicking their hardest to keep their head above water despite it.
“You can present yourself in a certain way, but it doesn’t mean that’s the reality of the situation, or who you are or what you’re feeling,” says Murphy.
“I think, lyrically, I was making light of the fact that I often don’t feel comfortable and content in situations, looking at the negative side of things, when there are so many positive ways to look at life. I think in this era of social media where people feel the pressure to present their lives in the most perfect light, it felt like a really appropriate sentiment, a little bit of a bite back.”
“Nobody Knows” will appear on POSTDATA’s forthcoming third album, Twin Flames, on March 5, 2021 via Paperbag Records. Hopefully, album release shows are one of the places where Murphy does feel comfortable.