In End Hits Records’ stacked roster of excellent bands and musicians Be Well’s new EP still manages to stand out and while I kinda slept on their 2020 album, I had to check out this short but sweet ep.
Be Well is not your ordinary band. Its member hail from the likes of Battery, Bane, Darkest Hour and many other bands so you can surely say they are a supergroup, but also a super group. I had a blast listening to Hello Sun and also revisiting their debut The Weight and the Cost, which came in real handy, since the EP is only six songs. The songs fortunately are a bit longer than Terror’s last smasher of an album (you can check out the review here).
I don’t know why exactly but Brian McTernan’s emotive and just plain beautiful voice is what really hooked me on the band’s sound. Don’t get me wrong, all other musicians do their job equally as well and everything just works together incredibly well. Their melodic hardcore punk sound is quite unique and draws you in right from the start.
Let’s talk about their music a bit more, shall we? The EP starts with the fast paced ”Treadless”, which is already an incredibly emotional song. McTernan has battled with his personal demons for a very long time, but on this EP he finally starts to move on to a more positive mindset, trying to overcome depression and anxiety. While these topics were looked down upon a few years ago, in today’s music and culture they are more openly talked about and help is available much more easily. Be Well are stretching their hand out too and try to be a shining light in the darkness many people experience.
For the next track I want to quote the first verse, because it pretty much sums up, what this song is all about. ”I am lost, I am flawed, yes at my best / I’m not afraid to accept the things that I’ve fucked up / But when I’m gone you can bury me with things / That I made for my friends with love”. If you’ve listened to some contemporary (post-)hardcore records like Turnstile, Thrice, Strike Anywhere just to name a few, you might have heard something produced by Brian McTernan and these records will live on and bring joy to people long after he is gone and he can finally be proud of what he has done, without the ”deafening sadness” clouding his judgement.
On an EP full of personal and emotional songs, is it really possible for one song to stand out as even more personal and deep? Yes, it is and this song is ”Hello Sun”! This track was actually the first song McTernan wrote for Be Well, but he didn’t like how it felt on The Weight and the Cost and thus they didn’t release it back then. Now on the EP that centers around moving forward and overcoming one’s own inert darkness it fits in so nicely and is a real standout track.
The last track also sums up the EP as whole and how Brian McTernan wants to live from now on. ”I want to get better / I want to change”. The whole song is just an ode to life and stepping out of ”[…] The Shadow Of Who You Thought I Was”. It is a grand finale to an excellent record, which leaves you hoping for a strong second album of this flawless band. Flawless at least in a musical sense, because it becomes clear that everyone has their own baggage to carry, though Be Well reach out to us and say: There is always a light at the end of the tunnel and there is no shame in asking for help.
