Running Out of Time was directly influenced by a Metallica music video.
It tells the story of a man, injured and unable to move, sense or communicate with the outside world.
We took that idea and swapped out the man, ours being a slightly more romantic type of person, trapped in his own mind.
Phil created a pattern hitting on odd beats, using upstrokes and created a feeling of hesitancy in the faster parts and a melodic walk around in the verses, while I played around with finding the vocal tone and melody, ending up with one of the most sombre tracks we ever made.
We added a bridge to provide a feeling of peace and tranquility for a moment before heading back out into the wind and rain of storming thoughts, and finished the song with our man finding acceptance, but not relief.
When Phil got his cancer diagnosis this song took on a whole new meaning for us both.
Even though we talked about it openly, there was still an ickiness that pushed it down the priority list.
It slowly became a sort of taboo song that went pretty much ignored.
When I decided to make this album I immediately knew two things, I would be including this song, and Phil's voice would be on it in whatever way it could be.
I think of this song as the one on this record that's not only meant for him, but is also from him and, I'll be honest, it was hard to revisit this song that had become so apropos, but that's also the reason why I feel it had to be included.
Production wise, the only hiccup was finding the right recordings to use for Phil's voice.
My early ideas were to have his voice be an ethereal, muffled sounding thing, but I soon realized that I sometimes wanted to hear what he was saying.
I went through hours of footage and phone recordings and found him saying some things that I thought helped tell the story well.
The original song stayed pretty much the same, with Phil joining in by wandering around the room, chiming in here and there, adding his voice to the story.
The last thing he says is "OK, I'm done." and was a filmed moment where we had just finished playing our last song of the night and he was heading home, and I thought it was a perfect way to end the song.
Running Out of Time
lyrics
Coming out of the fog, I see your face.
An angel of mercy, my saving grace.
But I can sense your essence disappear,
And leave me drowning in the sea of my uncertainty.
Oh, those cracked and clouded memories mirror fragments of a lie.
Running out of time.
Splinters of reality soaked with fear
Seem so far away and yet so near.
I can feel my breathing, way too deep.
Fate has raped my soul of sleep as bells toll out for me.
Oh, exhausted and weak, I can't speak into the fire.
Running out of time.
Running out of space.
Pain grips my mind in her cold embrace.
A moment of clarity as life comes crashing down.
I realize what a fool I've been, but my voice has come unbound.
I took it all for granted, now I'm living my reflection.
Can I summon one last breath and find the path back to redemption?
Stumbling against the rising tide,
A lifetime echoes through my mind.
This has to be the way it ends.
A soul to rend I won't pretend you've not forgotten me.
Oh, but I can see it coming, and I'm at peace with knowing I'm
Running out of time.
Running out of space.
Pain grips my mind in her warm embrace.
'Cause I'm running out of time.
I'm running out of space.
I can see you in my mind, and yearn for your embrace.
credits
from Let Me Go,
released March 19, 2024
Written by Jean-Pierre K. Larda & Phil Short
Vocals - Jean-Pierre K. Larda
Backing Vocals - Cheryl Ireland
Additional Voices - Phil Short
Drums - Aaron Spink
Guitars - Sean Roberts
Bass - Alex Paris
Produced by Jean-Pierre K. Larda
Recorded at Artist Development Studio, Courtice
Engineered and mixed by Alex Paris
Mastered by John MacLeod at Sweet Daddy Sound, Ajax
Rising Philadelphia band balance oversized pop punk hooks with vivid, intimate lyrics, presenting a raw, honest vision of guitar music. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2022
