“The stakes feel so high these days,” says John P. Darcy in his note on Beat Radio‘s latest release. “Time seems to be running out.” We’ve long praised the sincerity and empathy of Brian Sendrowitz’s songwriting, from the early recordings from 2005 to 2016’s triumphant Take It Forever, Beat Radio has come to represent independent art in its most pure sense. Art not as some pursuit of fame or prestige but a means of exploration, communication and connection. Who better then, than to write a record about these times. Times where the stakes feel higher than before, when urgency presses in at every moment?
Everyone I Know, Just Holding On is very much a product of the conditions in which it formed, on levels both personal and political. Darcy describes how he and Sendrowitz often found themselves discussing dreams not yet realised, actions still to be taken, the unerring tick of time squeezing possibilities. In the face of such pressure, it is easy to throw in the towel. But the record is a call-to-arms against such thinking, a reminder that there is always time to act, to work and fight to make real what feels right.
The cover shows Sendrowitz and his friends on a beach in Montauk, gathered to celebrate his fortieth birthday in 2018 in a country slowly coming to terms with the cultural fight on its hands. “Forty is a benchmark, an over / under,” Darcy continues. “A wrecking ball had recently touched down. That time in Montauk felt like a crossroads. A beach town in winter. Brian and I made a tacit pact—our lives were decidedly still in front of us. Radio daydreams never end.”
Beat Radio’s distinctively hopeful tone is clear from the opening track, ‘Alchemy’. “I know I haven’t been here / and it’s been a hard year / but I’ve got faith in the future,” Sendrowitz sings. “Sometimes it’s hard to find the light / But we’ve still got time to make it right.” If Take It Forever signaled a turn away from the nostalgic, fresh-faced angst of some of the early releases, Everyone I Know, Just Holding On realises the change completely. ‘There’s a Darkness’ consolidates the power of small scale humanity against the mystifying cruelty of the world, while the undeniable brightness of the title track belies the insidious doubt of the lyrics.
Snake in the grass, wolf at the door
We’ve made it through hard times before
It’s getting dark and our dreams are gone
Everyone I know, just holding on
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There’s a paternal steadiness to ‘Song for Jackson,’ as though in the aftermath of the previous track lies not surrender but hard-won wisdom, a reflective calm, the ability to sit with the trouble in the world for the benefit of others. The track is a great representation of the record’s focus, recognising the ubiquity of confusion and dissatisfaction and widening the lens beyond one’s own concerns, helping both others and yourself.
Everyone I Know, Just Holding On is out now and you can get it from the Beat Radio Bandcamp page.