Feel My Way Through History

Flasher “Nothing”

“Nothing” hits me hard in two different but not unrelated sweet spots – harmonies that overlap in atypical ways and offer multiple perspectives on the lyrics, and lyrics about actively trying to change who you are and how you perceive yourself and the world. Flasher make the song more complicated as it moves along, starting with a rather straight forward mission of self-improvement before layering in the notion that this guy wants to change to please someone else, and then the passive aggression starts slipping in. By the time the bridge hits the tension boils over – “I’m in the basement, nothing is taking / so if you hate me, why don’t you replace me?” – and the female counterpoint vocal just voices a vague disappointment. The finale of this song is incredible, the sort of thing I find myself rewinding to hear several times in a row. The harmonies pile on as the frustration mounts, and the female voice gets louder and more passionate but still a little distant in the mix. The sound is lovely and cathartic, but the lyrics are just two people crumpling as they face futility – “when it’s all or nothing, you can count on nothing.”

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