If you had the option of doing something the easy way or the hard way, which would you choose? The easy way, right? I mean, why work harder than necessary? But there are some pros in doing things the hard way. You may learn more about yourself or the task at hand, or you may get a better reward for all the extra work. It is clear which option Eighty Ninety prefer on their new single, “The Hard Way.”
For “The Hard Way,” Eighty Ninety deliver an emotional love song in their classic indie pop style. While the verses are stripped back with a more acoustic feel, the choruses take on more instrumentation and rhythm, building in sound with each delivery. Amongst this production, we hear about what it means to truly love someone. When you know you have found the right person, you envision your future together, you dread being apart, and you want to experience all types of moments – good and bad. This comes through in the lines, “So what if it breaks me into pieces / What if you tear my life in two? / So what if we say goodbye a thousand times? / I’m still in love with you,” vocalist Abner James choosing to stand by this person. You can check it out below.
Telling us more about “The Hard Way,” Eighty Ninety explain,
“‘The Hard Way’ is about choosing to love someone no matter how much life intervenes. It’s about being brave enough to make the choice to completely commit to a person, no matter the risk. It’s about looking directly at all your fears about how things could go wrong and knowing that even if they all come to pass, it’s still worth it.
With the production, we tried to evoke the sense of the relationship being increasingly tested by life, increasing the instrumentation with every chorus, almost like we are trying to break the song. But it holds – and by the end, we’re hoping the swelling percussion and harmonies feel uplifting; there’s beauty in hope.”
Recently, Eighty Ninety released a collection of old singles and unreleased demos in the form of Bowery Beach Road. It contains favorites such as “10K Summer Nights,” “Three Thirty,” and “Your Favorite Song,” taking listeners on a trip down memory lane. It is all to commemorate their journey thus far, before they release their debut album later this year.
You can listen to “The Hard Way” on platforms like Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
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