Joshua Sangster swears that he’s an optimist, but the Honey Gut frontman says he found his breaking point this year. “Something’s Gotta Give” is exactly what it sounds like, the band’s new single is a reflection of humanity’s failings and the impact that they’ve wrought on Sangster’s soul.
What started as a bit of noodling, quickly formed into an outpouring of self-therapy reminiscent of a lo-fi Nirvana ballad. There’s a plaintive tone to the song that, despite the title, suggests a line has already been crossed.
Sangster says that the lyrics, unsurprisingly, came to him naturally.
“There’s been a palpable tension in the air these days. Fear and uncertainty and isolation have really brought out the worst in some people, on all points of the social spectrum,” says Sangster.
“I’d say it was building for a while. When I sat down to put lyrics to the music, I wasn’t even sure what would come out. After the first line, I had a good grasp on what I wanted to work out. It’s almost like a self-therapy or something. Untangling the mess of information and emotion that builds up in you for so long.”
For Sangster, it boils down to how the pressure cooker of the last year has negatively affected how people treat each other and justified their actions.
“Long story short: less hate, more love. The same old cliché,” laughs Sangster. “More tolerance of different opinions. More understanding and forgiveness for mistakes made. Allowing space for redemption. Allowing people to learn without forcing information on them. Appreciating we don’t all have the same foundations or education or experiences. Less ego. Admitting when we don’t know things. Ultimately, more empathy for all people. We’re more similar than we are different.”
Sangster humbly admits that he’s not exempt from a little self-improvement but he does have the advantage of being the first to the microphone. John Lennon certainly wasn’t the first to conceive of world peace when he wrote “Give Peace a Chance.” Similarly, Honey Gut’s “Something’s Gotta Give,” fortunately, might just endure with a certain timelessness that extends beyond our current quagmire.