There are a few songs that seem like they’ve been carefully crafted. Yesterday Blurs by tcr! is lived in. Every minute of this track was written, performed, recorded and mixed by the independent artist in just about his own voice, and it’s evident from the first note. Restless, honest and croonin and emotional – most music cannot be.
The line in the song sums it up. Yesterday is no longer; and yet it is not forgotten. Time can soften the edges of a bad memory but a bad memory’s feelings can last and tcr! knows that feeling very well, so the song goes straight for them with jagged textures, a nervous pulse and lyrics ripped from old journals from an aggravating breakup.
But Yesterday Blurs is so interesting because it doesn’t perform. All of this is done without any manipulation for attention. It’s just one artist, one bass riff, one drumbeat and a ton of truth in the emotion. We spoke to tcr! about the source of the song, how it was created and what it means to transform real pain into real music.
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“Yesterday Blurs” is such a striking title. What inspired the name, and how does it connect to the story or emotions behind the song?
It all started when I was flipping through my phone’s camera roll and quite by accident started seeing all these pictures of an ex-girlfriend…
The track has a very reflective atmosphere to it. What kind of mood or feeling were you trying to capture while creating this release?
I don’t know if I’m ever specifically trying to capture something. Maybe trying to capture what I want the song’s vibe to be, but mostly it’s honest expression. Like here’s what I was feeling at one point and this music behind it best supports those feelings.
Can you walk us through how “Yesterday Blurs” came together creatively, from the first idea to the finished version?
The main riff came about when I was tinkering on a bass guitar. I loved the fast paced energy and then put the drums behind it. The two guitars were fairly easy as well since I just locked them right up against the bass. Because the song is high energy, calming it down for the bass interlude was almost a necessity.
With the lyrics, I mined old journals where I was purging the break up with the ex-girlfriend above. Many of the lines were direct or near direct quotes.
For mixing, I always listen to mostly final versions on as many different speakers as I can. My studio headphones, my AirPods and HomePods, in my car. It’s easy to find out if the bass is too loud and/or the vocals are too quiet.
Was there a specific personal experience, memory, or moment that influenced the direction of the song?
Yep, that breakup. It was over a year long, parting of ways. I guess it more of a definition than an influence.
Your sound on this release feels both emotional and immersive. How did you approach balancing the production with the message of the track?
I just let the creative process be my guide. Like when we tap into the creative energy and let is steer the course, it knows where it wants to go and generally takes on a life of its own. The message and the production are so intertwined that I don’t really think about either.
Every artist has certain songs that evolve naturally and others that take time to shape. What was the creative journey like for “Yesterday Blurs”?
When I make music I have like a thought of where I think it should go but then it takes on its own life during the recording. They most always start with a bass riff, next a drumbeat to go with them, and then I just keep building and refining until it’s done. I have a full time job and all that, but overall songs go pretty quickly when I get in the trenches with them.
Were there any artists, genres, or sonic influences that subtly inspired the sound or vibe of this release?
I love The Misfits, The Cure, Band of Horses, Nine Inch Nails, Lana Del Ray, Megadeth, Portishead. I could go on and on.
Lyrically and emotionally, “Yesterday Blurs” feels very honest. Was it difficult to put those feelings into music, or did the song come naturally once you started writing?
I’ve been through too many bad breakups and I process the bad times by writing about them. The words, thoughts, feelings, raging, crying all get written out and down so I can get it out of my head.
When I was going through this particular break up, that was difficult for sure. Writing the words “I have my list of betrayals” in a notebook was incredibly painful at the time because those are real thoughts I had, real feelings. Obviously I shouldn’t have been keeping a running list of resentments but that’s where I was at the time.
Because this particular break up was years ago, I’ve really distanced myself from it and the heartbreak. Of course sometimes when I really dig into something, emotions can get fired up again. Like we can be transported back to those moments in time.
When it comes time to record, though, it’s really about the song at that point.
What do you think this release says about your artistic growth and where tcr! is creatively right now?
I’ve learned so much since I first started recording 800 years ago and I’m especially proud of how the whole EP turned out, objectively and subjectively. Of course, I get flack from people because I don’t have the vocal range, but whatever. They can go listen to someone else’s song.
When listeners finish hearing “Yesterday Blurs,” what do you hope stays with them the most—the emotion, the message, or the overall atmosphere?
When I was a teenager I related tremendously with artists who shared pain they’d went through. Their music gave a voice to the torment I was going through and couldn’t explain. Those songs meant so much to me that want to put music back out to the cosmos that maybe will let someone else know that they’re not alone in how they feel.
