Your Great Escape Originally started as a solo project by guitarist/vocalist Anthony Truzzolino, Tired Radio has returned with Hope in the Haze, an album that finds Truzzolino navigating through the darkness to find a way out. He shared, “We’re about to release this new record that was written at the darkest point of my existence, and I’m nervous for people to hear because it’s all the dark parts of Tired Radio and none of the levity. Very heavy musically and lyrically.” The raspy voice of Truzzolino works well to match the pain that he feels on key songs like “D.R.E.A.M. (Depression Ruins Everything Around Me)”, as Tired Radio finds ways to accelerate their development as a full-fledged band. Produced and engineered by Gary Cioni (Hot Mulligan) with some additional production contributed by Matt Weber (Sweet Pill), Hope in the Haze paints a picture of a person at rock bottom, yet willing to claw their way back to the top. I promise it’s worth the journey, and it’s easy to root for Tired Radio’s breakthrough.
The album starts off on a bit of a bummer note with the acoustic guitar-driven ballad of “Seem OK” as Truzzolino shares, “I thought the pain would go away / Turns out the pain is here to stay / I thought that I would be alright / But I can’t sleep at night,” as he navigates his mental health journey with a somber outlook. The cool guitar riffing groove on “D.R.E.A.M. (Depression Ruins Everything Around Me)” showcases the growth of Tired Radio as a unit, and the chorus of, “Man I miss the days when we were younger / And we didn’t have to care so much / Nowadays everything’s a bummer / I feel like giving up / I wish I could stop myself from thinking / Find some quiet in the loud / Me and all my friends we’re always drinking / It helps us feel better for now,” provides some more context in how the frontman was dealing with his depression. The anthemic single wastes little time to getting to the good part of the record, and highlights why Tired Radio is quickly becoming one of the more exciting up and coming punk bands in the scene today.
”On & On” is a straight-forward rocker that begins with a tight instrumental intro before Truzzolino bellows, “There’s a man in a lab coat peddling pills / The pills that kill the pain inside / There’s a folded up note in my dresser drawer / A backup plan / A last goodbye,” that paint a vivid picture of a person at his breaking point. My personal favorite in the set comes in the fourth track of “Your Great Escape” that features some passionate vocals from Truzzolino, while his bandmates rally around his every lyric to keep the record moving forward. The bulletproof chorus of, “Hey, where you gonna go / When all the places that you’ve been you have already called home? / Yeah, what are you gonna do / When all the reasons that you’re leaving here are bound to come looking for you?” is as well-constructed as it is sad to see the frontman’s outlook on life.
The front half ends with “When You Say My Name,” that is a mid-tempo rocker about looking for a person who will hopefully turn things around for us, but just ends up being a factor in spiraling out of control. The lyrics in the second verse put more emphasis on mental health as Truzzolino explains, “A half hearted apology / A self fulfilling prophecy / I climb the ladder just to fall / I take these drugs to fix my brain / But they’re not fixing anything.” It’s heartbreaking to see any person in this state of mind, so you can only hope he finds his way into the light.
The title track sets off the second side of the record that tries to find glimmers of hope in his darkest of thoughts as his vocals seem almost distant in the production elements to make it seem like a dreamscape of a song. It’s a pretty cool artistic choice, and allows for the album to have a bit of variety. “Records and Regrets” continues down the path of self-discovery and a bit of self-therapy through music as Truzzolino shares, “But I put another record on the stereo / Surrender to my feelings and I lose control / All this time i’ve wasted I got nothing to show / But we’re all gonna fall in the end.” Music has always been a way for me to cope with everything in my own life, so I can see why the frontman could find solace in his favorite tunes as well.
The lowest point comes in “Midnight: Miserable (Everyone I Love Is Gonna Die)” an the heavy lyrical material at being at rock bottom is hard to listen to, as his pain bleeds through the song. Other songs like the dreamy interlude of “Fade Away…” help with setting the tone of the ending point of the near-concept record before wrapping up with the six and a half minute math rock opus of “Mountains // Molehills” that truly unlocks the full potential of Tired Radio as a band. Truzzolino leaves the listener with, “I can’t move on, I care too much (I need you like the ocean needs the moon) / But you’ve already given up (like a flower needs to bloom) / And left behind a pain I can’t erase (like a fire needs a spark) / (THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE),” as makes a final plea to the person he feels like will right the wrongs in his life.
Hope in the Haze is a gripping depiction of a person struggling with self-medication and paints a vivid, yet heartbreaking, picture of someone looking for any way to improve his outlook and mental health. You can only hope that Turzzolino is in a better place now as he fought tooth and nail to get towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Tired Radio have made a very important album here that demands to be taken seriously.