Toronto punk band Greys have something to say. With guitar- and feedback-heavy arrangements and some shouting, Greys express their empathy through hard-hitting tunes like the ones on their upcoming record Outer Heaven, out April 22 on Carpark (in the U.S.) and Buzz Records (in CA).
"Blown Out" is a prime example of the band's commitment to encouraging understanding. There are many different ways of being in the world, Greys proclaim, and it's more than counterproductive to discount someone else's reality—it's harmful. "Blown Out" is a song about trying to think outside of yourself—All my friends are going crazy, frontman Shehzaad Jiwani shouts, Wonder if they feel the same as me. Its accompanying video, directed by Jiwani and Allison Johnston, features a man and a woman in conversation. Experiencing flashes of something like anxiety, the woman says, "There's something wrong with me." The man asks her, "What's wrong?" But that seems to be exactly what the problem is: the idea that there is something wrong with her. To sum it up: treat others as though they are human as well, as though their experience of the world is just as real and valid as yours.
"The song was written about being in a relationship with someone who didn't understand depression because they'd never felt it themselves," Jiwani wrote in an email to The FADER. "The difference between sympathy and empathy is a distinct one—hearing someone out is one thing, but really listening to them is another. The video alternates between stark, Godard-esque candor and Lynchian surrealism to illustrate what it's like inside and outside the mind of someone who suffers from depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. We don't all know what is going through someone's head at any given time, but we should all try to listen and understand—especially to those closest to us."
Watch "Blown Out" above, and preorder Outer Heaven via Carpark here, and via Buzz Records here.
Tour Dates:
04/08 London, ON @ Call The Office
04/09 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
04/21 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
04/22 Allston, MA @ O’Brien's
04/23 Philadelphia, PA @ First United Church
04/24 Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
04/25 Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville
04/26 Cleveland, OH @ Mahall's
04/27 Detroit, MI @ PJ’s Lager House
04/28 Kalamazoo, MI @ Millhouse
04/29 Chicago, IL @ Mousetrap
05/13 Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
05/29 Winnipeg, MB @ Handsome Daughter
05/30 Saskatoon, SK @ Vangelis
05/31 Edmonton, AB @ The Buckingham
06/01 Calgary, AB @ Broken City
06/04 Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge
06/06 Portland, OR @ Valentine’s
06/08 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
06/09 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell
% - w/ Odonis Odonis
^ - w/ Two Inch Astronaut
