Song Review: "Lyrical Medicine" by We Built a Mountain
Photo Credit: We Built a Mountain
“Sound is healing.”
No one could have said it better. UK band We Built A Mountain seems to have their fingers on the pulse of why human beings flock to music. It seems like it should be an obvious fact; people love music of all kinds because it, in some way, heals them. It lifts them up with every beat. It salves the wounds caused by everyday life, extraordinary or otherwise. It unifies people who would otherwise not come together. Music is, truly, “Lyrical Medicine.”
The band has really knocked it out of the park in terms of a first single with their debut track, “Lyrical Medicine”. I’ve been a fan of this kind of sound for years, thanks to bands like Bombay Bicycle Club who like to channel the sheer ecstasy of music that comes from deep down in an artist’s heart. But “Lyrical Medicine” does something unique; it seeks to pump you up while simultaneously acting as friend and comforter. It’s a pleasure to listen to “Lyrical Medicine,” just like it’s a pleasure to listen to your best friend try to cheer you up by taking you out of your comfort zone - pumping you up while hugging it out.
That opening riff stirs something within me, so I know something exciting is going to start. The lead singer’s voice is perfectly suited to this kind of sound, and the lyricism in the song is absolutely masterful. The drumming work in this song is such a wonderful backdrop that sets my heart pumping. The whole thing is just a musical adventure, a wonderful journey into the liminal space that is good music.
It is music in its purest form. My litmus test is whether or not a song can take me out of myself, whether or not a sound can tap into that electric piece of my soul and send those currents coursing through me. And in doing so, in filling me with joy and with life and love, I am healed from the day. From life. Whatever problems I have waiting for me after the song ends don’t seem so daunting anymore. The world isn’t quite so big or unconquerable. I see more beauty in life by the end of it than when I started.
Music heals me, and I know for so many it acts in much the same way. And so I will not carry on much longer, but I will leave you with an essential theme I took from this song:
“You are alright, you are fine, you feel peace of mind.”