Everyzine Everyzine Vol.1 - 2020

EVERYZINE

EVERYZINE

An Everything Everything

Themed Collaborative

Fanzine

SEPTEMBER

2020

Vol. 1

WHAT IS EVERYZINE EVERYZINE?

Short for “magazine,” “zines” have been an important part of

sharing content within fan communities for all types of media.

Completely created from individual submissions and

independently-published, zines are made by fans, for fans.

Everyzine Everyzine is an unoffical collaboration of over 60+

contributors, coming together to celebrate the music, artistry, and

talent of the Manchester based art-pop band Everything

Everything. Within this fanzine, you’ll find fanart, reviews,

digital edits, short stories, and even some memes thrown in for

good measure.

Created from the depths of the COVID-19 quarantine, this

project brought together individual across five different continents

in anticipation of the band’s fifth studio album, RE-ANIMATOR.

Months of hard work, dedication, and talent has gone into the

creation of this zine. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I

had creating it.

With love,

Caitlin aka “Maple” (@mykzurgf)

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MAN ALIVE

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MY KZ, UR BF

Qwerty Finger

Schoolin’

Leave the Engine Room

Final Form

Photoshop Handsome

Two For Nero

NASA (Is On Your Side)

Tin (The Manhole)

Weights

ARC

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Cough Cough

Kemosabe

Torso of the Week

Choice Mountain

Feet For Hands

Undrowned

Armourland

Radiant

The Peaks

Don’t Try

GET TO HEAVEN

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To The Blade

Distant Past

Regret

Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread

The Wheel (Is Turning Now)

Fortune 500

Blast Doors

Zero Pharaoh

No Reptiles

Warm Healer

We Sleep in Pairs

Hapsburg Lippp

President Heartbeat

Only As Good as My God

A FEVER DREAM

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Night of the Long Knives

Can’t Do

Desire

Good Shot, Good Soldier

Put Me Together

A Fever Dream

Ivory Tower

RE-ANIMATOR

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In Birdsong

Arch Enemy

Planets

Violent Sun

MISCELLANEOUS

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I Believe It Now

Breadwinner

Lifetimes (Everything Everything Remix)

Someday (Everything Everything Remix)

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WARM HEALER - A BREAKDOWN OF

MY FAVORITE EVERYTHING EVERYTHING TRACK

BY: SASKIA XENA

The great thing about Everything

Everything’s songs is that there is so much

going on in each one, its meaning can be

interpreted differently by each listener. Since

I first heard it, Warm Healer struck a chord

with me. Jon has described this song “a hug

after all the trauma”; a romantic, yet tragic

song. If you’re listening to the deluxe version,

this song ties in perfectly with the first

song on side B, We Sleep In Pairs. Both are

superficially calm, an attempt to ‘cover up’

the unease that runs through the entire album.

‘Warm Healer’ sounds nice enough;

perhaps the protagonist of Get To Heaven has

changed, realised his wrongs, and has fallen

in love.

“We got ourselves another one

We got ourselves another Jane Doe

I never let the others go

But every time I look around, they form” The

songs starts with a line that could be pulled

straight out of a crime scene investigation

scene from a cheesy detective program. The

idea of the subject of this song being one

body amongst many other identical bodies, all

who will eventually die, perhaps ridicules the

idea of the concept of the love song – the one

who we value so highly is, at the end of the

day, just ‘another Jane Doe’ who will one day

die like everyone else. They are nothing special,

and the protagonist acknowledges this;

just before comparing them to God, naturally.

“See the shadow-men bow down to

The head of a baby calf, calf” – One of the

main subject matters of Get To Heaven is the

idea of worshipping a false god. However,

whilst in other songs this false god takes on

the powerful position of a political leader or a

cult leader – or even god themselves – at the

end of the album, it is the love interest that

takes on this role. Warm Healer is a way of

tying together every concept of power discussed

in the album, then comparing them to

the protagonist’s love interest. Whilst this is

someone who would seem so insignificant to

everyone else, it is clear that to them they are

equal only to God.

“If it isn’t love then why do

I feel that I’m split in half, half, half, half?”

– Perhaps the most heart-wrenching lyric the

band have ever written. There’s the pain of

love, and then there’s a feeling beyond that –

this song describes a love that is so painful, it

is destructive. [Chorus]

“Babe, don’t look the other way

I love your face and there’s no more time” –

My personal favourite line from the song, as

it creates a powerful visual image. ‘Time’ and

the fear of growing old pop up several times

in the album, most notably in Spring/Sun/

Winter/Dread. Warm Healer echoes time and

time again the theme of death. As the final

song on the album, this is appropriate – but

the use of a tragic love story to frame this

distracts from the impending threat of death

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and destruction.

“Babe, I saw what you did tonight

It’s ugly but it is all I want” – There is something

about this song that reminds me of Frankenstein’s

monster. The protagonist is clearly

lonely, and looks for someone as ‘ugly’ as he

is – however, here, being ‘human’ is equalised

with being ‘monster’. There is a sense of the

subject as having done something terrible,

something newsworthy and sickening. The

protagonist, however, feels reassured by this

‘ugly’ behaviour – he just wants someone as

awful as he is. True love, am I right?

“Babe, they call me the medicine man

But my old spells don’t work anymore” – The

protagonist has a position of power. This line

reminds me of a fraudulent faith healer - and

as is the title, this song is meant to be one of

healing. However, it is far from that. Where

he tries to reassure and write a genuine love

song, it is dripping in self-hatred and the

aura of incoming doom. The awful things he

has done means that even though he may be

known as ‘the medicine man’, a man of power,

he has had to sell his soul and his morals to

the point that he has no real power at all.

[Verse 2]

“Don’t ask for me tomorrow, kid

I think you’ll only find a grave man” – I love

and appreciate a good Romeo and Juliet

reference. Sometimes I think Get To Heaven

would make a great musical – can we make

this happen? This line is taken from Mercutio’s

dying words, killed by a Capulet, and

for what? The tragic, star-crossed love affair

of Romeo and Juliet. Many people forget that

this tale is one that is soaked in blood, and

ends in death for the majority of the main

characters. Warm Healer questions whether

love is good or even healing, when it ‘splits’

the protagonist in two. From this line, it is

clear he is aware that this love will kill him.

“Just take a look outside the walls

And try to tell me something that’s good

now” – This is his way of saying ‘What’s the

point?’. Jon has spoken about the influence

that watching newsreels for hours on end had

on this album, a feeling of never-ending chaos,

death and destruction. Much like this song,

in fact. The protagonist may be in love, yet

he cannot focus on what is inside ‘the walls’

– again, like Romeo and Juliet, their love was

destroyed by external forces. The hand

clawing away at the face on the artwork

mirrors the constant feeling of dread and ruin

brought upon him by the ways of the world.

“‘Round my neck I feel some great weight

The Chupacabra clings on, on”- I had to

google ‘Chupacabra’, I must admit – it is a

‘blood sucking cryptid’. This echoes a piece

of the final line – ‘you don’t want me sucking

you down’. In relation to the obsession with

checking the news, the protagonist feels that

he his life and soul have been sucked out of

him by the horrors of the modern world. It

is this that leaves him to be an agent of evil,

weighed down by the terrible things he has

done to climb his way to the top of the tower

of power.

“That’s the rhythm my Pigdog loves

It’s gotta mean something’s wrong, wrong,

wrong, wrong” – Pigdog was a song Jon

wrote for the album which was deemed too

depressing and awful by the rest of the band,

even for Get To Heaven. This reinforces

the idea of the protagonist’s self-hatred and

confession to the ugliness of his actions – he

becomes the artwork on the cover. The

ugliness of the human state is exposed for all

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to see. Also, this line REALLY makes me

want to hear Pigdog. But maybe that’s the

point – humans have a fascination with looking

at what disgusts them, whether that be

tabloid stories about murderers or pimple-popping

videos. Jon’s newsreel obsession is one

example of this addiction to viewing the ugly

side of mankind. But another theory here –

‘Pigdog’ could be seen as the name the protagonist

has for the side of him that commits

these awful deeds, like Killer BOB in Twin

Peaks. Warm Healer sometimes feels like a

plea from the protagonist for the one he loves

to forgive his awful deeds, and to separate

himself from this side of his person. However,

the point of Get To Heaven seems to be to

point out that we all have a ‘Pigdog’ in us, and

that it is called being human.

[Bridge]

Something that still baffles me is that Jon

shouts ‘Take Aim’ during the bridge, yet this is

hidden so well under the harmonies and haziness

going on at the same time that I can never

hear it. Something about the bridge makes me

feel like I’m flying through the clouds. It’s

oddly peaceful, yet unnerving

when you realise, he is screaming for someone

to point a gun – at who, you ask? Maybe at

him, maybe even at you. On the other hand, he

could be talking about cupid’s arrow, and his

desire for love to destroy him.

In the final lines, his voice becomes deep and

inhuman – as if the final layer of his humanity

has been taken, revealing the ugly flesh beneath

– like the album cover.

“Babe, you don’t want me sucking you down

What’s all that young life been wasted on?” –

The final lines of the album. Place these next

to the cover photo; Get To Heaven is an album

of violence and destruction. It’s a self-confessed

‘horror bible’; at its core, it’s soaked in

hatred for humanity, and for the self.

There are two things I find interesting here –

this line could come naturally after the first

– the discovery of a dead body of a young

woman at a crime scene. Deaths of young

people in the news provoke comments such as

‘they were taken too young’ ‘what a waste of

young life’. However, if one plays this album

on loop, we return to ‘To The Blade’ – “So

you think there’s no meaning in anything that

we do?” – another question, also linked to

death and the triviality of life on earth.

Every time I listen to this song, I develop a

new theory about it. My personal favourite?

Warm Healer is a lullaby which the protagonist

sings to his love interest before murdering

her. Just as we thought the destruction of the

album was over, Warm Healer’s ‘warm hug’

slowly shows its true face, with the horrific

realisation that the protagonist is a rampant

serial killer and is planning to kill his love. We

have heard the protagonist’s obsession with

false Gods, and his desire to destroy power –

as the one he loves the most is the overbearing

power in his life, he must destroy them. It is

only then that she can become ‘another Jane

Doe’ – and then, as echoed in Fortune 500 –

he will feel that he has ‘won’.

The final line therefore becomes sarcastic,

triumphant, mocking rather than tragic and

pensive. And even worse – the ‘Jane Doe’ and

reference to the ‘others’ tells us that he’s done

this before. Like a fraudulent faith healer, the

medicine man himself has fooled us into trusting

his word. The message here?

Humanity is ugly, and therefore love cannot

come without tragedy.

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“WARM

HEALER IS A GREAT

LOVE SONG,

BECAUSE IT’S

EVERYTHING

A LOVE SONG

SHOULDN’ T BE”

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EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

By Benjamin Marette

I do believe it will be business

inside,

Man alive, her every ache a baton

to me,

And I wouldn’t want to make a

scene,

And I respect that things have

changed.

We’re in the middle of nothing we

could hold,

Where is the country you died for?

I’m sorry for the years I was a

shipwreck boy,

I wanna be outlawed and AWOL.

On the shore, you found him,

Singing “Save our simian souls”.

I was but a drop in the ocean all

along.

I know how it all ends.

I’m coming alive,

I’m outta my depth,

You’re looking like you might

have a question,

But I don’t know what’s real and

what’s going on.

And you don’t look impressed.

And I’m sorry that I’ve made it

this far.

I believe you, but not what you

say...

Oh, I’ve really done it now.

There was a life here to mend,

It’s all so clear.

You’d never tell me anything real

now,

I’m dreaming of a different time.

Don’t try to hide it.

What you said wasn’t loud

enough,

Your body never made it past the

snow.

I hear them burning,

Maybe you’re the coldest…

I need a shoulder to talk about it,

But as he takes the stage I’m gone.

They told me that I’ve won,

You know that I believe in it,

I’m going to take it myself.

I was in the war,

But every time I look around they

form.

There’s a flood on the street,

He said it’s up to me,

It fills my vision, I can hardly

speak,

And I think you might explode.

What’s the right thing to do,

Cause I can feel it and I don’t

care.

I can work harder,

The fear and the fury make me

feel good.

All I learned from this,

Is there something wrong with

me?

These shadows fall on all things.

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CASE STUDY - WE ASKED FANS WHAT THEIR

FAVORITE BAND MEANS TO THEM, AND HERE’S

WHAT THEY SAID

By: Angie Bhadal

We chatted to Emma on what com pelled

her to create the group, why she was drawn to

Everything Everything in particular, and how

‘At the Border’ has grown since its birth back

in 2015.

Gaining a loyal fanbase. It’s considered the

holy grail of the industry. If you’re a musician,

you’ll be familiar with the countless videos on

how to attract fans and most of your time will

probably be spent trying to engage with randos

on the internet to try to get them to buy your

music on Bandcamp.

One band that that have nailed this are indie

rockers, Everything Everything. Since releasing

their debut album, the Mercury Prize nominated

Man Alive, 10 years ago, the band have

slowly increased a group of dedicated fans.

One particular fan, Emma Le Poidevin, wanted

to share her love of the band with fellow fans

but noticed there were no groups in which she

could do so. So, in August 2015, ‘At the

Border’, was born.

“I became a fan of EE in April 2013 after

seeing them performing on Jools Holland.

Their music was unlike anything else I’d ever

heard, and their live performances were incredible.

After checking with the band about

how they would feel about me setting up a fan

website for them, I created the ‘At the Border’

website, Twitter and Facebook group. The fan

community is focused on Twitter and the

Facebook group, each having over 1.4k

followers/members. It’s no exaggeration to

say that EE and ATB have changed my life

these past few years – I love the friendly community

we’ve created and have met so many

fellow fans, both online and at EE shows, who

enjoy this wonderful band and their music just

as much as I do!”

In the five years it’s been established, ‘At the

Border’ has done tremendously well for itself.

Everything Everything are well aware of the

group and understand its value, having contributed

to a fan Q&A exclusively for the site

back in 2018. But what is it about the band

that makes such loyal stans? For Emma, it was

finding a band with a unique sound, unlike

any other. I decided to put this question to the

group and let their words speak for them.

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So Everything Everything have not only

engaged with fans online, but they’re willing

to meet fans after gigs and chat to them like

they’re human beings. But most of all, they

make music they’re passionate about and the

rest followed.

In a recent interview with bassist Jeremy

Pritchard for What Goes On, Pritchard discusses

the origins of the band and how they

were just a couple of guys passionate about

making cool music. Listen to countless origin

stories and it will all have a common theme –

Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Post Malone and

Everything Everything all made music early

on and put it out into the ether without hopes

of landing a record deal straight away, but

because they worked hard on their craft and

developed a unique style, they stood out.

A common theme is apparent when reading

these testimonials; all these fans are united

by the music and how it resonates with them

on an individual level. It’s a simple formula –

write about what is important to you, stay true

to your brand and don’t make music that you

don’t believe in. People will appreciate honesty,

raw emotion and relate to it in some way or

another. If you can embed this philosophy into

your core ethos then you’re on the right track.

The power of good music shows you that it

has no target demographic. Fanbase transcends

gender, age and location. In the age of digital

media and obsession with ‘targeting your key

audience’, this is a sentiment that can be easily

lost. Something these testimonials show us is

that there is no one thing that attracts a fanbase.

For some people, it’s the lyrics resonate

the most with them. For others, it’s composition.

For most, it’s the fact that an artist helped

them through a difficult period of their life and

their music from that point on becomes associated

with it. Something more powerful than

digital marketing. Remember, don’t neglect

your sound and the rest will follow.

——

I truly hope this article has inspired any budding

musicians reading this but if you want to

have a chat and throw about some ideas I’m

always up for a chinwag. Just search for @

angelibhandal on IG or via the contact form on

this site.

Thank you to all the individuals in ‘At the

Border’ who were kind enough to

participate in this. If you’re an Everything

Everything fan and want to be a part of the

community, don’t hesitate to join here: https://

www.facebook.com/groups/attheborder/

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PLANETS OF THE DISTANT PAST (IN BIRDSONG)

An Original Short Story by Bard

Through the chaos of the primordial mists of

time whence before we walked I scryed.

Beyond the veil which separates our time from

the times before and after I peered the ebb and

rebuttal of reality twisting in the hues of long

forgotten sequins. Presently I know not of

what I saw; my mind reeling from the psychedelic

turmoil which elicited in me, somehow, a

tranquility. My transcendence and descent into

primal states began when I saw Everything...

Everything.

There was nothing, at first. Only a dark

water which rippled. The ichor, dredged from

the earth, sustained and hid in the very

shadows that spawned it four drummers. Their

enchanting melodies simultaneously startled

and soothed the tarry lake which fed them.

With every chaotic movement seemingly

erratic, limbs contorted in a most mechanical

way to pound and pound at the light skins that

covered each boisterous instrument. Each of

their eyes was sealed. Hiding perhaps? Hiding

from the gray reality they dwelt in? Mouths

agape, they shouted their rhythmic tones, the

first song of the universe. It was Everything...

Everything…

Ghastly flames erupted from the earth

and like the drummers’ contorted faces writhed

wildly. Pain and pleasure all at once. As their

maternal lake burnt throughout the worlds that

were not yet sprung to reality.

Vibrant essences washed away the darkness.

Coiling arms tenderly wrent apart the flesh of

the void. My throat was heavy as if gluttony

closed my esophagus, the bubbled air of the

world I was in choking me to sustain my

ethereal body. The beats of the tune still

pumped my heart. Infantile ‘b’s escaped my

mouth. My skin hardened into osseous

fragments, salts assailed my eyes, and my

body was caught in a stupor. The brightness of

the fiery concussions straddled me before the

arms cut through my carapace, flaying apart

my body as it frayed my sanity. I was broken

and as oily as the bulbous protrusions bursting

from my breaches. A rush of force throttled

me upwards, the noose which held me invading

my lungs and piercing deep into my soul.

Incomprehensible shapes danced in front of

my visions.

Oils slicked my eyes as it did the many

needles upon my torne body. Colour. An

assortment of pinks, reds, oranges, blues,

greens, and manners which one may describe

as the ramblings of certain seizing artists tore

and splattered reality. In a void they coalesced.

The Planets. On silver explosions men sat in

prismatic splendour. Melting giants floated on

seas of clouds. Remnants of the oil void froze

and exploded into new forms and colours the

likes of which no mortal or immortal would

ever be able to divine again. Polyps and webs

and holes fattened and thinned like hoses being

filled and emptied with water. Within their

reflections something hideous took shape; a

cancerous, greasy, frail blob of black staining

the technicolour neon moulds of heaven. An

ape. My eyes contorted and adjusted to the

sun scorched world. Sweat dappled my brow

and hairs.

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Muddled green gems on twisting auburn

serpents surrounded me with bright pink

spinning flowers. Like the indistinct

eyes of some great beast of nature whose

slithering crown was its fingers piercing

through the light soil. A red and orange

and brown orb hung above me inside a

stagnant, matte void which I could not

recognize as mine. No beginning or end

there was to the world and no business

had I here. Filled with wrath and empty

rage I assaulted myself upon one of the

boscage. As a rag my limp limbs thrust

themselves on the wood. A silver throne

upon a tall tower spun, calling to me. I

saw, maw wide, humming and shouting a

hymn sung by alien vocals and

accompanied by even more technological

instruments. Each spin saw me slapping

myself onto the log and each slap back on

the throne. Two men splitting from one

in a mirrored silver bridge wafted a fan.

Suddenly, the muted tones of the world

evaporated into a neon seizure of young

blues, dangerous pinks, violent oranges,

villainous greens, and shrieking reds.

Cubes and streaks of perception fluttered

past me and froze. Once more into time I

saw a distant memory of a thing I had not

known.

Steele and iron, a cold future cntrasting

the kalaedescopic

infractions of temporal temperature which

I was swathed in. No more were the Planets

in this time, only a vast scape of black

dotted by white pricks.

Twas from this scape once more I was

birthed from. The earth returned to its

dull colours. The forest of my

neo-genesis was dead, given way to

cracking sticks and mountain faces pulled

through space. Men ran through vale with

indescribable violence, striking roughly

as I did myself. Observing them in a curtain

that was and was not its own banal

blue-grey four familiar strangers were. In

suits of black they sat still in disembodied

moods. Grim

faces looked into the fractured events. I

beheld my birth and

demise, the war between men, and

Everything at once, replaying

simultaneously as the events themselves

happened and were yet to. Gold was the

phonograph in the black cave. Bright was

the light that illuminated the

barbaric murderer’s painted face as he

peered through the chaos of the primordial

mists of time whence before we

walked.

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EVERYTHING EVERYTHING MUSIC VIDEO

CONCEPT TREATMENTS

By: Emily G.

I. LUDDITIES AND LAMBS

The video opens on a movie-credits style

splashscreen that just says EVERYTHING

EVERYTHING, and then abrupt-cuts to the

next slide, LUDDITES & LAMBS. Plain text

on plain background. The video proper starts

when the opening guitar riff drops out around

0:22 and we start moving into the body of the

song. The setting: a suburban or lightly-urban

sidewalk, not really many other people around

but still an area that is obviously lived-in and

populated. The video’s protagonist (Jonathan

or otherwise) is dead-center in the frame,

walking down an unremarkable sidewalk,

toward the camera. They walk in beat with

the tempo of the music, but other than that,

they seem pretty casual. At first. They sing the

lyrics straight into the camera, with an upbeat

and expressive face. Like they’re really feeling

it, but not anything super pushy or aggressive.

At first.

As the song progresses, there are moments in

the lyrics that sometimes reference

specific parts of the human body, or present

vivid metaphors for specific actions. And

sometimes when it hits one of these beats-

-crack! The screen goes black, with a flash

of an image like we’re seeing an X-ray of a

bone getting broken in real time. We return to

the shot of the protagonist, and now there’s...

something wrong with them. Whatever injury

we just saw, the protagonist is sporting that

injury now. A bandage around the skull. A

broken arm in a sling. Blood at their ribcage.

Something up with their leg that leaves them

walking with a bit of a limp. Doctor--IN! and

animal--OUT! Each time this happens, over

the course of the whole song, the protagonist

gets more and more battered, but their

marching tempo never falters. We also never

get another angle on their progress; the video

appears to be all in one shot, one take.

As the protagonist’s physical condition

deteriorates, their persistence in marching

toward the camera becomes less fun and upbeat,

and more manic and laser-focused. As if

they’re on a mission and will stop at nothing to

continue their progress, even if they’re bleeding

out onto this innocuous sidewalk. It starts

to become incredibly, incredibly unnerving,

especially because they never stop making eye

contact with the camera, and never once falter

on the song’s tongue-twister lyrics. Meanwhile,

the innocuous sidewalk becomes… less

innocuous.

As the protagonist keeps marching, nothing

comes between them and the camera, but

behind them, in their wake, more and more

unsettling things seem to happen. A figure

tears across the screen as if running for their

life from another person who is chasing after.

Something plummets into the windshield of a

car and shatters it, setting off the car alarm, its

headlights flashing. Smoke or maybe some

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sort of suspicious colored gas starts billowing

out from the side of the frame from an unseen

source, engulfing the scene. Because the

camera angle never changes, focusing only on

the protagonist, we never get the full story of

these disconcerting incidents; just snapshots,

and the uneasy realization that the world we

are in is not as innocent and comfortable as we

thought. As the protagonist’s body breaks down

more and more, the streets around them become

more and more chaotic and apocalyptic, but

because it is always behind them, never in front,

the protagonist remains eerily unfazed, fixed

unerringly on their final goal. Marching straight

toward the camera.We wonder if maybe they do

know exactly what is happening, after all.

Surely they can’t be missing all of this.

how can i be sure there’s nothing in my body

The protagonist finally succumbs to all of their

horrible wounds and injuries, and collapses onto

the sidewalk, out of frame. One last cut: the

camera angle finally changes, and we see them

prone and broken in a pool of their own blood,

smoke emanating from somewhere unseen. Cut

immediately to black; THE END.

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II. TWO FOR NERO

The video opens with some slow, wide pans

across a dark, artificial landscape. There are

no buildings, no civilization, just rolling hills

as far as the eye can see, with a forest way in

the distance to the west; but it looks like the

kind of hyper-simplistic rendition of “rolling

hills with a forest” one might see in a children’s

book or TV show. It’s night with no

moon, and there is little detail or bright light,

the whole scene rendered in a palette evocative

of the MAN ALIVE album cover but

muted--super low contrast purples and blues,

with the occasional highlights of magenta

or cyan, and even those aren’t very bright. A

storybook world of perpetual late-dusk.

By the time the lyrics begin, the camera has

found the band, who are standing around

playing the song on one of these hills. Or,

they are pretending to play: Instead of

their real instruments, the four of them are

equipped with larger-than-life, two-dimensional

plaything versions, like very elaborate

stylized cardboard cutouts. These pretend

instruments have been drawn in the same

color palette as the rest of the scene with

thick, black, cartoony outlines and detailing.

The band themselves are also fading into this

low-contrast indigo world; they look less like

true color video, and more like black and

white footage that has been artificially colorized,

to match the world around them. They

continue to plod along through the song with

their play-pretend instruments and tech. (It’s

especially obvious that they’re just pretending,

because the first two-plus minutes of the

song don’t really have any true instrumentation

beyond the harpsichord.) When the rest

of the instruments truly join in, at about 2:13,

the video shifts focus, and suddenly we’re

back over by that forest in the distance, from

which there is emerging an army. Maybe this

is the first time in the video we’ve seen them,

or maybe there have been a couple hints to

their approach intercut with the footage of the

band’s performance so far, but now they’re on

their way for real. They are a dark, monochromatic

force with generic and relatively featureless

faces, but they are fully kitted out in

modern equipment, helmets and fatigues and

body-armor and large, imposing, unsettling

guns. They’re the same color as the woods

they emerge from. They continue over the

hills toward the band. The band doesn’t see

them coming until it’s too late.

The four band members discard their instruments

and attempt to brace themselves to

fight back, but when they are able to produce

weapons, the guns they have are… just as cartoonish

and cardboardy as their instruments

were. They are children’s two-dimensional

playthings, not real guns. The band doesn’t

stand a chance. They spend the back half of

the song trying and failing to fight off this

invading force, each of their deaths rendered

beautifully and viscerally in slow motion.

Mike, taking cover behind his cardboard drum

set, is the last one standing, but he doesn’t

make it either. When the band is defeated, the

army continues marching on, straight overtop

of their fallen bodies and toys, as if they

aren’t even there. We watch the army continue

into the distance as the video fades, with the

final line of the song sung over just a blank

screen.

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III. WEIGHTS

The video opens on the protagonist (maybe

Jonathan, but probably a generic nobody)

stepping up a broad, big-city sidewalk toward

an office building. They are dressed in

impeccably sharp business attire, not a hair

out of place. They take a quick glance up at

the building in front of them--it’s an impossible

tall skyscraper, goes up dozens of floors

easily--and sigh, before stepping inside. The

interior is just as glossy and impersonal as

the exterior, a wide, polished, barren lobby of

marble and glass. The protagonist steps across

the floor like they’ve done this

hundreds of times before and approaches

a bank of elevators; one of them is already

open, with a couple of people inside, and they

wave the protagonist over, holding the door.

They squeeze themself into the crowded elevator

car and begin to ascend.

As the song continues, this ascent gets…

complicated. People are constantly getting in

and out of the elevator, stopping it at different

floors; holding the door for extended periods

of time to have idle conversations, not letting

the car keep moving; at one point, the

elevator even ends up descending again

somehow, instead of continuing upward, and

the protagonist is growing increasingly fidgety

and frustrated. We see them, when no one else

is looking, jamming repeatedly on the button

for the topmost floor for just a second or two.

Slowly, the elevator keeps going up. Finally,

the protagonist is the only person left in the

car, and then...it breaks down. Malfunctions

and stops moving entirely. They take off the

jacket of their suit and roll up their sleeves,

fucking around in the elevator car to try to get

it moving again, taking matters into their own

hands. They manage to climb out of a hatch in

the ceiling that’s presumably there for maintenance

and do some kind of mechanical

fumbling to the pulleys and other infrastructure

of the elevator that drops it a few lurching,

terrifying inches--we see the shock on

their face. When they get back down into

the car--even more rumpled than ever, their

pristine business demeanor gone, clothes

wrinkled and hair askew--they manage to

wrench the sliding doors open, and there’s a

big enough gap at the bottom now that they

can slip out of the elevator and onto a proper

floor. They move with haste as they take the

stairs the rest of the way up to the top floor.

No, not to the top floor… To the roof.

The disheveled protagonist has finally made it

to their destination, and right on Friend, don’t

break the code, we see them in profile from

mid-torso up, against a backdrop of nothing

but clear blue sky. With a quick cut, we’re

now seeing them from behind, standing on

the very edge of this building’s roof, and we

suddenly realize that the whole reason they’ve

been climbing to the top of this skyscraper

of a building is so they can throw themself

off of it. They spend most of the following

verse just standing there, taking several deep,

contemplative breaths, and we see them from

a number of establishing angles before they

jump, right on the swelling sting of ends! at

about 3:39.

This building is very, very tall, so we watch

the protagonist plummet toward the ground

for a while, but as they fall, the environment

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around them morphs and changes. As the

music builds around them, they’re no longer

falling past their office building--they’re

falling through a thick rainforest of trees, or

down into a craggy ravine, or through layer

after layer of puffy white clouds against a

backdrop of impossibly blue sky. We see

them fall as though through the building

itself, through floors and ceilings, past

cubicles and computers with A4 paper

flying everywhere. Soon they’re no longer

dropping vertically, but soaring all over in

three dimensions, racing through the sky,

out of atmosphere to star-studded outer

space, through all music is swelling to a

celebratory frenzy. There’s a pulsating swirl

of rainbow color. A vortex of a black hole.

Maybe, we think, they didn’t jump--what

we’re seeing now can’t possibly be real, so

maybe none of it was, right from the very

start. The protagonist’s face, when we can

see it, is smiling and transcendent as they

fly through time and space itself.

But when the music cuts out at 5:04 and it’s

just Jonathan’s voice sustaining that final

note into the nothingness, the video

abruptly cuts back to an overhead shot of

the protagonist already having hit the pavement.

We missed the moment of impact, but

we’re seeing the aftermath, the body broken

and bleeding and the shouts that start to

pick up when other people out on this busy

city street begin to notice what has happened.

We know how it all ends. We slowly,

slowly zoom out away from the protagonist’s

body, straight up, fades into muffled

quiet as we get further and further further

away, and then the video fades out, too.

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GET TO HEAVEN ALBUM REVIEW

BY: LIZ CLARKE

Get to Heaven is my favourite album of all

time. It’s been with me through many of life’s

trials over the past few years, and I cannot see

that changing any time soon. It’s the logical

conclusion of every single brilliant thing that

can be achieved within this certain strand of

music: complex and beautiful arrangements

that are still unbelievably catchy, vocal performances

that sincerely are like no other to

me, and a lyrical narrative and plot-driven

quality that I just still cannot seem to truly

wrap my head around. I wrote the majority

of this review a few months ago for another

project, however am revamping certain things

for the purpose of being a true celebration of

everything I love about this band, this album,

and the significance it deserves to have in the

conversation of the most truly fantastic pop

music.

The album opens with To The Blade, a track

which after a misleading and subdued opening,

explodes dramatically in the chorus.

Lyrically, this one almost serves as a final

letter to the family of the terrorist who leads

the album’s narrative, as he tries to reason

with himself about the events that will take

place. When asked about the track, the band

have said that they were trying to get inside

the heads of people who do awful things, in

an attempt to maybe, possibly, see why they

do what they do. Then comes Distant Past, the

band and the album’s hit, which opens with

a sparkly and strange rap in Higgs’ signature

British accent. “Drag my tongue across

the sand, So happy just to crawl across the

land, Soon I’ll be the best around, I’m gonna

keep my thunder underground.” Are the

track’s opening lyrics, and they’re our first

true glimpse into the character of our album’s

narrator: somebody with a lot of pride, who

craves an impossible status. The chorus proclaims

a need to be taken to the distant past,

and this can be taken two ways: either as the

voice switching to the real Higgs himself and

expressing his desire to return to a world without

all of this confusion, or as a caricature of a

reactionary worldview.

Soon after is Regret, one of the album’s more

traditional rock songs, as well as when the story

truly starts to develop. “Did you ever watch

your life, slide out of your hands? You wish

it never had, but all of that’s in the past.” My

interpretation of this track has always been

about further radicalisation within the pipeline

towards evil, and the realisation that your

worst is about to come. The drumming on this

one is especially fantastic too, the almost tribal

mechanics tower over you so intensely in

the way that so many tracks here do: and that’s

what I love about it. It never loses your attention,

and it’s almost impossible to allow it to

slip into the background. Everything is blown

out of proportion, and you won’t be forgetting

that. This theme continues with Track 6: The

Wheel (Is Turning Now). The lyrics here are

where the sinister undertones really start to

rise to the top: the song title alone should give

the impression that there is truly something

building up. The sound on this one is completely

unparalleled in my eyes too:

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almost industrial-tinged in the loud and

bombastic, in-your-face production with

almost zero negative space even between verses:

until suddenly the track comes to a halt and

you’re thrown into the album’s musical black

hole: two minutes of deafening near-silence,

with only a singular pulsating beat and Higgs’

vague repetition of “Do you have any ideas?”.

Something is coming, and then:

Track 7, Fortune 500 is where the act of

terrorism that has been whispered about in

hushed tones since track one seems to have

occurred. Whilst most of the album thus far has

been danceable, and the true intentions behind

the lyrics easy to ignore, this is quieter, more

anxious and jittery. A loud police siren

sample plays above all instruments, whilst

Higgs’ falsetto whispers and screams with a

disturbed anxiety. He’s committed an atrocity

and knows this, but it’s too late now. “I know

I’m only living half of a life, they said that

I should do this for my sons.” It’s a twisted

experience of a track and seems to catch a

listener off guard, and that’s why I’d consider

it to be the most vital track to a record whose

concepts and ideas are often overlooked by

its listeners. Then comes Blast Door which is

a sudden and intense switch back into Higgs’

personal

lyricism: in what he has called ‘just an extremely

angry rant at everything I hate about

the world.’ some of the wittiest one-liners of

the record are apparent here: “Shoot a starving

porno for the yuppies in a circle” appears to

detail the upper class’s fetishisation and

commodification of poverty and the people

with issues that they could never imagine,

and is probably the single greatest line in the

band’s discography. Musically, this one features

Jonathan rapping once again, a sound which I

must stress won’t be for everybody, as well as

some of the most epic backing vocals from the

entire band during the chorus.

Closing track Warm Healer is the last that I

want to shine special light onto: a track which,

like opener To The Blade, feels almost like a

letter- whilst To The Blade was felt as if it was

addressed to a family, Warm Healer feels more

personal, as if addressed to a romantic partner.

“Babe, they call me the medicine man, but my

old pills don’t work anymore.” This semantic

field of medical imagery used throughout gives

the impression that the character believes that

his actions are a source for good, even if he

knows inside that what he is doing is wrong.

Another more unobtrusive track, and one

which is unique in the way that it seems to

feature nothing more than a chunky bassline,

the lightest synths, and vocals at points: an idea

have seen very few bands attempt, and even

less succeed at. It’s a cold and desolate sendoff

after the often hyperactive and excitable music

of the album.

And all of that is why, without any competition,

Get to Heaven is the most essential key

to understanding my music taste. It’s a record

which can be enjoyed in two ways: for some of

the most detailed and interesting yet danceable

and largely accessible pop music I can think of;

or as a record which goes in depth on the story

of a character whose actions may be awful, but

leaves you possibly understanding the meaning

behind and motivation it, something I believe

we forget about too much at times. It’s the record

we still need in the times of a world gone

mad, a record which truly deserves the place it

has in the hearts of so many. Thank you

Everything Everything.

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BORDERING ON GENIUS: A LOVE

LETTER TO JON’S VOCABULARY

BY: JOEL WILSON

I’m a rap lyricist. I’ve made numerous rap

albums and written and directed a medieval rap

film. The art of rap fascinates me, and I have a

blog 70elevators.com to prove it.

Why Am I Telling You All This?

Well, because I see our beloved Jonathan

not just as an incredible singer but also as an

exceptional lyricist and rapper. I know he’s

downplayed and joked about his dexterous

spoken-word-rap style moments, yet he clearly

loves rap music and has been influenced by

rappers as well as singer/songwriters. With the

breadth of different rap vocal deliveries nowadays

Jon really should be able to unselfconsciously

say “I’m a singer-songwriter-rapper”

and go ahead and do rap duets with Kid Cudi,

Nadia Rose or Kano.

In 2014 journalist Matt Daniels put together

a study of rapper’s vocabulary in which he

ranked well-known rappers by the number of

unique words used in their lyrics. You might

have come across it. This mesmerizing project

compared the first 35,000 lyrics of prominent

rap artists, revealing which rappers had the

broadest vocabulary.

The Idea

Earlier this summer I was suddenly struck by

the idea of comparing Higgs’ lyricism (quantitively

in this case; of course, there’s plenty of

ways of comparing lyrical output and prowess)

to that of the rap artists in Daniels’ study. Here

are the steps I took to make this fanciful idea a

reality…

Step One: Counting Up Jon’s EE Lyrics

As Daniels points out rappers usually reach

35,000 words within 3 to 5 albums.

Unsurprisingly there’s generally more words

per album on a rap project than other music

genres. So, how many Everything Everything

lyrics are there? Including B-sides, bonus

tracks and all the album tracks (all the way up

to Violent Sun, the most recent release when I

wrote this) it’s 23,518 words.

Doh! There’s an obvious problem. As the lyricist

for Everything Everything, Jon hasn’t yet

written the necessary 35,000 lyrics for me to

do a vocabulary comparison.

So, I had to do the next best thing: figure out

Jon’s unique word count for those 23,518 and

then do a projection (a forecast of sorts) of

what his unique word count will be for when

he gets to 35,000. And that 35,000 milestone

is surely something every EE fan wants to see

happen!

Step Two: Discovering the unique word

count of Jon’s EE lyrics

Before using this wonderful online calculator

https://planetcalc.com/3205/ I removed every

comma and any other punctuation mark from

every Everything Everything lyric to ensure

that the calculator didn’t count for example

‘me’ and ‘me?’ as two separate unique words.

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Now the big moment – I copied and pasted

Jon’s lyrics into the calculator and hit

CALCULATE. The result: In Jon’s 23518

lyrics there are 2849 unique words. This means

every 8.2 words is unique!

Step Three: the impossible task of forecasting

Jon’s unique word count once he

hits 35,000 lyrics

This is of course a matter of opinion. I hope

Everything Everything continues on the trajectory

of albums with a rich diversity of song

structures and subject matter. Sometimes an

EE song requires a lot of lyrical repetition:

for example, ‘A Fever Dream’ or ‘Can’t Do’.

Sometimes just 15 words in a song is enough:

‘A New Deep’. And as we all know Jon is capable

of bringing out the big guns and blasting

out 571 words including scimitar, coastguard,

murder-font, overlord, flintstone, cerebellum,

gorilla and hemisphere within a single song.

Has the EE album unique word count decreased

from album to album? You would

imagine that as time goes on, you’ll end up

using terms you’ve used before.

Man Alive – 735 unique words

(367.5 words per song)

Arc – 432 unique words (295.5

words per song)

Get to Heaven – 286 unique words

(319 words per song)

Fever Dream – 142 unique words

(300 words per song)

All 4 Albums - 1595 unique words

(An aside: this means that the lyrics on original

non-album tracks, bonus tracks/deluxe version

tracks make up 1254 of EE’s unique words)

So, there’s a decrease in the number of unique

words on each album. Interestingly the four

songs released from Re-animator already add

66 new unique words to Jon’s EE lyric catalogue.

Using that number as a guide there

could be over 180 new unique words on Re-animator.

There might well be more ‘Eeeeeeeeeee!’

choruses coming our way, but I’m guessing

that Jon will not abandon his other signature

move: the arcane or geeky reference. Jon

loves obscure things as well as complicated

concepts and he’s not afraid to include multiple

odd terms in a single EE song. And how many

bands reference fatbergs or NPCs or craven

baboons?

So, what’s my forecast for Jon’s next 11,482

lyrics, taking him to that golden 35,000 milestone?

He’ll confound us with another 1050

unique words. At least I believe it now.

That means I predict that in total Jon will sing/

speak/rap/chant/wail 3899 unique words by the

time he gets to 35,000 lyrics.

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Step Four: Insert Jon into Daniels’

chart

Boom! There Jon is, among some great lyricists.

For those of you who aren’t going to

check Daniels’ original interactive chart,

Just ahead of Jon with 4017 unique words is

Kendrick Lamar.

Mac Miller has 3960 and Run DMC have

3899.

Then there’s my estimate of Jon’s 3889, followed

closely by Dizzee Rascal with 3863 and

Tupac with 3815.

Also, in the same section of the chart there’s

Snoop with 3797, Kanye with 3760 and Missy

Elliot with 3747.

Where’s Jay-Z? 4275. How about Eminem?

4480. And who’s the rapper with the widest

vocabulary on the chart? Aesop Rock with

an astounding 7879 unique words in his first

35,000 lyrics. That means every 5th word is a

unique one. Incredible.

Step Five: Draw some conclusions

So. There. I’ve done it. I’ve quantitively

compared Jon’s lyrics to famous rapper lyrics

and he’s right there in the middle of the field,

holding his own. Roughly every 9th word is a

unique one.

So what? What’s the point?

Well, it’s not just Everything Everything’s

name that feels encyclopedic. I see Jon’s lyrics

as a key aspect of the audacity at the heart of

Everything Everything

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Everything Everything and one of the reasons

why we love them. Put simply, being overwhelmed

by the imagery and ideas in almost

every song is a part of the fun.

When I discovered that MY KZ, UR BF was

about imagining a military missile exploding

in the world of the sitcom ‘Friends’ I was in

awe. I thought, ‘What? This was released as a

single? This band have my full attention for as

long as they exist’.

Jon refers to the missile as Lucifer, includes

both A4 paper and a Faraday cage in the chorus,

and describes the body of the protagonist

from Everybody Loves Raymond being torn

apart.

And as we know MY KZ, UR BF isn’t the only

lyrically overwhelming song in EE’s catalogue.

The sheer excess of falsetto rap crammed into

a 4-minute song coupled with an often weighty

theme sounds like the recipe for a sonic

disaster. Yet time and time again Everything

Everything create something exquisite instead.

Jon’s adventurous, gutsy, funny, beautiful,

heart-breaking, apocalyptic, satire-heavy,

unnerving lyrics feel hard-earned. Jon is repeatedly

distilling the beauty and horror that

overwhelms him into individual songs. We’ve

been overwhelmed too and these songs speak

our bewilderment, desire and dread. And be

honest, you want it.

Step Six: Pick out a few notable and

peculiar facts about Jon’s lyrics.

1.Mentions of Everything Everything in

their own songs: Luddites And Lambs,

Regrets

2.Torso of the Week: ‘Tyne to Tweed’

sounds like ‘time to tweet’

3.Duet: ‘Sulphur howling over you’ sounds

like ‘So far I’m in love with you’

4.Did you know a volcano’s crater is called

a ‘caldera’? Yes, probably because of Jon.

5.Warm Healer refers to a ‘Chupacabra’, a

mythical, hairless, blood-sucking creature

that roamed México and Central America

25 years ago.

6.Distant Past mentions ‘Crom’ a

mean-spirited deity from Conan the Barbarian

Everything Everything songs hit us all in

different ways, but there’s something so winsome

and beguiling and perpetually baffling

about Jon’s lyrics that we return to them again

and again.

We find ourselves uncovering an odd poetic

treasure or tapping into an unfamiliar kind of

empathy or feeling the dreadful weight of an

unspoken fear afresh.

We need to be baffled, horrified, confronted,

wooed, questioned, and invited to dance into

the unknown. And Jon is happy to oblige.

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ANALYSIS: WHY PRESIDENT HEARTBEAT IS A

HIDDEN MASTERPIECE

By: @WhosDatPanda

President heartbeat is one of the more

underrated songs from the band, yet remains

my all-time favourite from them, despite

certain members disliking the song (looking at

you, Jon). Nonetheless, it is one of my personal

favourites and embodies the vibe of the

album whilst using political themes, tying into

other songs such as regret and the wheel, and

having an 80’s inspired sound with a bright

vibe like the majority of the first half of the

album does.

The overall theme seems to surround juxtaposing

and comparing the similarities between

radicalisation and politicians as well as

speaking on the state of society and how

people will blindly follow a corrupt leader.

The lyrics in the song can all be related to

Terrorists and Politicians, making us realise

how corrupt the system is and how in reality,

they’re eerily similar. In my interpretation

this song feels like an alternate timeline to

the wheel, which shows how our narrator is

converted into

radicalisation. In a 2015 interview, Jon said in

regards to the ‘Get To Heaven’ album: ‘’It is

about not being a passenger in life. The feeling

you should get from it is to wake up, get out of

your chair and confront your demons.

Anything that isn’t letting life wash over you

and get you down.’’. I believe this song represents

that.

The song begins with an isolated ‘President

Heartbeat’ before we’re suddenly hit by a

drum entrance and guitar buildup that hit out

of nowhere transitioning suddenly into the first

verse. This verse contains a groovy feel with

80’s inspired synths throughout the instrumental.

The drums additionally play a big role in

encompassing the feel of the song.

The ‘real’ opening line is ‘were you born in a

cave now? Do you live in a cage now’ which

ties into the theme of Evolution which is

prevalent throughout their discography. The

narrator is seemingly asking the audience a

question, trying to provoke thought -

comparing the first of mankind who lived in

caves to us in the modern day, living in homes

and houses. The description of a modern day

home as a ‘cage’ implies that we are not truly

free - we are trapped into a monotonous and

robotic daily cycle by society and don’t have

much time to actually explore interests. The

track immediately begins by pointing out

social issues that likely serve as propaganda

or motivation fed to our narrator to eventually

become a terrorist, as well as being something

politicians would likely say to try and attract

people to support and vote for them.

The next line about bursting into a flame is

seemingly talking about human combustion;

it is possibly referring to a cult-like leader (as

seen in the regret video) or terrorist that has

done this to protest or set an example. Right

after we see the narrator doubt this, rhetorically

asking ‘will they call you a human being?’.

If you commit acts of terrorism like this would

you be viewed as a monster or a person led

down a wrong path? The narrator is thinking

about whether extremism is really a good idea

or not, despite what he has been told by others

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trying to manipulate him.

The next set of lines compare parts of the human

body to parts of a city - glass spires,

concrete, sewers and a city wall. The description

of a spine as a glass spire may be showing

the fragility of human life as well as commenting

on political and social leaders who often

have ‘no spine’ and act out of cowardice and

fear. The comparison of blood to a sewer is

likely showing that these leaders who lie and

manipulate are toxic people - sewers are where

all the waste and fat and everything people

don’t want is stored - which could be showing

how the politicians are in the eyes of our narrator

like waste and everything wrong with society.

This theme is explored in further depth 5

years later on Arch Enemy. The skin being the

city wall clearly shows how these politicians

have thick skin and don’t let anything get to

them - they’re almost indestructible. Overall

the description of the city may be hinting at

the narrator thinking of becoming a terrorist,

looking at the city he may possibly be about to

destroy and blow up.

The narrator then says he wants to be different,

but acknowledges that he cannot unless he

takes drastic measures and may never be able

to be ‘different’. He doesn’t want to be corrupted

by power like politicians and important

figures, but he wants to change society.

The next lines about ‘promising heaven’ could

be interpreted in a few different ways. It could

be showing how politicians often make false

and outlandish claims, often to get people to

vote for their party, or alternately could

reference terrorism - many ISIS bombers are

brainwashed and told that they will ‘get to

heaven’ (which ironically is the album title) if

they commit acts of terrorism such as

becoming suicide bombers. The fact that he

has been told it will ‘happen soon’ could also

make sense in both interpretations - they’re

either committing acts of extremism to try and

change society, or this politician is about to

rise into a position of greater power such as

the president.

‘Can you boil inside me’ could refer to his

growing anger with society as well as calling

back to the ‘and your blood is a sewer’ line -

boiling water gets rid of any bacteria, and the

narrator could believe that committing these

acts will cleanse him of any wrong. ‘Can you

radicalise me?’ Establishes that this song is almost

definitely about terrorism - the politicians

and corrupt leaders stir up trouble and create

a society surrounded by greed and power.

The narrator is asking someone to radicalise

him. He feels like he has nowhere else to go

and wants to take drastic measures to change

society and cause a reaction, likely through

violence. ‘Can you take away everything?’

shows the narrator in desperation, pleading for

this person can take away all of the problems

in the world, and may also refer to suicide

bombing - taking away their life and others

to spark this change. It represents how these

terrorist recruiters and politicians often take

advantage of those who are weaker and going

through pain.

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As the chorus hits the instrumental changes,

incorporating a memorable and catchy baseline

as well as going even more upbeat, contrasting

the dark themes of this song.

In the chorus he asks to be turned into someone

new, someone that he likely believes is

better than his past self and other men women

of society. He wants to change into what he believes

will benefit the world (likely terrorism).

The ‘President heartbeat’, the title of the song

refers to being promised change by a

presidential candidate which is never fulfilled,

as well as possibly signifying some kind of

attack against the president - the focus on

‘heartbeat’ implies that he could be a target

of an assassination. The next lines - ‘thanks

a million, yeah thanks for nothing at all’ are

clearly sarcastic - he is now aware that he has

been sold a false hope and has fallen for it. It

yet again comments on how most promises

made by politicians and

powerful figures often go unfulfilled and are

merely there to sway people into voting for

them.

The beginning of the second verse asks, us,

the listener a question ‘do you live in the new

world, on the grave of the old world?’ The old

world could be being at peace with nature,

with religion and traditions. However now that

world is dead and we are instead Surrounded

by a society of greed, capitalism, radicalisation

and threat. This also links to the colonisation

of America where the peaceful indigenous

people were killed and had their land taken

from them by European colonisers, showing

another flawed part of society and how people

will do anything to get what they want historically.

The next line is my personal favourite:

‘with a coffin of sunlight that you carry upon

your back’. This imagery-rich metaphor juxtaposes

the idea of a coffin, representing death

and usually carrying dead bodies, with sunlight

which is often associated with warmth and

happiness. This metaphor may be talking about

how people are still believing in false promises,

hope, and old ideas of perfection which

are now long gone. We are painted the idea

that reality is a lot darker than we realise, and

people don’t want to face it and instead would

rather believe that everything is better than it

actually is, believing in false claims if it makes

them feel better.

The next lines focus again on speaking to the

audience, showing how we often turn a blind

eye to issues. ‘Feel the rat at your ankle, And

the rush in your eyeball’. Rats are often seen

as dirty sewer animals, carrying diseases. They

also spread the bubonic plague, which ended

up wiping out 1/3 of the European population.

The rat at your ankle is referring to the sneaky

politicians who often lie and deceive people

for their own gain: the rats of society.

‘And they’re bludgeoning cycle And the way

you don’t even feel’.

The ‘bludgeoning cycle’ refers to our current

society, where we are all metaphorically ‘beaten’

and manipulated by leaders into a continuous

cycle of oppression and corruption, going

through the same processes in our daily lives

over and over and over until we inevitably die.

In the modern world so many people are suffering

due to social issues which are all often

overlooked by the government. As the listener

we come to the realisation that a lot of the time

we don’t even react or feel anything, we happily

contribute to this corrupt society and state of

the world.

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The next 4 lines are particularly dark, with the

narrator admitting that he often thinks about

his darkest fears in and his will to live a better

life, as well as thinking about death and

burning. ‘Well I think about living, And I think

about burning, And I think about dying, And

I think about all this fear’. The repetition if ‘I

think’ could show his withering mental state

and how his thoughts are overwhelming and

conflicting him.

He wants to get out of society and has good

intentions, to be useful and contribute to the

world. He WANTS to be hopeful and believe

we can change for the better but acknowledges

it’s not realistic. He just wants to get out of the

state we are living in. He is vulnerable and

desperate for the world to change, and is

therefore susceptible to terrorists and political

leaders that can brainwash and corrupt him,

desperate to get what they want. Here we see

the theme and comparison between politicians/

terrorists continue.

We then go into a chorus before an

instrumental break. This has an insane solo

with a crazy guitar riff which has a more i

mpactful and violent feel in comparison to the

chilled instrumentation throughout the rest of

the song. This not only builds up further tension

within the track and creates a

memorable moment whilst showing off the

amazing technical skills of the band, but also

feeds into the theme of the song.

We then transition back to the normal

instrumentation before building up for final

chorus. Here we have a few ad-libs from Jon

and then we get the final line of the song:

‘You must have known this was coming’.

His tone, which is lighter on the rest of the

song, is suddenly a lot darker. This line

perfectly ends the track, as everything that’s

been going on in this song was a warning for

what was about to come - a revolution and

change. Throughout the album we are given

hints that our narrator is slowly descending

into madness and is being corrupted into

terrorism due to his vulnerable and weak

emotional state, and it all leads up to this moment.

The moment where he is about to do

something awful, something he regrets. People

that are terrorists have warning signs and

motives, feeling a disconnect from society and

the awful state of the world, wanting to escape,

but the only place to go was to cult-like

leaders that brainwash and radicalise people

into committing inhumane actions, being sold

the promise of getting to heaven and changing

society.

The song ends on a powerful and vulnerable

message that in my opinion is so impactful.

This feels like an alternate intro to the darker

half of the album, feeling like a mirrored

timeline to The Wheel or a possible predecessor

to Fortune 500. This is the moment we

realise that our character is about to commit an

act of terrorism.This embodies everything Jon

wanted to do on this album - to get inside the

mind of a terrorist and understand WHY they

do what they do, as well as having very important

social commentary and speaking on

the issues with our modern society. The happy,

chilled vibe contrasted with the dark themes of

politics and terrorism tie into the album perfectly

and other callbacks such as evolution encompass

all of the themes that make up get to

heaven. This feels like a summary of all of the

songs in the album. For these reasons, I believe

President Heartbeat is one of their best works,

even if Jon (and Alex) may disagree.

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AN EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

RETROSPECTIVE: HIGHLIGHTS AND HARD

HITTERS

By: Southern_Corn

Everything Everything is one of my personal

favourite bands ever. There isn’t a thing I don’t

like about them (other than the fact they share

their name with an annoying little movie).

Their vocals, their music, their lyrics are generally

top-notch and quite memorable. They

are a remarkably consistent band and all their

albums truly shine in their own way. And in

celebration of their newest album coming out,

I’ll be taking a look at their previous albums,

one by one and noting the highlights from

them as we go along. I’ll give my thoughts on

my album as a whole, my favourite and most

addicting tracks from there as well which ones

aren’t given enough recognition for what they

are. I’ll also be talking about the bonus tracks

from that era which could have worked well on

the album. Consider this sort of a celebration

of what EE is to me. I hope you enjoy! Now

let’s begin.

Man Alive

This has some really great tunes in it, pretty

stunning debut. First three tracks are a pretty

hard-hitting opening to the album and I

honestly really like the songs in the middle half

a lot too. The sheer amount of variety is

incredible, all of the songs have their own

unique feel and instrumentation to them and

the abundance of fun and interesting lyrics is

also pretty great, though that being said some

of them are inscrutable even now. I don’t have

too much against this album, though I do think

it ends up also not being a fully cohesive

album purely because of how over the place it

is. The flow between some of them is

admittedly a bit wonky, like how Photoshop

Handsome and Suffragette Suffragette both get

put in the midst of some of the slower tracks

like Two For Nero, Final Form and Leave The

Engine Room. Thinking about it I’m not really

super big on the last couple of tracks either.

They are alright still, I just prefer the way their

other albums end in comparison. The other albums

definitely feel more coherent and focused

in comparison to this. Still, the rather eclectic

nature of this album as a whole definitely

makes it a memorable listen for sure.

Favourite songs:

1) Final Form- Pretty underrated track, I like

the guitar and the mellow voice in this. The

story behind this is also very sad. Big fan of

the bridge in the final part, Jon’s vocals in that

segment are pretty superb. I like how this t

ransitions to Photoshop Handsome at the end

since they kind of juxtapose each other.

2) NASA Is On Your Side- Top tier stuff, the

way it transitions between several moods and

explores so much stuff is pretty amazing and it

really does represent the state of a teenager’s

mind pretty well. Lyricism is honestly beautiful

here. Love the calm piano in the verses

contrasted with the rather intense

instrumentation of the chorus (not to mention

the fast and fun bridge, by far my favourite

part of the song). Overall though it just feels

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like a great climax in the latter half of the

album.

3) Schoolin’- I could’ve also gone with like a

great climax in the latter half of the album.

3) Schoolin’- QWERTY Finger or Photoshop

Handsome here but honestly this is such an

addictive track, it’s literally one of my most

listened to EE songs ever. The catchiness and

charm of the first half is great (not to mention

the iconic whistle) and it feels pretty cool but

then the coda kicks in and it’s honestly the

tightest thing ever. It’s such a magnificent flex

on EE’s part and it’s glorious.

Most addicting track: MY KZ, UR BF. Great

hook, groovy music and gorgeous production,

total earworm of a song. There’s not much to

say here but it truly deserves to be one of the

more popular songs from the album. Lyrically

it’s also the most fun song on the record, with

some great metaphors and wordplay spliced in

throughout. Overall it sets the stage fantastically

for the rest of the album.

Bonus track that could’ve been on the album:

I could maybe say Luddites & Lambs

or Hiawatha Doomed on the account of them

being bangers but I’m gonna actually say

Wizard Talk instead. That song is honestly

beautiful and kind of ethereal, the lyrics are

pretty emotional and relatable and the ending

is incredible. The amount of virtuosity displayed

in the verses is just plain wild, Jon goes

at a breakneck pace in it throughout and it’s

a pretty outstanding performance. I could see

this ending the album, it really does suck you

in from the get-go.

Most

Underrated song: Two For Nero! Loved this

from first

listen, the eccentric lyrics in the verses

combined with the charming harpsichord make

this a super pleasant listen. It’s just charming

and the second half when the song starts

opening up is beautiful. Very unique song, I

appreciate it a lot.

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Arc- Their second album

Being the follow-up to such a wild debut,

this album is much more restrained To put

it simply I think what this album does better

than Man Alive is that it has a more focused,

consistent set of songs throughout and never

really has a thematically irrelevant song anywhere.

Its themes are pretty straightforward

but also strong and they really shine through

on

multiple of the tracks. The main downside is

that some of the tracks on here don’t feel quite

as hard-hitting as the highlights from MA,

which had a lot more bold and energetic

moments throughout. With that being said, the

album flow is so much better this time around,

there’s a bit of a lull in the middle with a lot of

mellow tracks but it still works pretty well and

the home stretch of songs

(Radiant/The Peaks/Don’t Try mainly) really

stick the landing and serve as a wonderful closure

for the album as a whole. Arc feels much

more mature overall and you can definitely

tell that the band is starting to improve their

songwriting a lot.

Favourite songs:

1) Duet- A rather obvious one to go with.

Honestly a beautiful song, the orchestra is absolutely

stunning and the growth of the instrumentals

to that outro is mindblowing. Jon’s

vocals are stellar and accompany the music

throughout as it goes on. Lyrics are beautiful

and the protagonist’s development throughout

as he decides to confront the apocalypse headon

with his lover is quite touching. Definitely

an unforgettable moment from the album.

2) Cough Cough- Another predictable choice,

but honestly this song is such a memorable

opener for the entire album it would be cruel

not to place it here. It’s such a frantic,

immediate song right from the coughing,

stuttering intro that just immediately grabs

your attention. This only feeds into the rest of

the song, filled with snappy hooks and

memorable metaphors throughout. The

ending sets the tone for the rest of the album

with Jon boldly declaring that him and his

ideas are about to come alive through the

album. One of the biggest hard-hitters on here.

3) Undrowned- Now here we have a deeper

cut, but this song honestly stuck out to me

from first listen. The haunting instrumental

combined with the nursery rhyme-like melody

makes this one feel like a lullaby sung by a

parent to their child, but one who’s scared of

the state of the world. The vocal delivery in

this is absolutely unforgettable. Jon’s voice

only becomes more strained as he goes on and

the ending breakdown is the perfect cherry on

top of this song. The lyrics are also some of

the best on Arc and summarise a lot of problems

with our society. It’s relatively short but

impactful.

Most Underrated song: Armourland is

obviously a controversial song (as not even

the band seems that fond of it) but I’m

going to go with a more overlooked one,

Torso Of The Week. The topic of this song is

really interesting and the subtle opening up of

this from the slow opening to the chanting in

the pre-chorus to the straight up explosion in

the actual chorus is underappreciated. Jon’s

vocals here are subdued in a more interesting

way but really shine during the end where he’s

singing at the top of his voice. Solid song and

it’s good to have a proper rock song in all this,

even though it’s also a lot slower than a lot of

their other rock songs.

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Most addicting track: I’ll have to go with keep

track of. It says a lot that it’s so

popular a song

despite it being wordy as heck throughout.

Truly deserves its position as a fan favourite.


A lot to keep track of here, I honestly think

Justice could’ve worked in the first half and

A.D could’ve also fitted in somewhere but I’m

going with No Plan here.

Despite it being quite fast-paced and

energetic it has a lot of themes in it that are

already present on Arc, and Jon’s vocals are

absolutely stellar throughout. That pre-chorus

hook is weirdly catchy for how difficult it is to

follow along with it.

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Get To Heaven

Their breakthrough album and the one that

resonates with so many people even today.

Absolutely leaves their last two albums in the

dust and basically every tune here is a banger.

It has more high energy songs like Man Alive

but has more maturity in its lyricism and

songwriting like Arc, as well as much more

focus as a whole. One of their most tightly

knit albums to date. The album flow is almost

perfect throughout, hardly anything even

worth changing because of how well written it

is. Hardly anything to even complain about so

let’s just get into the highlights here.

Favourite songs:

1. The Wheel (Is Turning Now). Quintessential

EE and one of my favourite songs ever.

It’s a perfect showcase of the eclectic nature

of the album as a whole. The music is crazy

and eccentric and all over the place and Jon’s

vocal harmonies are memorable and perfect.

This song covers so many different subjects

in a single verse alone and ties into the theme

of corrupt leaders so well. It’s so politically

charged meaning it’s aged quite well with

time. The second part of the song is absolutely

haunting and you can sense the desperation

in Jon’s voice. The way it finishes makes for

a rather ominous end to the first half of the

record and ties into the second (and much

darker) half.

2. Blast Doors. One of their best lyrically,

there’s so much content packed into the verses

and Jon spits them out with ease, practically

shouting at the listener as he does so with

hardly any room to breathe. The transition to

the chorus is a perfect moment as you can see

him shift tone so quickly and effectively. The

breakdown of the song is also powerful and

you can truly hear Jon’s falsetto at its peak.

Overall very intense, high energy song that’s

another album-defining track.

3. To The Blade- Iconic opener, one of their

best to date. The first half of Get To Heaven is

relatively light musically but this song starts

off much darker in comparison. The quiet,

solemn verses followed by the absolute explosion

of the chorus makes for a memorable

beginning and is still one of their finest moments

in their entire discography. The climax

is powerful and the lyrics are some of their

most darkest and poetic.

Most Underrated song: Zero Pharaoh is a relative

deep cut that’s a huge favourite of mine.

I like how it tackles the concept of a corrupt

leader and it feels like a very summery, intense

song especially in the latter half where

it builds up heavily. The question it raises of

whether you would be willing to take such

power if offered to you is a powerful one and

the climax where the narrator decides to seize

it for himself is a shocking yet suitably dramatic

ending to the song. The track itself has

this Egyptian feeling to it from the synths to

the backing “Aaaahhh” vocals to that absolutely

wonderful riff. Really deserves much

more love than it gets.

Most addicting song: I already mentioned it

but I’ll shout it out again, Blast Doors. Like I

mentioned earlier, the verses are super catchy

and filled with content and the chorus is very

melodic. It’s perhaps their catchiest song in

that regard.


I can see Hapsburg Lippp taking the place of

Blast Doors as they’re two very similar songs,

but I’m going to go with Only As Good As

My God here which is perhaps their best bonus

track ever. The intensity of it really makes

the track stand out and the lyrical content has

aged quite perfectly considering recent times.

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A Fever Dream

A rather underrated album, perhaps due to it

being a follow-up to Get To Heaven. It doesn’t

quite have the energy of the album throughout

but it balances it out with some more softer

and mellower moments, similar to Arc. The

album as a whole is their most cohesive work

yet, as all the tracks here share a lot of themes

in common and are even musically similar to

each other. Ultimately thematically it feels like

a condensation of a lot of the themes on Get

To Heaven but I find that the music here really

shines on a lot of select songs.

Favourite songs:

1) White Whale- Not just their best closer, it’s

their best song ever. It’s quite simple lyrically

but its sheer emotional power makes up for

it and Jon’s singing is beautifully desperate,

especially during the final chorus. It’s inspiring

and even cleansing, making for a perfect

closer to the album as a whole. The music is

utterly moving here and really gives the song

the

nautical feeling it needs. Surreal, epic track.

2) Ivory Tower- The dehinged feeling of this

track is spectacular, it really has that aggressive

vibe to it like it’s ready to get into a

punching match with you. Very raw, angry

song that just keeps building up more and

more. Lines like “Come and crush me in the

Waitrose aisle” and “Let me see you with the

caps lock on” are extremely well delivered.

The climax is just perfect and reeks of all the

energy from GtH coming back.

3) Night of the Long Knives- Another superb

opener, it’s so dark and even named after a

pretty gruesome incident but still manages

to be catchy and a bit dancey. The lyrics are

great, especially the dribbling mouth line and

the climax is one of the darkest bits of the first

half. Very memorable beginning for sure.

Most Underrated song: Big Game is another

standout for me. Despite starting off slow this

has a really nice ominous feel to it which is

also countered by the somewhat humourous

lyrics, and the buildup towards the end before

it bursts into this beautifully fat guitar riff is a

superb surprise. It’s maybe not lyrically complex

but it makes up for it on a musical level.

Most addicting song: For me it’s Good Shot,

Good Soldier. Odd choice I know but the beat

on this one really hooks me and the chorus on

this is so beautifully powerful and unique that

it’s practically begging to be listened to on

loop. Fantastic middle track.


Breadwinner obviously. It’s pretty energetic

and has huge single energy, I don’t think it’s

exactly controversial to say that it’s one of

their best tracks from the AFD era. Unlike

most of the album its lyrics are very varied

and much more EE, going over quite a lot of

themes in the verses alone. Its hooks are great

and the chorus is memorable, I’d go so far as

to say that it’s one of their best tracks from

this era alone even.

And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed reading this.

.....AND NOW,

PRESENTING

A FEW MEMES

STRAIGHT FROM THE

CORNFIELD.....

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“I began this song at a time in my life when I was frequently visiting the beach at

sunsets, and pretty much exclusively listening to Arc and Man Alive. I was

standing on a mountain overlooking the ocean near Malibu; cars, umbrellas, and a

couple yachts littered the shore. It all seemed so asinine compared to how pristine and

clear the ocean’s horizon was. The thing that made me start writing the first two lines

was a small pond on the side of a hill about a mile from the shore.

- Cami I (@flatrat42069)

Gilding the End

You’re gulping

Mercury by the handful

Gilding clocks with no mantles

The inferno inside

Makes the pulse come alive

But the pulse never comes with a handle

Disintegration renews the end

Yet you cover rot with gold

Try to scrape off the mold

But the beast is around the bend

You’re grafting

Flesh upon bark, a suture

Use spirals as a tutor

Desperation inside

Bringing neurons to life

In the dust from a dirty computer

Clinging metal to knees

Fungal oak trees

Titanium last

Spores rising fast

Lay down and rest”

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“Hello Alex, Mike, Jon and Jeremy. My name is Marco (@ToTheBlade on twitter) and I am a

huge fan from México so I decided that with the help of my sister I’d paint this phone for the

zine and make a bass cover of your song Get To Heaven, this is an album that means the world to

me from the moment I listened to it.

I will forever be grateful for all the art that you do and the night I saw you

perform live in Los Angeles, it was an incredible day for me where I could meet my friends and

give you guys gifts from my country. Thanks for all that you do.”

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LONG LIVE THE FORTUNATE

An Original Short Story by Stephen Pierce

These alarms.

I think I’ve been hearing them since the day I

was born.

Like a dull buzzing under my skin growing

louder every second.

From my release into this burning planet to my

childhood years spent silently screaming and

then

on into my wedding and my baby’s birth

watching buildings collapse and species die

until here I am standing with a bleeding drill in

my hand.

And they were still ringing.

The throne room was silent as a catacomb.

Flames burned in the garden outside. A corpse

lay before me shrouded in white robes and

topped with a crown. It’s hands were bound to

the armrests, and there was a hole in its

forehead. Something from inside trickled out.

And my ringtone was going off.

“Dad? Geez, finally. I’ve been ringing you for

hours.”

His voice seemed to rise above everything else.

I only replied at the basest whisper, as if my

soul was leaking out through my forehead.

“Thomas? Hey, son. How are you?”

“Oh, come off it! Where are you?” he shouted,

“The school had to send me to the police

station cause you never showed!”

People were shouting outside. They brought

their fire trucks and their police cars, but they

couldn’t stop what was coming. No machine

could rebuild the hope of a nation.

I locked eyes with the Queen. Her eyes were

pale, but a smirk covered her face, confident in

the knowledge that I would join her soon.

“I’m sorry, Thomas,” I stammered, “There was

something I needed to do.”

“This isn’t cool, Dad,” Thomas replied, “You

said you’d help with my Maths. I’ve got an

exam tomorrow, remember?”

It was then that I was hit with the reality that

tomorrow may never come again. I pressed a

hand over my face, and I wept.

“Dad?” Thomas said, “Are you crying?”

I turned away from the Queen in all her

grotesque glory and wiped the tears from my

eyes. “Thomas, I want you to know something,”

I said, “Even as a young lad, there’s

nothing wrong

with shedding tears.”

“Uhh, alright. Now mind telling me what’s

wrong?” “You’ll find out soon enough. I love

you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad. But seriously, can you

come pick—” I hung up and tossed the phone

on the floor.

I could see them gathering outside the window

like a swarm of vultures, spraying streams of

water over the palace and fanning out around

the perimeter. They sipped their drinks, gave

out pats on the back, and convinced each other

they had a chance of winning.

I whipped toward the voice, eyes wide and finger

poised on the drill, expecting some pitiful

palace guard I’d glossed over.

But it was her. Standing. Blood still streaking

down her robes. Holding a scepter in one hand

with refined poise as if she was the one in

control here.

“You? Sit back down! I just killed you!”

“My poor, misguided subject,” she smiled

sardonically. “You underestimate the strength

of the English spirit!”

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I waved the drill in a fit of frenzy.

“And what would you know about that? Holed

up in here with your diamonds and your butlers

and your royal bloody weddings!”

“Let’s set all of that hysteria aside,” the Queen

said, “I merely wish to know what you planned

to accomplish by throwing your little tantrum

here.”

“It was to prove how worthless your riches and

platitudes are when confronted with the cold

reality of a drill to the face.”

“No one would risk death for a simple ideal.

You were promised something more.”

“Well, sure. The men in black said they’d look

after my son. They’d pay for his studies and all

the things I could never afford to give him. But

only if I took care of you.”

She seemed to grow larger as she approached

me. The sirens in my head grew louder.

“How foolish. Killing the wealthy for the sake

of the wealthy. All you’ve done is scar your

poor son for life.”

“No, he’s strong. He’ll pull through without

me.”

“He must have gotten that trait from his mother.”

I backed away, pressing against the cold

window. The Queen’s lifeless husk of a body

lurched

forward, her white robes shimmering in the air

like a wraith.

“Get away from me! I’ll cleanse the demons

from you. From this whole country!”

“What are you so scared of?” the Queen replied,

“You’ve done what you were here to do.

Is that

not enough?”

“I don’t know. I don’t—”

The Queen jerked forward and her arms

stretched out towards my neck as a sickly

grin carved itself across her face. The entire

throne room collapsed in on itself and zoomed

outward as if approaching some point on the

horizon of the Moon.

I screamed and tossed myself away. I felt

something give way behind me and there was

a flash of rain across my body and shards of

glass dancing through the air like snowflakes. I

floated in the air just outside the palace, seeing

its windows multiply into an ivory tower

climbing toward the heavens.

The Queen was not in the window I fell

through. Looking inside, I saw only Thomas.

There was a hole in his chest.

I awoke on the flagstones, staring into the

storm. The rumble of thunder was deafening,

and I soon understood why. The sirens were

finally silent. I suppose whatever was chasing

me had finally arrived.

I heard Thomas’s voice over the phone.

“Dad? Seriously, what the hell? What’s going

on?” Thomas spoke in a defeated voice at the

wrong frequency. d what would you know

about that? Holed up in here with your diamonds

and your butlers and your royal bloody

weddings!”

“Let’s set all of that hysteria aside,” the Queen

said, “I merely wish to know what you planned

to accomplish by throwing your little tantrum

here.”

I felt like a conqueror gazing upon a scorched

landscape. All of this chaos, all of this change:

it would be because of me. The wheel would

crush the cruel beneath it.

“I suppose that’s it then? You think you’ve

won?”

“Surely the coppers have filled you in by now.”

“Yeah, some horrific ruckus at Buckingham.

They showed me pictures of the terrorist, and...

for God’s sake, just tell me you have a twin or

something!”

We both knew I didn’t.

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I slowly pushed myself off the ground. I quickly

realized I was in the palace garden, below

the window I had jumped from. A dense fog

shrouded the surroundings, but I knew my exit

was in the direction of the flashing emergency

lights.

I rose to my feet, heaving from pain.

“Look, Thomas. You’re gonna hear a lot of

rubbish about me in the next few days, and

some of it might be true. But you have to

promise me you’ll keep fighting, okay?”

“I don’t want to fight, Dad! I just want to see

you again! I didn’t ask for any of this!” “You

don’t understand—”

“No, Dad. You don’t understand! You never

understood a thing!”

I stopped in my tracks. The fog grew thicker.

“What are you saying?”

“Those men in black you kept talking about?

They’re not even real!”

“How do you know about them?”

“I’m not real either! Don’t you get it? Where’s

your phone?”

Confused, I glanced at my hand, but it was

completely empty.

That’s right, I left my phone up in the throne

room. But in that case...

Who was I talking to?

Before I could find an answer, several figures

stepped out of the fog. A mustached man in

sunglasses led the way while several uniformed

officers fanned out behind him. Their

faces shifted as if they were constantly borrowing

each other’s features.

The mustached man grinned like a hunter spotting

a wounded fawn.

“We’ve got you now, you sick freak.”

“You’re too late. I’ve already won.” Someone

struck me from behind and knocked me to the

ground. Before I could stand back up, the

chief grabbed me by the neck and made me

stare at his twisted smile through the pouring

rain. “Won what? You and me, we’re not even

playing on the same chessboard.”

“The queen’s already dead. This act will inspire

people all over the world to fight against

oppression.”

From the way my voice wavered, he could tell

I barely believed my own words. He dismissively

slammed me back onto the ground.

“Sure, pal. I bet the history books are gonna

rave about you. The brave martyr who inspired

a

movement of weaklings offing each other

while the powerful enjoyed the show! What a

hero!”

I looked up at him, spitting mud out of my

mouth.

“You’re right. With this simple act, I’ve gained

immortality. What will you be remembered

for?” “That’s up to you!” the officer said, “If

you come quietly, I can be the brave man who

brought an

evil terrorist to justice!” “Frankly, I’d rather

die.”

“In that case, I’ll have to be the poor cop who

was too late to stop you from plumetting to

your doom. Get ‘em, boys!”

He snapped his fingers. The officers were

instantly upon me, slamming their boots into

my arms and my ribs and my face as every part

of my flesh teared up in red and cried out in

agony.

“Such a shame! Your son was a promising lad.

But his reputation will never survive your little

stunt. I wonder how long it’ll be ‘till he winds

up joining you.”

With each blow, another fragment of my soul

escaped my body. Fortunately, I knew that

even in death I could bring another ray of

goodness into the world.

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While they were distracted, I shoved a crooked

hand into my pocket and pulled out a remote.

The officers stumbled back.

The chief weaved behind them.

“Oh, bollocks! Someone get that remote—”

“Heaven, here I come!”

I pressed the button.

Fire burst from beneath my shirt. An inferno

that melted my bones and boiled my brain and

sent scorching shafts of divine light across the

courtyard. With a simple boom, everything was

reduced to ash.

Sometimes the only way to win is to flip the

board.

In a small cafe on Earth, a boy named Thomas

poured over a newspaper. The headline read,

“Terrorist Kills Queen, then Himself.” Two

faces smiled below: a mustached police chief

and Thomas’s father.

Nowhere was safe anymore. Everyone on the

street was talking about the gruesome affair.

His home was covered in those simple remnants

of his father—an unfinished crossword

puzzle, a pair of business shoes, a few beers in

the fridge—that forced Thomas to ask how all

of this had happened.

With the gentle tone of a bell, a familiar man

walked into the cafe. Decked out in sunglasses

and a shiny badge, he seemed to have walked

right out of Thomas’s newspaper. The boy

watched as he strolled to the counter and

ordered a latte.

Recognition crossed the barista’s face as she

rang up the order.

“Hey, didn’t I see ya’ in the newspaper? You

were up at Buckingham, right?”

“Yeah, I’m glad you noticed,” he replied, “This

has got to be the worst day of my life. What

kinda lunatic drills a hole through the queen’s

head and then dives straight out the window?”

Thomas’s grip tightened on his coffee cup. He

rose from his chair and approached.

“I dunno. But if it makes you feel better,” the

barista said, handing back the chief’s card.

“It’s on

the house. You deserve it.”

“Thanks. I just wish the bastard had let me

finish the job for him. No point in garbagemen

if the

rubbish takes itself out.”

Thomas wasn’t sure if the forces that compelled

him to throw his coffee cup spoke from

heaven

or from hell, but the drink left his hand just the

same.

The cafe’s peaceful atmosphere was interrupted

by a bloodcurdling scream as violent waves

of

heat scorched the chief’s suit. The surrounding

civilians rushed to their feet, seeking to restrain

Thomas or simply escape.

And so the crimson cycle continues.

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SLEEP UNTIL YOU SEE IT LIFT AWAY

By: Cami Iverson

Everything Everything has genuinely shaped my life into something extraordinary

over the course of this year. Around January, my friend and I were blasting music in

the car when he changed the song to a tune titled “Hapsburg Lippp.” I couldn’t

believe how immediately rich and frightening the opening synth notes were, and

didn’t know if my poor old car’s speakers could handle it. I was completely

enamored after only thirty seconds of the song.

Flash forward to the end of March, I had probably played Get to Heaven

over one-hundred times while driving around. I let the album consume me like my

Honda had burst into pleasant flames. The nuance and catharsis of every track comforted

me at just about the lowest point in my life, and I’ll be endlessly grateful for

that ‘til my last synapses fire.

I soon found myself obsessively listening to the rest of the band’s

discography; I scoured the internet to find every lost track, demo, B-side, and cover

(“What’s My Name” is the best one, by the way). Inspiration started pouring in from

every syllable and note until I taught myself something that saved my life: to love

music again. Before I knew it, I was listening to a trove of both classic and newer

artists I’d never even heard of, and revisiting albums that I grew up with. I started

writing for the first time in years, and I’m going to songwriting school -- all to pay

the inspiration forward. I’m finally feeling optimistic, if not cautiously, and none of

it would have been nearly as easy, or even possible, without the help of Everything

Everything.

No prose, poems, lyrics, or words could thoroughly describe the solace this

band has brought me. I’m just glad they exist in the same hellish timeline we all

reside in. Despite all of that despair, apathy, corruption, and personal turmoil, there

are endless layers of hope in creation and action. That’s the message I’ve decided to

take from this music. From keyboards and foxes, to volcanoes and peaks, to terrorists

and reptiles, to knives and soldiers, nothing else has inspired me to better myself as

much as this band has. I’m looking forward to the future for the first time in my entire

life, and it’s all thanks to Everything Everything. Thanks for the tunes, lads. You

guys push me to be a better artist and person.

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REVALATIONS OF THE MUSICAL KIND

By: Beverley Knight

It was the best of times, it was the worst of

times. There is no denying that the last six

months have taken their toll, but, for some, it

did conceive valuable time for us to reconnect

with transcendent loves of the past or discover

something new altogether. I remember it vividly:

one balmy day in the garden, I was assigned

the task of reviewing two songs and videos

produced by Manchester art band Everything

Everything. Yes, I thought, while sipping my

chilled wine, this is interesting research. I had

heard of the band, you see, but surprisingly not

heard the band. Like so many of us reading,

music is the air I breathe, so this was a peculiar

thing that cried out to be rectified.

So, I listened to In Birdsong through headphones,

then Arch Enemy, and was completely

and utterly mesmerised. That was it: a revelation.

As a Strokes obsessive, amongst other

acts I hold particularly dear, I made myself

a lockdown gain: A new musical outfit that

moves me to the very core. With that in mind,

I wrote about all four releases in total, astonished

at how each one was as high-grade as

the last, if not better. Here, I take a walk down

memory lane with a glance below at each of

the works of art.

Of In Birdsong, Jonathan illustrates,

“Birdsong has accompanied human life since

before we were even human, but, in the recent

century, it has been obscured or pushed out of

our lives. In the song, I talk about hearing birdsong

and knowing we are conscious and alive.

With fewer cars and planes, and less human

intervention generally, we’ve all been given the

opportunity to reconnect with r

esurgent nature, and where we all are, for this

brief moment - in Birdsong.”

Covering all walks of life, the people created

in the video are often blurred and always

frozen, sometimes cocooned by varying substances.

This represented lockdown, where we

couldn’t plan for the future or move forward as

it was so uncertain. A man’s arms are held up

in the air giving the impression that he is surrendering.

In front of him is a giant, spiderlike

creature that is his fear and a metaphor for our

own. He is declaring how our situation levelled

us out and made us connect on a different level.

A poignant moment is a couple embracing,

whilst a fiery, orange colour occupies the sky.

Other elements like water and earth are distorted,

bringing it that home that how we perceive

our planet has changed.

An irregular heartbeat runs through the song,

linking it to life, and Higgs’ voice is as compelling

as ever using that cherished falsetto

that leads the way. The tune rises and falls with

the long notes of the synth, and the organ bass

adding to its spiritual vibe. Dystopian worlds

are created in the visuals using a scrumptious

colour pallet and warped constructions. The

piece ends with the four EE boys knee-deep

in the sand on the desert, and you never find

out if they manage to escape. The picture pans

out, and they are standing on a fox, referring to

their first album cover, Man Alive, signifying a

re-birth. For want of a better word, it is

beautiful.

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Arch Enemy is entirely different from Birdsong;

it’s a banging tune: loud, dynamic with a

funky rhythm. The chorus is vastly memorable,

and it builds with its savvy guitar work to one

of the best song endings I have heard in quite a

while. However, don’t let the playful beat fool

you, as Higgs explains, the lyrics pack a punch.

“Arch Enemy’ sees a modern-day protagonist

searching for a meaningful God. Finding only

a congregation of greed, toxicity, and waste, in

the form of a sentient fatberg in the sewer, he

duly prays to it, willing it to purge the decadent

world above that has created it. These growing

grease mountains are a curious juxtaposition

of the modern and the ancient; a brand new

example of archaic squalor.”

So from fat child in a pushchair, we go to

Fatberg in a sewer in this brilliantly bizarre

video. We meet a grotesque creature of grease

and rubbish that lurks underground in cities

like London and New York, and only thrives

with the modern materials our world throws

away. Fatberg is worshiped as a deity, his

ego is fattened, until the whole congregation

joins together and whooshes up through the

manhole, oozing through the landscape. This

represents how we control our thoughts and

what you feed your mind will ultimately be

what vibrations you put out; it’s easy for things

to manifest, but must be light over dark.

For Planets, themes of other worlds and nature

continue as we are introduced to a sweet puppet

in the form of a little chimpanzee. Heartbreakingly,

he does hold a tinge of sadness in

his eyes, as we find out that he is questioning

his place in the world, to which a great many

of us can empathise. He starts singing the

song, longing to be loved and valued. Our hero

seems happiest when he is amongst the

luscious nature, but as he overthinks and

worries about unanswered and big questions

that the universe cannot explain, we see him

have dark moments of contemplation about his

future. Near the end, the visuals bear resemblance

to The Maccabees’ Pelican, which can

only be a good thing as our protagonist imagines

his version of space that has an abundance

of bananas and other planets.

It’s unusual piece of joy, where the synths reflect

another galaxy, and the rhythms evolve to

a killer section where the song shifts and plays

host to a 70’s ambience. Lyrically, it expresses

the unshakable feeling of wanting acceptance,

to feel worthy, and ultimately loved. The words

“With Frat boys telling me I got no business

sitting in business sitting in business class,” a

reminder that it may be at a younger age where

we have these emotions more. However, eventually,

we do find ourselves, become comfortable,

and own confidence.

Do you know the montage in an 80’s movie?

The one where a girl has a make-over, shaking

a mirror shine ponytail loose and tentatively

removing their round-framed spectacles, or

perhaps the end of the film where they take one

look back, a deep breath, and board a bus to

New York City, well track Violent Sun would

be the soundtrack. It somehow manages to be a

big, pulsing song yet is understated with an underlining

urgency about it, including an ingenious

key change into the instrumental adding

to its euphoric spirit.

At first look at the footage, I assumed that the

band was running away from something, each

member in their environment and armed with

their GoPro cameras, but they are running to

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something, which paints a different attitude

to the video and provides a warm feeling. The

set up when the quartet is together has a ring

of No Reptiles about it. However, this time

they are not dressed in pure white splattered in

red, but head to toe in bright red; like one door

closes and another opens, leading us to a new

era.

Going deeper with new beginnings, the uncomplicated

video introduces some burnt instruments

from when their Manchester lock up

caught fire and traumatically destroyed much

of their equipment. Jonathan thinks,

“Violent Sun is about the feeling that

something terrible is approaching fast, and you

want to hold on to this moment forever, It’s the

last song of the night, and the last song of your

life. You only have these four minutes to make

it happen, so make it happen!”

the outfit, but in a mature, calmer way.

Explorative art brings with it an understanding

that it may not always work, but when it

all falls into place, it sincerely does; this is

where you’ll find Jonathan, Alex, Jeremy and

Mike. Their electronic, rock sound is hard to

fully tether, with each and every song owning

eccentric energy, and listening to the masterful

quartet is a divine experience that demands attention;

the theatricality will not allow it to be

used as a background wash. I’m moved by the

music first and foremost, but also the philosophy,

the luminosity, the drama, the emotion;

it is art. In some ways, it’s a shame that I only

found them recently, but as with all timeless

creations, it’s never too late.

Expressed in the lyrics, “I wanna be there!

When the wild wave comes, and we’re swept

away, I wanna be there! When the wild wave

comes, for us.” It does strike you as a fantastical

apocalyptic piece, but it also relates to our

human lives. Those four minutes are our lifespan,

where maybe we should take EE’s advice

on the matter and accomplish as much as damn

possible.

Finally, our four songs bring us to the release

of fifth studio album Re-Animator.

Gone for now are the political observations

and thoughts, replaced by a personal look at

humans and the relationships we have with

others, nature, the world, and ourselves and

indeed space. Let’s face it, the quartet have

more talent in their little finger than some, and

it shows on this LP, capturing the essence of

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READY FOR A REINCARNATION

By: Becky Escalante

I look forward to being re-animated. Most of

my life I’ve felt sort of like I’m just sleepwalking.

I know it’s not uncommon to feel like life

is tedious (people talk about it sometimes) but

I struggle with it more than most other people

and I’m only just beginning to understand why.

On top of my usual blankness there’s been

a recent upheaval that seems to have made

(almost) everyone else notice the tedium of

modern life too. People are re-evaluating what

matters. Leave it to Everything Everything to

be prepared with an album that suits the mood!

When I heard that they were coming back with

yet another perfectly-timed album, it shook

me awake. It takes something extraordinary

or extreme to shake off my stupor and EE are

known for being unique and having lyrics that

explore some of the wildest edges of human

experience. I’m pleased to say that they’ve

done it again.

Music makes me feel awake in a way that few

things do. I’ve never been able to wrap my

head around it and I usually just get frustrated

or bored with what I can’t understand, but not

with music. Somehow it feels so magical that I

don’t mind not being able to see its inner

workings. My best guess is that what draws

me in to EE songs is that it seems like they’ve

mastered music’s structure well enough to

break the rules and get away with it. I think a

lot of the confusion stems from the way that

my particular brain is so dependent on language.

If I can’t articulate it, how can I know

that I understand it? Words make sense to me,

and I think that’s the ultimate reason I find myself

listening to EE again and again. Jonathan’s

lyrics fascinate me. They’re clever and funny

but there’s so much raw emotion there too. It’s

clear that he has a sense of curiosity about all

sorts of things, but that he’s particularly interested

in human history and the natural world.

There’s a clear reverence for the natural world

scattered all about Everything Everything’s

libretto, and this makes for a perfect combination

of all of the things I’ve come to cherish

most: music, words, and living things. “Tin”

jitters and pops as Jonathan mourns the death

of a fox dirtied by pollution and accidentally

hit by a car, taking a break to marvel at the

perfection of a sea anemone--“Could there be

a more heavenly artefact / As pure as that?”--

before describing the way that the fox merges

in with the rest of all matter, “but a drop in the

ocean all along”. It’s one of the most beautiful

things I’ve ever heard. I was stunned. I was

delighted to get the same sort of feelings from

“In Birdsong”. It reminded me of the feeling I

got when I read John Muir and Carl Sagan as a

teen: joy, inspiration, and wonder. Few writers

seem able to convey that feeling. Transcendence

just from experiencing reality. A crucial

part of it is seeing the ways that natural forces

act on each other and how all living things are

interconnected. Life slowly shapeshifts into

any nook and cranny that it can to create beautiful

things, but it does so with a cold indifference

to their death and suffering. I think that

all of the lyrics about nature acknowledge both

its beauty and the terror of knowing that every

living thing is insignificant and ephemeral.

There’s so little time and we are so very, very

small. The word that springs to my mind is

“awe” and I remember that it’s a concept with

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two components: wonder and fear.

Fear is another ever-present shapeshifter: into

sorrow from the futility of it all and rage at

the cruelty of people who opt to make it even

worse. I can see that Jon understands these

feelings far too well. All of the innovations

and solutions that we create could be used to

bring us understanding and help us care for one

another but we use them to kill each other (and

get rich doing it) most of the time. People do

monstrous things and it sickens you, but then

you try to understand why and you realize that

their motivations and excuses are the same

as yours, and that you can’t say for certain

that you would have done differently in their

position. You’re transfixed in fear because any

participation would mean being complicit. It’s

unbearable to watch but you can’t tear your

gaze from it. I used to sit in front of the TV

watching cable news and feel like a zombie. I

still spend far too much time scrolling newsfeeds

that feel like an endless book of nightmares

and arguing with internet trolls. I get

into fights with people around me and then go

sulk by myself. It sucks the life out of me but

I’m drawn to conflict and anxiety. It feels as inescapable

as gravity, like being slowly crushed

in the pressure of a deep sea trench. I used to

fantasize about running away into the wilderness,

about having my consciousness taken out

and my senseless body automated, or about being

an intangible observer watching everything

that happens without having to be complicit in

it. Being switched off, scrapped, re-made as

someone or something else. Being intangible.

I don’t think most people really understand

this particular flavor of despair. I can’t seem to

find the right words to make them understand

it. “I don’t think I’ve been connected.” Something’s

wrong with me. Somehow I’ve tricked

people into thinking I’m useful or good and

I’m so sorry all the time. I’m sorry that I’ve

leeched off of them for so long. “I’m sorry that

I made it this far”, he sings. I’m shocked. He

keeps singing things like this. He seems to get

it! Being a human is terrifying! You can’t ever

feel satisfied. You can’t reason your way out of

it or try to ignore your instincts! But this guy

seems to think so, so maybe he doesn’t get it?

I used to balk at the idea of being myself and

going with my “beast heart”. I think mine’s

more of a bird or lizard brain, really. A turtle,

maybe? I wish. Isn’t it just an escapist fantasy,

to embrace your nature? Well... no.

Not entirely. I remember that we’re social

primates. At first it terrifies me because I know

that I can lose my mind just from being left

alone too long and that I will die without other

people helping me. But then I remember what

my strongest instincts are, whenever I can

articulate a clear thought or use my imagination:

Explore. Share information (often when

nobody asked for it!). Tend and befriend. Build

shelter. I’m usually gravitating toward the

shadows, ready to crawl into some crevice at a

moment’s notice. But when I find someone else

hiding in there--or they find me--we can put

our heads together and figure out something,

even though that’s usually just a way to pass

the time until it’s safe to peek out again. Some

of us can venture out too, when we’re well

enough. Bring something back for anyone who

isn’t quite there. I don’t think most people are

like this, most of the time. I’m always a little

surprised when I find one and it’s even rarer

when they find comfort in one of the exact

same ways that I do. It feels impossible when

we share multiple. It’s fascinating! I’m curious

again. You heard him? You saw that? From

how far away? You felt it too? It wasn’t just

me? How did you know about that?!

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We light up. We find each other. We use captive electricity to pass light back and

forth all around the world. To tell stories and swap jokes. It makes it just slightly

easier, or at least distracts us so that we can feel something other than exhaustion or

wounds.

Sometimes there are days when we can even sneak out into the light for a little while

and just bask in it. That’s what we’re waiting for while we’re hunkered down. Rarer

and more precious still are certain nights we can all go into the same dark space,

packed like sardines in a tin. The lights come on. We scream and flail together. The

artists--our artists, who we heard and saw all over the world, are real and now they’re

right there!--summon the sounds (by magic, for all I know!) and sing the words that

we’ve each been rehearsing alone--for years, months, maybe just days--and we can

all sing together. The weights seem to lift and all we feel pressing on us is the benign

motion of one another colliding. We generate a shared warmth. “The energy of us”.

It’s a

ceremony for the faithless. Magic for cynics.

These experiences are rapturous and I know that the joy is real--as real as any feeling

can be--because the people involved aren’t the sort of people who only seem okay because

they’re ignorant or lying. Life is more precious because we know that death is

everywhere. That light corresponds to a darkness. The energy is more precious when

you realize that it’s finite and at some point--long after we and the sun itself burn

ourselves out--everything will reach complete stillness.

I think, as usual, Jon said it best:

“The key is energy – high-energy and low-energy is a much better way to describe

music than happy and sad, or heavy and light. We want people to move, and we want

them to be moved. Those things are much more important than making sure everybody

goes home with a smile on their face – and god knows what band you’d be

going to see if that was the case! We want to fuck you up, basically – so no change

there.”

Thank you, Everything Everything. For fucking us up and waking us up. And thank

you, Collective Sardine Brain At The Border, for being such good company.

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“From composition to consumption, I am nothing without music. I like a lot of different artists

for a lot of different reasons, but nothing and no one can or will ever compare to Everything

Everything and all that they give us. They are a creative force to be reckoned with, and I am

confident in my assertion that they are continually bringing something unique to the world unlike

anything it's ever seen or heard before. I would even go so far as to claim that Everything

Everything will remain unrivaled and among the greatest musicians and collective creative minds

of all time, even long after we're all gone. I'm incredibly lucky and grateful to exist in a time

where I can actively consume, collect, enjoy, and be inspired by their music while still having

promise for potential in the future. What these guys do is unreal, and it's so exciting to hear them

surpass themselves with each new endeavor. I can never recommend EE enough.” - Alyssa

“thank you for giving us

everything you have so far, and

we are so excited for everything in

the future. love to any and

everyone.” - Benjamin

“My experience with everything everything is something that’s been so special to me! I found

the band back in 2014/15 and never really delved into their discography until 2017, after a fever

dream released. That album for me is one of my favourites of all time, with white whale being

the beacon of hope I needed during 2018( a rough year for me sadly). Luckily in the summer of

2018 I attended my first festival, boardmasters , To which I was truly blessed by one of the best

nights of my life! I remember talking to other fans about the supposed setlist and then dancing

( Or in my case, flaying all over the place) to can’t do, no reptiles and breadwinner. Leaving the

land of saints tent that night was the happiest I had been in a year which was pretty shit. Everything

everything hold a serve place in my heart, similar to foals in that matter, with a lot of

their songs being so personal. The songs that I related to and felt a part of my soul twist and turn

whenever I listened to them are White whale, with Jon’s holistic voice proclaiming “I want us

to be okay” in a time in which nobody knows- to me, the song solidified that things will be okay

in the end. I’ve got on for a bit so I’ll wrap up, I have so much love for this band, every single

album is a banger, the boys have changed and affected so many people’s lives that I really hope

that they know how incredible they are- We all love you and when we look back in future to music

we listened too, my Chronological line up of EE albums will be played to my grave, hopefully

ending on warm healer because that’s a hell of a way to go out!” - Sam Hill

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I, KNOW HOW IT STARTS AND NOW I KNOW....

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I KNOW HOW IT ENDS,

EE has been a pretty special band for me. I’ve been listening to their music for over a year now

and it’s had a profound impact on my life. I’ve never been so engrossed in one artist’s music

quite like this and especially not for so long. Going through each of their albums was an absolute

journey and my perception of them was only enriched by going through the lyrics. They’re very

well thought out and in-depth, it’s just such a fascinating experience. I was inexplicably hooked,

and looking it up, it turned out I wasn’t even alone. The EE fandom was out there and bigger than

I imagined. There, I ended up meeting a bunch of pretty cool people! It’s been a genuinely nice

experience and I haven’t regret, regret-ed getting into this band one bit. So what else can I say

but… thanks, everyone! :)

-Southern Corn

“Everything Everything were the first band with which I felt an instant connection to their

music. I remember hearing an advert for Man Alive on Spotify all those years ago and QWERTY

finger blew my tiny mind. It was one of max three albums I had on my phone at the time and I

came to love every song. I would literally listen to it on repeat for hours and never get bored.

Also Come Alive Diana is a good song, I don’t care what anybody says. I used to chew the ear

off of my friends talking about their music and lyrics, these days I try to make sure the feeling is

mutual first!They were also the first band I ever saw live, and before then I’d never understood

the appeal of live music, but the experience was amazing and overwhelming - and when they

extended an end note into Riot on the Ward I just about died right there. I felt vindicated for all

the time I’d spent snooping around on YouTube for those “secret” tracks!

I’m so happy that so many people enjoy their music, especially enough to contribute to this zine!

Their music is a great inspiration for my artwork, and this zine has encouraged me to actually

finish the first piece of digital art in about five years. Very much looking forward to the release of

Re-Animator and seeing them live next year, if our planet hasn’t imploded by then!”

-@tarrotcakes

131

132

dear alex, jon, mike, and jeremy

i’ve only been part of this beautiful community that you’ve created for a few months

but it’s been one of the best experiences of my life so far. i have met some of the best, kindest

people through your music, and it’s given me at least something to look forward to in 2020.

i still remember the first time i listened to In Birdsong and i was transported away into

another realm for 5 minutes and 13 seconds, entranced by the vocals and the production. from

there everything just snowballed. to listening to A Fever Dream shortly after In Birdsong and

falling in love from first listen, to crying to songs on Arc, to blasting Get To Heaven in my

car at night (very cathartic 10/10 would recommend), to just dancing alone to songs on Man

Alive. these past few months i’ve been on a journey soundtracked by your music. name any

human feeling, any emotion, and you’ll have a song that encapsulates it. you’ve inspired me

more than i can say in this short time - to pick up playing the bass, to keep going even when

life doesn’t always make it easy, to keep fighting.

it’s comforting to know that there’s still some people willing to take a stand and write music

proclaiming against everything going wrong right now and i hope that when the world is no

longer burning that i might be able to see you live too.

here’s to many more years of music (no pressure though).

thank you for basically everything (everything) :)

-Hannah (@calledforquiet)

The first and only time (yet) I saw Everything Everything live was on november 25th 2015 at Le

Trabendo in Paris. It was 12 days after the Paris attacks. As you can guess, it was a strange

period for Parisians, as we were mourning and afraid but we didn't want these horrific events

to stop us from enjoying our lives. So, on the day of the concert, I decided I'll go. And I wasn't

alone. Many people were there that night. It was amazing. They were promoting Get To Heaven,

playing songs we all loved and that resonated even deeper in our bones and in our blood. It was

so good to be out, to attend a live show and to forget for a while the difficult times we were going

through.

That show was also the first time I went to a gig alone. I was a bit stressed, but I met a wonderful

person out there, Penelope, who had awesome hand-made unicorn-shaped earrings. I went to her,

telling her i loved her earrings and we became friends.

That concert was amazing, I left with tears in my eyes, thanking the band at the merch stand for

not cancelling it.

Merci, Everything Everything.

-@dontbeacoconutt

I KNOW JUST HOW IT ALL ENDS

133

Dear Jon, Alex, Jeremy, Mike,

I’ve gone through many different musical phases during the past four and a half years. I’ve

obsessed over countless bands only to forget about them months later. I’ve gone through phases

of obsessing over rock, jazz, classical, harsh and thorny contemporary classical, and 100 Gecs.

However, the one constant through these four and a half years is my love for EE. I’ve changed a

lot since I first heard the earth-shattering chorus of To the Blade as a 14 year-old, but I’ve never

stopped loving this band since the first day I listened to them.

EE forever changed the way I listen to music. Your music made me want to dig deep into the

meaning of lyrics in songs, as well as listen to every part of a piece of music trying to figure out

why I enjoy it. Your music has always been a huge motivating factor for me to become a better

musician myself.

Like many people during this time, quarantine has been very rough for a multitude of reasons.

However, the release of In Birdsong in April was indescribably special to me. Like the various

themes on RE-ANIMATOR suggest, this song pulled me out of some dark times and made me

feel alive in ways no other piece of music has made me feel before. For that, I can’t thank you

enough for crafting unforgettable and life-changing art over the years I’ve been listening. I can’t

wait to see what’s in store for the new album and whatever is yet to come.

Thank you for everything (everything),

“Golf”

Hi lads,

I just want to tell you how much I love you and your music and how grateful I am for you.

I've been a fan since I first heard Kemosabe back in 2012, and I bought Get To Heaven in 2015

too.

But when A Fever Dream came out, I was not in a happy place in life, and the effect it had on me

was something I didn't even know music could do. It made me feel alive again. And I've been

obsessed ever since.

There's a lot I could write here, but I'll keep it brief.

Thank you so much...just for being you.

Looking forward to seeing you play live again.

Lots of love,

Liz x

I KNOW HOW IT ALL ENDS

134

I discovered Everything Everything at latitude 2019, Me and my best friend where stood at

the barrier screaming our lungs out to songs we didn’t quite know yet ! But from this moment

onward I’d finally found my political voice in Jon’s lyrics finally someone else who has been so

frustrated by the world they’ve seen, since then with every EE track I’ve discovered it’s massively

helped me with my confidence to the point where I’m planning on doing some live shows of

my own in the near future !! Without EE idk Where’d I’d be, no other band has such an activated

voice and has such a beautiful influence on its fans

-Darryl Crusoe

i was only 14 years when i first discovered distant past from an animation i saw at the time. on

first listen, i'll admit that i did not enjoy it much. who knew that giving it another shot would

practically change my whole life though. i began to slowly listen through get to heaven, and later

spread off to the other albums they had out at the time. life was fairly difficult for me at the time.

i was preparing myself for high school in a few months, i was seeing a therapist for treatment of

depression and anxiety, and i had to accept the fact that many people i knew and grew up with

were moving away or becoming distant. everything everything was the first group i truly fell in

love with that motivated me to actively interact with other fans (despite my age at the time) as

well as contribute artwork i made for them. then one day, they announced a tour in north america,

though the best option for me (as a michigan kid) was a music festival performance in toronto.

i still wanted to see them, so i convinced my dad to buy tickets and on august 6th, 2016, we went

off. after clutching onto some art i made for them like it was my life force and watching a few

performances from other artists, they arrived and played an amazing performance. my dad is a

very talkative man, and knowing how much i adored them he wanted to get me backstage to meet

them. after convincing some security to let me through, my dad and i waited for them. and then

they showed up. i still remember the mix of anxiety and pure excitement that went through my

mind in those moments. they were so kind to me, complimenting and signing the artwork i made

for them, chatting with my dad and i, and even let us take some photos together! that was over

four years ago. i'm 18 now. i'm practically an adult. i've graduated from high school and recently

started my first year in college to major in animation, i got a boyfriend, and my mental health has

improved quite a lot, though i still struggle from time to time...and even after all of that, they're

still there. i still listen to their music, i still draw them art, i interact with new fans who i now

consider friends, and i still have the art that they signed hung up by my desk. it's weird to think

they were so involved with my life, and how their music got me through so many hardships and

accomplishments. i'm so glad that it was this band out of the many more that i listened to that

ended up being so important. i'm actually listening to re-animator as i type this out. so to jon,

jeremy, mike and alex, thank you for being the soundtrack to my own little coming-of-age

story, and for helping me go through so much. maybe i can repay you guys with an album cover

or animated music video some day (wink nudge). but yeah, your music means a lot to me. i love

you guys! cheers!

- kamilla (aka vvarmhealer or mykzurbf)

135

“So you think there’s no meaning, in anything that we do. When I first heard these words June

23rd 2015 I had no idea how monumental this music and its fandom would be to me. I put the

album on because i’d seen this ridiculously cool album cover advertised online and decided I had

to check this out. 51 seconds in and the rest is history, the sky felt like it opened up and I could

see several dimensions, everything just made perfect sense. From then on I knew I had a new

favourite band. And getting into the fandom was one of the best things that has ever happened to

me, not only was the music absolutely healing and amazing, but the fans and the band was also

equally amazing and including. For 5 years this music and the fandom has given me strength and

been with me through the best and the deepest darkest days of my life. It's helped me shape who

I am and accept myself for who I am, been the thing that has kept me going through depression,

and figure out and accept my own gender identity. There is nothing that can compare to the love

and unity of the everything everything fandom, it’s a place to call home when you feel lost and a

place you feel accepted. -Laura (@spinxofgrease)

“I first found Everything Everything in early 2020 through spring / sun / winter / dread and

quickly became a fan. Their songs and albums were not only unique and different to most other

artists I was listening to at the time but also had insanely good lyricism/writing and

instrumentation. After a few months I began to fall into an obsession with the group and as I

racked up thousands of listens decided to look at how far up I was on the last fm leaderboards.

Then I saw a green worm at the top of the leaderboard. I messaged him and we became mutuals

on Twitter, and I finally had someone to speak about my new favourite band with.

From that point I was added to a group chat on twitter about the group and quickly made a ton of

new friends. Everyone in the group had different tastes and personalities but we all got along so

well. After a while we all got to know eachother well, chatting about anything and everything. It

felt like we had a small community where we could share anything. As more people got added to

the chat it became better and better. Honestly, without that group idk if I would’ve been able to

get through lockdown.

Thank you much Everything Everything for not only making amazing music (and being

amazing people!) and introducing me to people I know will be my friends for life. You guys do

so much for your fans - all of the live performances, q&a’s, replying and speaking to fans, all of

the teasers and singles, and even a VR concert! I don’t know any other group that connects with

their fans on that much of a personal level. Being a fan throughout the buildup to re-animator

was a highlight of my year. I also wanna say thank you to everyone in the braincell chat and

Maple for putting so much effort and time into making the Zine!!”

-@WhosDatPanda

136

Dear Everyzine Everyzine Participants, Jon, Mike, Jeremy, and Alex,

Well, here we are. I never thought this day would come, but I have never been more excited to

share a project in my entire life. I am blown away by the positive reception from this community

(and the amount of submissions recieved, and all of the talent that went into making this fanzine.

I am sorry, I’m not good with words and get tounge-tied easily. I sit here typing this with tears in

my eyes, and am so greatful for each and every one of you for making it happen.

First and foremost, thank you Jon, Mike, Jeremy, and Alex for providing amazing music that

have touched our souls in such profound ways. I hope this zine shows how much you are loved

and appreciated by your fans (though you probably already knew that, haha) and the art you have

inspired by your own you have shared with us. Your music has gotten me through some of the

most difficult parts of my life, and carried me out of the deepest pits.

I’m looking back at the 100+ pages we created together as a community, and am absolutely a

sobbing mess. It could not, and would not, have been done without you. This is all because of

you, this is for you. And I cannot stress enough that this would not have been possible without

you. There were multiple times I almost gave up, I almost said I couldn’t do this project

anymore, and literally had multiple thoughts about throwing my computer out the window

because InDesign? I hate it. But, everytime I needed a hand, or some encouraging words, you

were always there to pick me back up on my feet again. I wouldn’t have asked for any better

companions to lead me through this project. Another special shout out to At The Border and your

wonderful members for helping me get the word out there, and for the amazing friends I’ve

made along the way (yes, I’m talking about you EE Braincell!) The fact all of this has come out

of a small call for submissions still blows my mind everytime. The memories I carry will last a

lifetime.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did creating it. It was a lot of hard work and sleepless hours,

but I think all of us really created something special together that Everything Everything fans

will treasure for years to come. At least I hope so! Again, I cannot stress the absolute

kindness and talent of the Everything Everything fanbase, and I am so lucky to have been able to

community. Nothing will ever compare to what I am feeling right now.

Eternally greatful for everything, everything,

Your creator, curator, layout designer, editor, but most importantly, your friend,

Caitlin aka, “Maple” (@mykzurgf)

I KNOW HOW IT ALL......

137

ARTISTS

@mykzurgf

(pgs. 6, 14-15. 68, 90-91)

@fermiumsunset

(pg. 5)

@LAZERHEADED

(pg. 7)

Arvid Rongeda

(pg. 12-13)

@maruwanas

(pgs. 16-19, )

@ DoubleKOoOo1

(pgs. 26-27, 74, 104-105)

@Hysterikal

(pg. 30)

@Sc1entist

(pgs. 32-35, 108-109)

@AshleyPalaeo

(pg. 37)

138

@vvarmhealer

(pgs. 32-35, 118-119)

Sully McNeil

(pg. 37)

@amyillustrator

(pg.39)

Chris T

(pg. 41)

@terrorpup1

(pg. 42-43, 66)

Shiro Kuro

(pg. 44-45)

@alienblaster

(pg. 48)

@gatacs

(pg. 51)

@AlexMovingFwd

(pg. 52-53)

139

@Super_redhead

(pgs. 32-35, 108-109)

@ivy4000

(pg. 60)

Ryland Kyle

(pg. 61)

@annascraftingnook

(pg.66)

Amber K.

(pg. 67)

@duetland

(pg. 68)

Samuel Lalia

(pgs. 71, 113)

@BMycicle

(pg.66-67)

Luke Herbert

(pg.66)

140

@FelixJ20k

(pg. 67)

@calledforquiet

(pg. 81)

Andrew Ramirez

(pg. 82-83)

@ToTheBlade

(pg. 84-85)

Maria Cochina

(pg. 86-87)

@spookyghost_boy

(pg. 88-89)

@Commie_kun

(pg. 92)

@wainingjay

(pg. 97)

@intangible_bear

(pg. 101)

141

@b1rdlawyer

(pg. 102)

@mintymalamute

(pg.103)

@AxeToday

(pg. 106)

@tarrotcakes

(pg. 108-109)

@leobalcer_

(pg. 110)

@SHlNYCUTIE

(pg. 114)

@noashtrays

(pg. 129)

@alyailioh

(pg. 114)

@dispenserbox

(pg. 117)

142

WRITERS

Saskia Xena

(pgs. 8-11)

Benjamin Margett

(pg. 17)

Angie Bhadal

(pgs. 22-25)

Bard

(pgs. 31-33)

@threepwillow

(pgs. 36-41, 107)

Liz Clarke

(pgs. 49-50)

Joel Wilson

(pgs. 54-57)

@WhosDatPanda

(pgs. 62-65)

@Southern_corn

(pgs. 70-77)

143

Stephen Pierce

(pgs. 93-96)

Cami Iverson

(pgs. 80, 100)

Beverly Knight

(pgs. 111-113)

@BeckyEscalator

(pgs. 121-126)

148

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

@golf_clappp (pg. 20-21, 46-47, 134)

@sphinxofgrease (pgs. 20-21, 46-47, 136)

Sam Hill (pg. 128)

@aizhdraws (pgs 20-21, 46-47)

@calledforquiet (pg. 132)

@vvarmhealer (pgs. 69, 135)

@mintymalamute (pgs. 20, 69)

@lizowens92 (pg. 134)

@WhosDatPanda (pg. 136)

Benjamin Margette (pg.128)

@tarrotcakes (pg. 131)

@NoahBodysArt (pg. 130)

@Southern_Corn (pg. 131)

@terrorpup1 (pg. 131)

@alyailioh (pg. 128)

@AxeToday (pg. 133)

@Sc1entists (pg. 20, 132)

@dontbeacoconutt (pg. 133)

Darryl Crusoe (pg. 135)

Marina Cochina (pgs. 116-117)

J Chaplin (pg. 116)

Chantal (129)

@blast_doors (pg. 115)

@BeckyEscalator (pg. 8-11)

AT LAAAAASSST, Layout

Designer, Editor, Curator, and Creator of

Everyzine Everyzine

@mykzurgf

149

AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE “EE BRAINCELL”

(the mitochondria behind the zine)

@Hystarukal

@JazzChordsProd

@Ki0si0n

@strangelightt

@AxeToday

@scifilullabies

@amycwb

@danjdahern

@Smaliussp

@calledforquiet

@FeralBassist

@super_redhead

@Suspicious_Pear

@Southern_Corn

@kaktuskelsey

@DoubleKOoOo1

@flatrat42069

@JJUICEBOX

@kimaya_naidoo

@BenFMarg

@WhosDatPanda

@BeckyEscalator

@FelixJ20K

@ImpossibleSkunk

@putmetogether_

@ToTheBlade

@TreasureSet

@StrideNoah

@sunburnt_wishes

@spinxofgrease

@golf_clappp

@aejb_

@endofreel

@vvarmhealer

@NoabodysArt

@luceevans

This could not have happened without your endless

support, I love you guys so much.

150

ARE THOSE MY PEOPLE? . . .

Oh man, The Braincell mean the absolute world to me. They’ve formed

a remarkable support system with artists and dear friends who I could

never forget! Our group chat has become a necessity to my everyday

life — these wonderful folks have gotten me through some SHIT. Not

to mention, the creativity in this friend group absolutely astonishes me!

We consistently inspire each other to be better artists and people, sharing

our works and our worlds with one another. These are some of the

most inventive, loyal, welcoming, and thoughtful people I have ever

had the pleasure of being friends with. I’m absolutely honored to be a

part of this project, and to be involved with such kind kindred spirits.

You guys make me a better person, and I’ll always be there for each and

every one of you.

Thank you to Alex, Jeremy, Jon, and Mike for bringing us

together. Thank you to each of my dear friends who make my life that

much brighter. Most importantly, thank you Maple, for drawing us closer

in such a profound way. Words cannot describe how much this project

has meant to me on a deeply creative and personal level, and I hope

you’re as proud of you as we are! Love you, Braincell.

-Cami Iverson (@flatrat42069)

151

I’M VAPOUR IN YOUR LOVE ....

Everyzine Everyzine Vol.1 - 2020

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