Singled Out: Clarity's Serenade

Keavin Wiggins | 07-26-2021

Japan/Ireland alternative rockers Clarity recently released their new EP "In The Light Of Lies Pt. 2" and to celebrate we have asked vocalist Andy Kavanagh to tell us about the song "Serenade". Here is the story:

All of the songs across both parts of 'In the Light of Lies' were written during a really emotionally turbulent time in my life. I was dealing with the consequences of a lot of awful behavior, and it felt even worse for how childish it all was.

Some of the tracks go into a lot of detail about where my head was at, but "Serenade" emerged at a time when I was starting to realize how necessary it was for me to change. I'd gotten to the point where I knew I couldn't stay the way I was, but I couldn't yet see a way out. It hammered home how immature my whole outlook had been, and how helpless I had become.

I think a lot of post-hardcore lyrics are very "woe-is-me, person-x-hurt-me" which I really don't like. I feel like there's a desire to look cool and always present from a position that suits the aesthetic. Broken heart? Easy sell. Swearing revenge? You can put that on merch, easy. But like, that's not what I felt at that time. All I felt was shame. And helplessness. And that's not cool by anyone's definition. But I felt like it was - whether I liked or not - part of the journey I was on at that time.

So if I was going to present 'In the Light of Lies' with any kind of integrity, that had to be there. So 'Serenade' is that. It's a cry for help, a record of someone wallowing shamefully in self-pity because they just don't know what else to do. It's about wanting desperately to be saved but knowing that no one's coming - and worse, that you don't deserve to be saved anyway - and the only relief you'll get will be in sleep.

Musically, Kai (Guitar) came up with the chorus a few years ago. I loved it right away and the hook came out pretty much fully formed. Unfortunately the other members at the time weren't into it so it got shelved. For the second E.P, we went back and pulled out a bunch of old demos and tried to make something of them. 'Serenade' had a lot of potential, and it gave Maki (Bass) and Riki (Guitar) an opportunity to show their versatility rather than just chugging riffs like on the first E.P.

I think it's simultaneously the poppiest and darkest thing we've ever done, for how the arrangement clashes with the themes in the lyrics. The video went in a pretty dark direction too thanks to our video guy Seidai Takekoshi. I hope people can enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the EP here