Too Close To Touch just released their latest EP, I’m Hard To Love, But So Are You Vol 1, via Epitaph Records. The band announced they would become a trio back in April 2018, keeping previous members Keaton Pierce, Mason Marble and Kenneth Downey while parting ways with Thomas Kidd and Travis Moore. This new EP shows just what the band can do even with the loss of two members, the band has put a spin on their musical direction – taking it into a pop-rock aspect with the three new songs “Hard To Love”, “Casket”, and “The Fear of Letting Go”.
Fans can tell the band has diverged more into the pop era with the first track “Hard To Love”. The song depicts an unhealthy relationship surrounded by cheating, blaming of faults that are hard to change, and the begging question of “Am I not good enough?” as can be seen in several lyrical references – “You tell not to overthink, while I disregard the fact you share his sheets” and “Is it the way he says he loves you? Cause I used to say that shit too.”
“Casket” continues the same pop atmosphere instrumentally; while the lyrical aspect surrounds jealousy and trying to win back someone after you realize you lost what was good for you. This can be seen in the lyrics “You don’t get the right to call when you like it, you gave that away… You put this love in a casket, now there’s no time to lie, no way to change my mind, didn’t give a damn when you had it.”
“The Fear of Letting Go” I believe is the strongest song on the EP, mixing the band’s old post-hardcore vibes with the new pop direction, with Keaton Pierce giving fans the same emotional, passionate mix of raspy and clean vocals that led fans to listen back when the band released their first album Nerve Endings in 2015. Within the lyrics, “I guess I let myself go, thought I could cope but it’s all a waste.” This song reminds me lyrically and instrumentally of the previous three singles the band released to tell the story – “I’ll leave you lonely before I cave in, and watch us burn.”
Overall, the EP is definitely a hint to the direction the band could be going continuing further down the line. I can’t wait to see what the band does with bringing these songs to life in performance, and continuously surprising fans with their ever-growing musical direction. Just as the band stated, I do believe this era will only lead to more success for the band as they continue to diverge between genres and experiment with different musical tastes.
