Review Summary: A very underrated album from a short-lived Canadian band that captures very specific emotions in a very specific moment.
Eventually is the sole LP release by the late Canadian pop band We Are Bravest. The album was released for free by the band after they broke up and is still available on iTunes. The members of We Are Bravest were all in high school when the record was released. The band consisted of Jourdan Horban as the frontman, Johnny McMahon on guitar, Lucas Toews on drums, Gabe Correia on guitar, Erik Melton on bass, and Adam Shoji on the keyboard.
The album begins with “Learn to tell (Atlantic) Time.” The song begins with the swelling of raw guitar sound and explodes into a synthesizer riff with a heavy drumbeat. After this Horban’s vocals come in. Listening to this track gave me a feeling of what to expect for the rest of the album. “I never thought that I could chase you away,” sings Horban over one of the synthesizer riffs that become very familiar to anyone who listens to the LP all the way through. “I’ll have my say before this something becomes nothing at all.” There is a certain nostalgic feeling that I get from listening to this track that reminds me of high school. “I hope he knows you’re everything to me.” Horban sings at the end of the song. Horban is a very expressive singer and the repetition of words works in his favor.
The next track “In Love With A Libson Girl” begins with a heavy drum beat. And Horban sings out “It’s hard to dance with my hands behind my back. She gets all my attention and she’s still wanting more, yeah so much more.” An interesting thing the band does in this song is that they have what sounds like someone inaudibly talking on the phone in the background for a very short time at the beginning of the song. “Sleeping through the weekends. I tell myself it’s not so bad” is repeatedly sung through the chorus. It’s not the words themselves of the hook but the combination of the words with the music that hit so hard with me and the melody brings with it a certain nostalgic feeling about a world better and more “mystical” than the one we live in now. This feeling is carried through the entire album but is prominent in the chorus of this song.
“Playing Favourites” begins with a catchy three note synthesizer riff and fades into Horban’s vocals. “Head over heels at the top of my lungs, singing I’m in love.” This song is very melodic and features another prominent chorus “We’re the best boys, so take us or leave us be. We’re the best boys and this is how it, how it feels to be seen. On the drive home, I know she’ll leave me at the door. She’s heading upstairs to ch-change herself for the better for me.” This is another example of Horban’s ability to say multiple things at once with his lyrics and I keep learning more things about the songs every time I listen to them even today.
The next track “The Way it Stays” is the only track off of the record that was made into a music video. The video features a lively performance of the song in a parking garage. When you listen to lyrics closely you will understand that the song is about winning the heart of a girl who is in a relationship with another person. The music itself doesn't make you think about that, so it’s another good example of the band being able to say more than one thing with their lyrics and music at the same time. The song opens with a piano/synthesizer and bass riff and then builds up with guitar swelling and explodes into a very catchy melody. The chorus is “Whoa-oah you think she’s coming for you, coming for you. She’s all mine and you know that’s the way it goes. Whoa-oah we’ve got a good thing coming. She doesn’t need you, she has me and that’s the way it stays.” The words act agreeably with the songs upbeat feel.
The lyrics in “Straight On ‘Til Morning” were difficult to hear for the most part, but this song features another prominent melody. “This is goodnight. Goodnight bright city. You were everything we hoped and needed, the best of times, the worst goodbyes, for all that you are goodnight bright city lights” is the chorus. The second half of the song is the best part of the song because it slows down and enters into a section in which Horban repeatedly sings “go by” as the band slowly builds up to the last chorus. And during the last chorus the way Horban sings “bright city lights,” by holding out the words adds something very special to the song. There also seems to be a violin playing in this track.
“Digitize! Energize” is another prominent track on the record. “Oh my dear,” sings Horban. “you have your head all backwards…from another late night fight with your boy….take a break from him tonight and pick up the phone. This is exactly how you knew it would be.” About 47 seconds into the song there is a guitar riff, that’s actually only a few notes that pushes the song forward and adds to the nostalgic feeling of the entire album. This is not my favorite track on the album but a good song and it fills the space of the album with something interesting and exciting without being “filler” at all.
“The Last Summer (You & Me)” begins with the lyrics “Right about now I bet you’re thinking it’s time for us to lay our heads down and sleep this off but I’ve got money in the bank that says we’re going to tear this town to pieces.” Even though this is one of my two least favorite tracks on the album, it is still a good song. The opening of the song and the bridge are my favorite parts of the song.
“Real Talk” opens with the usual wall of synthesizer and guitar sounds. Horban’s quick and melodic vocal style serves this song very well, “Keep me in the back of your mind on the tip of your tongue” is sung by a second singer. My favorite lyrics from this song are “We only have ourselves to blame when every day is the same. It’s impossible to self-medicate with late night TV.”
“Maybe the Best of Things” is a song that has a sad feel and it is slow and the lyrics are about romantic love. “Someday we’ll share a front door. She said we could have so much more. I’ll never settle for a second best. When she said it she meant it… You can tell your mom that’s just the way it goes. Drop it all to start a real life, with a real job.” The lyrics and the music work together to keep with the feel of the album while reminding us how short life is and capturing a specific feeling in a specific moment.
“Still Counting Stars” is the second to last track and at this point I usually expect the quality of albums to go down. But this is one of the best songs of the album. This song is very catchy, especially because of the hook and the guitar riffs.
“Eventually” is the last song and part of the lyrics were quoted by the band when they broke up on their blog page. "I never said a thing about forever, when all we have left are memories. We’ll spend our better days together. When we all grow apart, it’s called growing up." Because of how short-lived this band was this song really sums up the band as a whole.
In my opinion this album is one of the best albums I've ever heard and deserves to have much more recognition than it does. It captures the feeling of what it’s like to be a teenager and can easily give someone nostalgic feelings and feelings of yearning, no matter what track you are listening to.
Definitely Download: Learn To Tell (Atlantic) Time, In Love With a Libson Girl, Playing Favourites, The Way It Stays, Straight On ‘Til Morning, Digitize! Energize!, Real Talk, Maybe the Best of Things, Still Counting Stars, Eventually (We All Grow)
