![]() ![]() Opening track ' Flowers and You' brings the album in on a light note with sweet guitars and a light hi-hat, leading into a uncharacteristically upbeat instrumental under Bolm's heavy vocals that shows struggle with the idea of how his mother stayed so faithful to God when it would be he who granted her with cancer. The idea is pondered about again in ' Displacement', this time with an edgier yet still optimistic instrumental, where Bolm screams of not being able to have faith in God like his mother did after her passing. Other songs express personal sadness, as well. ' New Halloween' is about how her passing still seems like it happened yesterday, even though its been well over a year (at the time of writing the song) since her passing. ![]() The instrumental is oddly upbeat and happy sounding, unlike the premise. The ending lines are so simple, yet so hard-hitting all the same: " Made the call and stared at my feet / She passed away about an hour ago / When you were onstage living the dream." One of the hardest hitting tracks is ' Eight Seconds', which is about the immediate depression upon learning the news. Outside of its phenomenal writing, Stage Four shows a new musical direction. It became evident in ' Skyscraper' - which we reviewed upon it's release (read that here) - that this album was going to be something very different from the band. You can hear it in a lot of the instrumentals, too. There's not pure darkness and heavy instrumentals on the record. There's upbeat, optimistic songs (as mentioned before) that seem to contrast the vocals in a sad way, as if they're the joys of life and the world surrounding Bolm who can't appreciate them due to his loss. Dreamy guitars and clean vocals build into a massive explosion of emotion in 'Skyscraper' as Bolm sings of his mother's dream of seeing the east coast, which unfortunately never got to happen. An added part on the album version is a voicemail from his mother - the last one he ever received from her. It's a cathartic ending to the album, taking it out on a tragic but fitting finality.Ĭancer is cruel. When it takes the people who are closest to us, it's hard to cope with. It'll stay with you for a long time, if not forever. Touché Amoré channeled all of Bolm's grief and confusion in Stage Four is a beautiful way. It's not perfect - the new sound is something they need to work on - but its emotional, and a strong release of emotion for Bolm, even a necessary one. Turning pain into art can become a beautifully tragic thing.Reflecting now, Bolm describes Stage Four as “a necessary record to write” in terms of his wellbeing and handling of grief. “But it wasn’t an enjoyable record to write by any means.” ![]()
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