This song was a tough one to crack, but the reward was great! I started with the verse (some of the lyrics were different) and couldn't for the life of me figure out where the song should go! Over the course of the year, I tried different things, even playing the song out at a few shows with a completely different chorus.
Finally, I crossed paths with my now good friend and collaborator Mikey Reaves. Along with being a great guy, he's an incredible writer and producer. We met for the first time at a coffee shop, and after hanging out for a while we ended up walking back to his studio. I started playing a chord progression on this beautiful all black Jazzmaster he had. Something in me made me sing those first verse lyrics over that magical progression and it clicked. Upon revisiting the song in another session, Mikey suggested that we try taking away some elements instead of adding more, in an effort to make some headway on a chorus. This instinct really ended up unlocking the song. As soon as we took away everything but guitars the gates opened up. The melody and words 'i just wanna be out of my head' seemed to bubble to the surface. It was so natural. After a year of struggling! What a relief.
We still had a second verse and back half of the chorus two to write. Both of these parts came to me in California while visiting family. I was riding in the back of our rental car when I wrote the second verse and was pacing around my uncle's front yard when Val and I figured out the melody for the second half of the choruses over the phone.
When I got back to Nashville we went into the studio with Ben Cramer (Old Sea Brigade) and tracked the song. I remember we got everything set up and then we did some loose rundowns of the song to dial in tones and levels. Upon Ben's very wise suggestion, we went outside for a break and some air. When we returned inside, we picked up our instruments and tracked the song. Usually, it takes us a few times to get comfortable and get a take we really feel we can build on, but this time it was somehow the first one. After this, we wrapped up the song over the next few days.
I love this song. It's the first song that got on any editorial Spotify playlists, it's been our fastest-growing song, and I love the lyrics with all of my being. I'm grateful for this song's lessons in patience and collaboration.
lyrics
Somebody save me from the mundane
I've been watching TV to entertain
Shut my tired eyes and forget my brain
Not a thing to do
And I've been sinking into silence
Dwelling on my thoughts
And in these months
I haven't felt that most conversations
Have left me anything but blue
I just wanna be
Out of my head, out of my head
Can you show me how it feels to be
Out of my head, out of my head
I try to talk but the words don't come
I wanna move my body
But my limbs are numb
So I'm soaking up the static on the 101
Trying to break through
(Just wanna break through)
'Cause I just wanna be
Out of my head, out of my head
Can you show me how it feels to be
Out of my head, out of my head
I wanna go back
Wanna turn it all around
And I never wanna come back down
And you show me how it feels to be
Out of my head, out of my head
(Ah-ah ah, Ah-ah ah, Ah-ah-ah ah-ah)
Somebody save me from the mundane
I've been watching TV to entertain
'Cause I just wanna be
Out of my head, out of my head
Can you show me how it feels to be
Out of my head, out of my head
I wanna go back
Wanna turn it all around
And I never wanna come back down
And you show me how it feels to be
Out of my head, out of my head
credits
from Hardcastle,
track released October 9, 2019
Mundane - Written by GL, Val Hoyt, Mikey Reaves, & Ben Cramer | Produced by Ben Cramer } Mixed by Kyle Dreaden | Mastered by Adam Grover | Performed by Hardcastle at The Shoebox
Hardcastle is Graham & Miles Laderman, Val Hoyt, and Noah Christian. The band lives together in Nashville, TN and has formed
a formidable brotherhood making music with each other. Hardcastle draws their inspiration from bands like Coldplay, Oasis, and Radiohead, which has led them to develop a fresh, yet eerily nostalgic sound that is all their own....more
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