UK indie trio Amber Run has a song likely everyone has heard, whether realized or not. Their saturnine piano hit ‘I Found’ from their 2015 debut album 5AM has been used in several television shows, played immeasurable times over the radio, and of course, became a viral TikTok sound. With nearly a gargantuan 325M streams on Spotify alone, the timeless hit has covered unfathomable ground. Now with their fourth full-length album How To Be Human (TRIPEL Records) Amber Run kicks off a promising album with a short yet equally captivating piano-vocal intro with ‘Flowers (Interlude I)’.
Following is the first full-length track, ‘Hurt’. The video premiere, which was released three months ago, has received nothing but positive and excited feedback from fans. ‘Hurt’ is plucky and upbeat with impactful yet tender lyrics: “When the hurt is a hundred miles long/ And your shadow weighs a ton and your river has run dry/ And you think you’d rather die/ When the water pulls you under/ I’ll wrap my arms around you/ I’ll hold you while you cry/ And in the dark I’ll be your eyes”.
‘Honeylight’, is airy yet melancholic in tone and the opening lyrics are even more desolate. “There’s nothing to it/ You just exist/ Then you die/ I’m under no illusion/ That things get better/ But I’ll try”. Yet the chorus could be perceived as uplifting, and things do get better as time passes. “It comes in waves, it’s red like rust/ And in the stream, you see the dust/ I would like to bathe in honey/ In honey light, in honey light” which could illustrate warm sunlight streaming through the blinds, where dust swirls in the golden “honeylight”, so that one sees another day.
‘Funeral’ has just as much finality as the title lends. Piano leads the song, and the mournful lyrics “No, not another funeral/ Too young to fill another hole/ And on your body, flowers fall/ And they’re lovely” likely resonate with many, especially in today’s day and age, unfortunately.
Pulling away from the cliff’s edge is ‘I Hope It’s Not Like This Forever’ as it lightheartedly lulls the tired and overworked into a daydream of becoming familiar to a stranger they find captivating. “And that is why when I saw you/ I couldn’t help but start to play through/ You dancing in the kitchen/ A drunk midnight rendition”… “And to think that right now, you’re a stranger/ I hope it’s not like this forever”.
‘Ride’ is pleading and slowly marches onward. Sending gentle urgency to a friend, they beg them to push through the worst of the worst, but to rest assured since they will be right there with them through it all. “Want you to more than survive/ I wanna walk beside you/ So ride, ride, ride/ I want to walk beside you”.
‘Lovers (Interlude II)’ is a quick 1-minute ballad of tender devotion which is followed by the album title track. ‘How To Be Human’ reflects upon the things that are learned but still have plenty left to learn, to have loved too much or not enough or not even know what it really means, to not know or understand one’s own mind, to not feel good enough in a demanding world… to bleed and to breathe and find peace within it all. Frontman Joe Keogh said of the track, “You know those annoying emails you get that are like, ‘How to become a millionaire in one month’. ‘How to get abs in six seconds,” he chuckles. “I was like, I wish someone would just tell me how to get by and live on the centre line and how to just continue.”
Upbeat and driving, ‘I Miss You’ is a slightly conversational song about missing loved ones, and urging one another to reach out and make contact. With the pandemic affecting so many lives, now more than ever it reminds everyone to speak up and say hello, I miss you, let’s catch up before the time is taken away.
The quickly paced and danceable ‘The Beautiful Victorious’ highlights the notorious societal standards that are high fashion, luxury, and enveloped in beauty trends, and how “the rest” may not be up to snuff… or would it really matter in the end? “What a beautiful house/ What a beautiful car/ What a beautiful state of affairs you are/ I can change my name/ Change my face/ And I’ll give my body to this human race/ Will history remember/ The beautiful victorious/ The beautiful victorious”.
Strumming acoustic guitar simmers down and leads into ‘Always Blue’. It nods to being perhaps withdrawn into oneself due to depression, and a partner warning them they are slipping into a darker place. “And I knew that I could love you like I do/ But it hit me like a bullet/ The way that words can when you know they are true/ When you said, you’re always wearing blue/ Don’t let it start wearing you”. Luckily, the song ends on a positive note, “Oh, I knew that I could love you like I do/ But what an insurrection that I could be loved too/ I was always wearing blue/ At least until I met you”.
‘The Start’ is propelling and weaves pop and rock genres with bursts of brass elements. It is a tough song to unhear, as it is a definite earworm. It was another well-received song on the band’s Youtube channel when it was released in March 2022. The song discusses a “born again from the ashes” theme, that after being so downtrodden and angered, there is a rebirth. “I’m out of luck/ I’m out of line/ I’m bored of wasting time/ I’m out of touch/ And I don’t believe/ That/ I’m one of a kind/ I’m boiling over/ Catching fire/ And out of nothing/ The start of something”.
The closer on the album is ‘The Last Dance’. Clear, reverberated guitar rings out, as softly sung lyrics ask “You there, under the globe/ I feel like I’ve seen you before/ Is there a chance/ Or can I have the last dance?” The song could be a beautiful metaphor of being someone’s final and life-long lover and partner. Keogh’s vocals soar as he states “Cause you can take from me/ Anything that you might want/ Anything that you need/ Oh, could I have the last dance/ Could I have the last dance/ The last dance?” as the track, music box in sound, fades away.
How To Be Human comes as a story in multiple acts. Three EPs – The Search (Act I), The Start (Act II), and The Hurt (Act III) – have already been released, while the full LP completes them with new material. Each part represents a distinct moment in time – the end result is an accurate rollercoaster of emotional multitudes drawn from across this period.
Buy the album here:
https://bfan.link/how-to-be-human
8 / 10
JESSIE FRARY