It’s impossible to outrun your demons, a lesson Denver’s folk-rock band Whitacre knows all too well. Returning to the limelight — following a lineup change and having dealt with personal struggles — Whitacre dives into the darkness and confronts their demons face to face with their newest tune, “Here, Again,” from their forthcoming record, Seasons. The result is Whitacre’s most poignant work yet, a reoccurring dream of the inevitable tribulations out to challenge them — whether they like it or not.
Frantic and on the run, the protagonist in the band’s new visual outruns the image of a man blindfolded and bound — a visage of himself he desperately aims to escape. No matter where their protagonist turns, he sees his demons around every corner, in every interaction, as lead singer Paul Whitacre sings a dirge of a chorus, “I’m half past the lowest I’ve been, so let me down slow, so let me down fast…,” bleeding out a truth that pounds on his ribcage with increasing urgency.
The gentlemen who felt impenetrable belting “Within the Mountains’ Shadows” have felt the crack in their armor, and the fear of it all-consuming them. “If I can change what’s inside of me, you’d see its more than insecurity,” Whitacre sings on the climax of his fatal flaws as the demon catches up the protagonist.
“Whitacre has always strived to write the most honest songs we can, but ‘Here, Again’ takes it a level further,” remarks lead singer Paul Whitacre. ” The concepts we were coming up with while filming the video kept getting darker and darker, and while we were initially worried about that, we realized we were just being super honest about the things we were struggling with. We chose to highlight those struggles in hopes of making others who are hurting inside feel like they aren’t alone.”
For as despairing as the premise of the video is, there’s beauty in the struggle. “Here, Again” is as visually stunning as it is viscerally aware of what it feels like to hit rock bottom. If the band’s previously released output revolves around life’s affirmations, “Here, Again” shines a light on the other side of the coin, the hits that could knock you down, but that makes life worth living and the lessons worth learning, no matter how painful. Both video and single are a testament to the honest endeavor that is Whitacre — here again, to speak their truth.