Album Review: Counterparts - 'A Eulogy for Those Still Here'
Counterparts’ ‘A Eulogy For Those Still Here’ reflects on the inevitability of saying goodbye and how universal the experience of loss is; while letting its listeners know they’re not alone in those experiences.
October 7th sees Counterparts release their seventh full-length album. The band formed in 2007, and vocalist Brendan Murphy took a moment to reflect on the last 15 years along with the approach taken towards this album, “I started to think about what it would be like to write a record as if it would be our last, to try and make something that I knew I would be satisfied with if it was.”
‘Whispers Of Your Death’ kicks Counterparts’ seventh album off to a strong start, the track boasts elements of metal-tinged hardcore and powerful riffs that work so well with Murphy’s vocals, all of which creates a track that is oozing with the sense of unavoidable loss. “My cat, Kuma, has been sick,” Murphy explained on the topic of this track. ‘Even when the vet tells me he’s doing ok, I think he’s going to die. If he sneezes, I go to the worst-case scenario, and that’s definitely the mindset I was in when I was writing these songs.” It’s a feeling that so many pet owners can relate to but can also be applied to any kind of scenario where we could be potentially losing a loved one soon, and the song almost feels cathartic in a way – we’re never alone the way that we do during these extremely difficult times.
The album’s title track ‘A Eulogy For Those Still Here’ captures the reoccurring themes of grief, living with grief and the inevitability of us experiencing loss throughout our lives. It allows the listeners of the album to just get lost in the emotions and imagery being created, and perhaps that’s why the track feels like the perfect way to epitomize the inherent suffering that often comes with being human.
The eighth song from the band’s latest album is called ‘What Mirrors Might Reflect’ and if the feeling of heartbreak could be described by a song, then this track may be the one to have done that. Counterparts’ ‘What Mirrors Might Reflect’ also captures the feeling of not liking the person you are, or even perhaps the person that you’re becoming, and mourns the loss of a time where you were the person you wanted to be.
‘Flesh To Fill Your Wounds’ is a track on the album that depicts a story of a fading love, along with the different emotions people feel while falling out of love with someone. The song captures the feelings many people may be able to relate to when they realised they no longer loved a partner, or that they couldn’t continue to pretend that everything was okay when it came to their relationship. ‘Flesh to Fill Your Wounds’ is dripping with frustration and upset, along with inevitability of ending a relationship.
Counterparts bring their album to a close with ‘A Mass Grave Of Saints.’ The track offers a heartrending finale to close this album, leaving with it a sense of “this is it.” Murphy explained that “all of these things I have are still a big part of my life but one day they won’t be, and I don’t want to be focusing on that instead of enjoying the time I have with them.” He also added that “maybe I’m saying goodbye pre-emptively, but I think it’s important to say goodbye while you can.”
Counterparts’ seventh album is one that is emotionally charged, with the sense of the inevitability of having to say goodbye to a loved one throughout the album. ‘A Eulogy For Those Still Here’ takes the impending sense of loss and the feelings that go with that experience, and creates the most heart-breaking album. Counterparts is in no way saying goodbye with this album, but if they were, it would be an incredible final album.
Words by Bethany Ellis
