Break

Album: Treehouse (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "I wasn't a very good boyfriend."

    That's what I See Stars lead singer Devin Oliver said in his Songfacts interview. "Break" is a rare heartbreak song for him, since he didn't experience much of it until 2014 when he split from his girlfriend of six years. Said Oliver: "I felt very heartbroken at the time, but it was really great, because I think that I was able to turn something tragic and heartbreaking into something beautiful, and I was able to find something beautiful in that."
  • This is a track from I See Stars' fifth album, Treehouse. The band has an electro-hardcore sound that is heavy on the hardcore in this one. "The song has such an aggressive vibe," Devin Oliver told us. "When you listen to it, you don't really think about this 'heartbreak song.' It's so epic and aggressive that you lose yourself to the music and kind of ride the lyrics."
  • The video was done by Brandon Bolmer, who is also a musician who records under that name Maskarade.

    Working with Cinema 4D and Final Cut Pro X, he spent 10 days working on the clip. Bolmer told us about the meaning behind it:

    "In general, the video's concept addresses the challenges and struggles we each face - those challenges could have to do with love, relationships, or personal struggles. I wanted to leave that open for interpretation by the viewer.

    The floating orb that is seen throughout the video represents these struggles. When faced with adversity, we often feel in those moments that we've hit a wall, we feel as though there may be no way out. We are mentally jolted, we break down, we are at a loss for words. But we keep pushing forward, we keep fighting... and sooner or later we are able to look back at those difficult moments and see that we've gained great knowledge and understanding from them.

    At the end the video, the person is shown observing the orb that has led them to a forest. The orb opens, a tree emerges, and for the first time they are able to see the true nature and value that it holds. The tree represents the new knowledge and perspective this person has gained, and as the tree floats up into the sky, it collides with the sun and ignites the entire sky. The message here is the idea of being able to take something dark, something troublesome, and turn it into a positive, turn it into something that breathes new life into you, something that keeps you pushing forward."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.