Neither Could Dylan

Yesterday my latest release, a 6-song EP titled Homeless Youth, arrived to streaming services and bandcamp.

If you’ve already had a chance to check it out, thank you! I hope you found something you liked in it.

If you were one of those who supported the release on Bandcamp, I also want to say a special thanks; Your contribution was forwarded into Youth Without Shelter’s Time4Change event that I participated in yesterday which, last I saw, raised over $40,000 for the organization’s emergency residential program. This means you have already positively impacted the unhoused youth population of Toronto and that’s really what this EP is all about.

Today I want to briefly go through each track and talk a little bit about the album and the songs within, so go on and fire up your favourite streaming platform and follow along.

Introduction

Inspired in part by my visit to San Francisco, California and in part by my experience speaking with people who are homeless here in Toronto, Ontario, the Homeless Youth EP depicts 6 unique perspectives of people in various states of crisis.

Beginning with an introspective approach to life and our own existence, as the album progresses, we slowly regress; first mentally, then emotionally, and then finally physically, unable to hold the weight of the pain we carry without anyone ot anywhere to safely offload it.

Produced, Performed, Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Neither Could Dylan.
Artwork by Neither Could Dylan.

Track 1: Crisis

The Homeless Youth EP begins with “Crisis,” where our unnamed hero finds themselves at a loss, contemplating life, existence and their tumultuous relationship with faith. With no one else to turn to that can offer the type of guidance necessary to grapple with the challenges in front of them, they find themselves very much alone with the never ending barrage of thoughts that bury us in a state of frustration and apathy. Despite that, by the end of the track they find themselves in an improved frame of mind, but without having actually solved the problems that have led to this depressive state, it appears it’s only a matter of time before the negative conjecture returns.

Track 2: City Lights

Now on the streets of San Francisco late into the night, we’re struggling to find the words to express to someone we love deeply that we know our time together is coming to an end. Regrettably, despite our affection being so strong, we know that we will never be able to give them the type of love and care that they rightly deserve. With nothing left to say, selfishly the song stretches on for as long as we can convince our love to stay to enjoy these last moments together. One of us is dying, but it’s unclear which.

Track 3: Larkin Street

Inspired by my daily walks on and past Larkin Street on my way to and from my hotel in San Francisco where I’d come across a community of homeless people spending time together, sharing meals, pipes and cigarettes and at times bickering over lack of space or breakdowns in communication. On one night after returning from a concert in Berkeley, I encountered prostitutes standing at respective street corners and a person who I assumed was their pimp or some level of security watching over them as they tried to entice strangers to use their services. My heart was often left heavy after a walk down Larkin, thinking about the myriad of reasons anyone would find themselves there, while being oddly comforted by the fact that at least on Larkin Street, you never seem to be alone.

Track 4: Freebird

Freebird ironically depicts the feelings of isolation and fear that comes with being forcibly confined to a space that is not your own. Told, partially in jest, from the perspective of the bird featured on Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism album cover (as the band’s 20th anniversary show is what brought me to San Francisco to begin with) who found themselves entangled in string and then forever paraded around to homes all over the world. It speaks quite literally to the idea of how we as artists choose a subject within our songwriting and craft an entire story for them without ever really knowing who they are or perhaps how they feel about the world we’ve created for them. In the same way that I’d wonder about the people on Larkin Street or those rummaging through the shelves at City Lights; how many of us are moving through our lives by our own volition towards the future we want for ourselves and how did we determine what those futures are?

Ultimately Freebird favours the idea that while our choices may not always lead us to desired outcomes as in this story, we are first rescued before we are confined, we as free-thinking beings reserve the right to conscious control of our minds, bodies and souls.

Track 5: All I Wanted

All I Wanted is the counter viewpoint to the one expressed earlier in the EP on City Lights. In it, we are grappling with unresolved feelings, making one last plea to further our understanding so that we may find closure in the loss we have suffered or are currently suffering.

We are not always afforded answers that aid in our healing and often we are left with no answers at all; The subsequent frustration and grief that comes from this can feel unfair and cruel. A little more openness in our communication goes a long way to providing that understanding.

And maybe sometimes we just need someone to talk to about not much of anything at all; To be seen, to be heard, to feel human.

Track 6: We Are Alone

Face to face with just ourselves, we are in full blown crisis in “We Are Alone.” Unable to shake the grief, heartbreak and isolation that has taken up full-time residency in our lives and minds, we melt down.

The feeling of being so removed from our support systems, shelters and society I do believe can feel, and for many does feel, like dying, even if we may otherwise be in fine health. I think it’s entirely too easy to undermine the psychological toll that this type of pain takes on our bodies and leads us to extreme behaviours that are challenging to break out of. After a certain level of exposure to these feelings, I think it becomes difficult to self-soothe and this leads to manic episodes or drastic measures that we can’t come back from, like suicide, in an effort just to stop feeling so terrible all the time.

I struggle with seeing people who appear to be mentally ill attempting to manage these types of feelings on our streets because certainly that is not the right environment to build the type of support necessary to break through these emotional barriers. And I struggle with the fact that our society’s reaction to these types of episodes is to maintain distance from them or remove ourselves entirely. Is it fair to call these people crazy or is it safe to assume they have simply been alone too long?

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Thank you again for listening and your support in this EP. If you want to chat more about the record, please feel free to reach out by e-mail.