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Songs for the Willow

by One Step Closer

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited to 1100 Copies, features UV Printed B-Side. Released by Run For Cover

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs for the Willow via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Dark Blue 02:49
Follow you till the end  And once it happens all again  Just make me numb inside  As I soak up all the pain you feel but I I could wish I had enough to say goodbye As the months go by  And the blue jays fly to the apple trees tonight  Just make me numb inside  And soak all the pain  Slow as the coldness melts from me  Like a falling leaf  This scene it breaks my focus  When things feel out of reach  Call again Remind myself that home is not worth missing  Am I lost this time I’ll watch the sky until the stars align  I want to forget it happened  When will you think I’ll forget your existence  Slow as the coldness melts from me  Like a falling leaf  This scene it breaks my focus  When things feel out of reach  The trees crash hard  On me  Now that winter is gone  I want you close to get me through it Sometimes it feels so far  When you call again  Yesterday felt the longest yet  Here comes the sound of loss Summer sprung into Different shades of you Picture perfect world  Without you here my world is blue Don’t want to watch us split in two 
2.
Turn to Me 03:42
I’ll let you watch me fall asleep So I can dream of my perfect place  Even in the worst case  I’ll reflect on each step across the way  And watch the sun set  On the train bridge where I used to  spend my days  And I blame myself Throw it all away  Turn to me  But you hide away  When it’s time to let you decide  Turn to me  Even with my shame  I’d choose your side  And I blame myself Throw it all away On the surface  It’s not broken yet  Even when your words break I’ll reflect on everything that you promised me  And watch the sun set  On the train bridge where I used to  spend my days  Why was it hard for me to say That all I wanted was escape  Turn to me  Turn to me  Turn to me  But you hide away  When it’s time to let you decide  Turn to me  Even with my shame  I’d choose your side  And I blame myself Throw it all away On the surface  It’s not broken yet  This place that we know  We’ve watched and we’ve grown  All I’ve asked is to know that you’ll  Stay with me  These white coated walls make me mad  But I’ll watch you glow on from the back  And once we say our goodbyes It won’t be the same  But I’ll be right there till I can’t pretend  That I’m still here suffering  This place that we know  We’ve watched and we’ve grown  All I’ve asked is to know that you’ll  Stay with me Stay with me
3.
T.T.S.P. 03:15
I told myself I cave when this dream just clouds all my way The sun fades if I pull far away I’m sinking  Can’t you find a reason  From the 2nd floor of the house fifty six  In the change of season Still skipping on through the leave filled streets  No, can’t make you stay forever now  When you say the wrong things to people you love  I can’t hold this all together now  A smile on my face while I scream to the sun  Help me find my heart  Without this  I’m just a broken man  I cave when this dream just clouds all my way The sun fades if I pull far away I’m sinking  In the silence I fade But it’s been  So long, I’ve learned to say   Years so full of laughter, wont be the same  So long, I’ve learned to say  Your so full of laughter, I’ll be the same  Won’t be the same But you’re too far away  I feel the warmth in this place  But you’re too far away Please hurry home to me Please hurry home Please hurry home As the days go by I’m sinking  I’ll sink into a dream kiss goodbye reality I’ll sink into a dream and kiss it goodbye  Kiss this goodbye 

about

One Step Closer signal a sea change with Songs for the Willow. With last year’s This Place You Know, the band had already mastered a unique stripe of mournful melodic hardcore informed by eclectic emo influences. But on Songs for the Willow, they’ve tapped into a dynamic, emotionally powerful, and sonically intricate post-hardcore space inhabited by the charged aura and artistic nuance of landmark early 2010s records like Title Fight’s Floral Green and Touché Amoré’s Is Survived By. But ultimately, Songs for the Willow moves this sound forward into new territory.

While frontman Ryan Savitski explored clean singing on This Place You Know, he expands his vocal repertoire further here, pushing himself to an even wider range of styles and methods, from soaring highs to breathy lows and rousing harmonies. He makes for a spirited lead and consistent presence while guitar work from himself, Ross Thompson and newcomer Colman O’Brien weave sundry, compelling layers, never content to linger on one riff for too long.

“All three songs revolve around the problems that touring so much this last year have caused,” Savitski says of the thematic melancholy running through the EP. “Losing relationships, losing band members, losing a sense of what this band even means to everyone.” Savitski is still grateful for the growth his band experienced—they made memorable appearances on some of hardcore’s biggest stages (Sound and Fury, This Is Hardcore, and Outbreak festivals), supported scene staples on tour (Comeback Kid, Drug Church, Terror), and had This Place You Know land on respected publications’ Best of 2022 lists (Stereogum, BrooklynVegan). But Savitski also recognizes the sacrifices they made along the way, and that struggle imbues itself in the EP’s desperate tone. “I feel like this last year was the first time we’ve truly felt like a real band, but there were so many issues underlying that it made it hard to enjoy a lot of things.”

The band stepped outside their comfort zone to create Songs for the Willow, teaming with Jon Markson and Eric Chesek to record the EP and explore new sonic terrain. “[Markson] is such an awesome guy and [they] really pushed to get the best out of us the entire time,” Savitski says. “I think their creative minds helped us make something special. We tried a lot of new things for these songs and really pushed a vocal style I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”

Those three songs comprise a mighty trio of powerhouse mid-tempo fare that fire off stirring tempo and tonal changes, giving mere three-minute songs a dramatic, cinematic splendor. “Dark Blue” seems to yearn a loss through the picturesque changing of seasons. “Earlier this year driving through the Pacific Northwest,” Savitski recalls, “I was struggling with how much we were about to be touring this year. As much as I was excited, I was just as much scared of how the dynamic of my life at home would change. I almost felt like people would forget about me for some reason, or relationships would change while being away. I found comfort looking out the window of the van and seeing things I never thought I’d ever see, while simultaneously turning my head to see some of my best friends who I get to experience this life with. It made me feel conflicted—potentially lose the people you love at home, to do the thing you love just as much. This song represents those conflicting moments in time.”

“Turn to Me” wields a surprisingly melodic refrain while trying to maintain optimism amid despair. “Sometimes things happen and it changes relationships, and no matter how much you don’t want that to happen, it still does,” says Savitski. “I’ve experienced this a few times in my life and every time it makes me wonder why things can’t be the same as they were, until I finally realized it’s just part of growing. This song is about watching yourself and your friends grow up, but [also] further apart. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world and it really sucks to live with it everyday.” Following that, “T.T.S.P.” appropriately attempts to find closure with more natural imagery surrounding the search for solace.

All along, there’s an insistent, relentless forcefulness to each performance. After already cementing themselves as the best young band reviving genuine melodic hardcore, One Step Closer have now proven themselves as virtuosos of the impassioned post-hardcore mini-epic.

credits

released January 10, 2023

Written by One Step Closer
Additional writing by Jon Markson & Eric Chesek
Recorded by One Step Closer, Jon Markson, & Eric Chesek 
Produced by Jon Markson
Engineered by Jon Markson 
Mixed by Jon Markson 
Additional production and engineering by Eric Chesek
Mastered by Adam Cichocki 
Artwork by Marcel Straver 
Layout by Mike Zimmerman 

Thank you to all our friends and families that have supported us through the years. We are grateful to be here. We love you all endlessly. 

One Step Closer is…
Ryan Savitski 
Ross Thompson 
Tommy Norton
Colman O’Brien 

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