Track by Track is our recurring series in which artists guide readers through each song on a release. Today, Uniform singer Michael Berdan takes us under the hood of the band's new album, American standard.
With the imminent release of American standardI would like to take some time and walk you through each individual track.
We began putting this record together during a period of collective upheaval in the fall of 2022. After some health issues and an extremely limited tour, the band's morale was at rock bottom. Instead of calling it a day, we decided to channel all of our sadness and heartbreak into something new.
Our longtime drummer, Mike Sharp, lives several states away and has significant family responsibilities, so Michael Blume has largely taken over drum duties for live shows in the “post-COVID” era. Rather than choosing between two amazing percussionists, we used them both. With the addition of Brad Truax on bass, the American standard The Uniform lineup took shape.
While most of the music was recorded in early 2023, we spent an entire year editing these tracks to complement a narrative flow. The lyrics focus on my lifelong battle with an eating disorder, and it took a significant amount of time and attention to accurately match the words to the music. The idea was to reflect the full spectrum of a very real mental illness in a cohesive piece of art, and that’s not the kind of thing that just comes together casually.
To maintain a certain level of quality, some of my favorite horror writers helped craft these lyrics. Maggie Siebert’s resume boasts some of the most harrowing short stories about body dysmorphia in recent memory, while BR Yeager’s work has served as a wrecking ball of crystallized isolation and self-loathing aimed at the very heart of contemporary literature. This record wouldn’t exist without their invaluable talents and insights, and I will be indebted to them until the moment I draw my final breath.
As for the title, American standard It's a toilet brand. You can do the math.
Editor's note: Listen to Uniform's new album American standardRead Michael Berdan's song-by-song analysis and check out the band's full list of tour dates below. Pre-order the LP via Records of sacred bonesand buy tickets for their upcoming shows at This location.
“American standard”:
Time will judge whether or not it was a good idea to start an album with a song that lasts more than 20 minutes. It's not the most pragmatic idea we've had when it comes to audience participation, but we didn't feel like we had much choice in the matter. There are only four songs on the album. American standardand this sets up the entire registry.
The title track is split into three distinct sections. The first few minutes are just me and my voice, trapped in a circular state of denial and frustration. My screams turn on themselves and come back as hateful affirmations of my worst fears. By the time the rest of the band bursts in, the sickness has consumed all reason.
The second part is written from the point of view of my eating disorder. Slight sound modulations appear within an incessant repetition, symbolizing countless relapses. The disease thinks of me as an insect. The disease tells me I will never be good enough. The disease tells me I am not worthy of love. The disease tightens its grip on my mind and body until I break.
It ends in a state of horrible lucidity. The music becomes euphoric as I step back and take stock of my life. Noticing the physical and psychic effects of my illness, I look back and try to make sense of how it all began. I come to find these thoughts and behaviors intertwined with my earliest childhood memories. I search for a cure for a malignant disease at the core of my being, and I cannot find it. My illness has always been there. It always will be.
“This is not a prayer”:
For a band that started out as a guitar and synth duo, we're all about organic instruments. Everything that happens on this song is in service of the drums. Sharp and Blume lay down a groove on “This Is Not a Prayer” that's equal parts Sepultura and Public Image Ltd., while Ben [Greenberg’s] The guitar dances along with the toms and Brad's bass accentuates the kick drums.
Thematically, this song is about an illusion that makes me feel better about my appearance when people tell me I'm unhealthy. In my mind, other people's concerns serve as positive affirmations. I'm just under 6'1″ and there have been times when I've weighed less than 130lbs. If you've been in my shoes, you know how arbitrary those numbers on the scale seem, because what you see in the mirror is a terrible distortion of reality. You only know you're on the right track when someone tells you they're worried. It's a real piece of shit.
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