That Won't Save Us - Against The Current

 A new era of Against the Current (ATC) is here.

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On Wednesday 28th October 2020, ATC released their first new piece of material since their 2018 album, ‘Past Lives’. Produced by Matt Squire, this fresh release is an energetic, guitar-driven track entitled ‘That Won’t Save Us’, which arrived simultaneously with a moody, dark and characteristically fiery music video. 

It’s no secret that the gem of ATC’s sound is the ever-so present roaring guitar riffs of Dan Gow, which felt somewhat lacking in their previous album, whilst they delved down the route of a different sound; so unsurprisingly this album has brought them right back as a foreground for the song. Whilst being heavily guitar led, the drums certainly don’t go a-miss, they are prevalent throughout the track and add the perfect amount of rock that ATC are renowned for. With a lot of the sound, feeling very much of their ‘In Our Bones’ era. The guitar may be the shining star of the show, but the powerful vocals of Chrissy’s voice, easily pin this single as staple Against The Current sound. The explosive instrumental and the beautifully interlinked vitality of the vocals, along with some of the tempo changes in the bridge and final chorus really foreshadows Costanza’s mindset behind the writing of the song. It is clear from certain elements of the song that she was frustrated and angry with whatever was going on in her personal life and her professional life, enough for her to write a killer rock track like this one. 

The bridge is the biggest tempo change out of the two changes the song possesses, all of a sudden the liviness is somewhat held back and switched for a more mellow, balladesque feel and feels generally quieter than the rest of the track, because the guitar is no longer as vibrant as it was which pulls forward the angelic voice of Costanza but a few brief seconds, switching back to the all-so-powerful, heavily guitar-led pace. The final tempo change in this song is in the final chorus, where concomitantly it speeds up, which gives a sense of the tune coming to an end and the problem being resolved. It also adds to the lively, feel-happy beat.

If this release is anything to go by, ATC3 is going to be one hell of a rock album.

TWSU Music Video - YouTube