Tonight I was listening to the Alkaline Trio radio channel on Amazon music. Every song that played was a blast from the past and I there was not one song I skipped through. Then I heard from a band that I haven’t listened to in ages. Mest. It’s funny how you fall out of touch with certain bands during your life. This was one of those bands. I remember seeing them live at the Birch Hill Nightclub in Old Bridge, NJ back in the early 2000’s. It feels like eons ago.
After hearing their song I decided to Google the band see what they were doing. I was happy to see they have been still making music. This track is the title off their new album out now. The video premiered on Altpress.com back in early March.
Since the pandemic the band has been hard at work playing music for fans in their time of need.
The track is a reflection of how in todays’ society we can put on a perception of how we want others to view our lives. Lead singer, Tony Lovato explains, “a bunch of photos on someone’s Instagram account may show them smiling all the time and having fun. But in real life, they could be going through a very dark time.”
This idea is not new and has been around for centuries. Lovato said, “when people would go out to these masquerade parties in the 1800s, they would wear masks and hide their true identity only to reveal who they really were at midnight. This was the only time peasants would socialize with the rich. Living in L.A., I’ve seen the status quo interaction between people so many times. So the concept was to show the same two people from two different eras getting ready, going out, having a good time, meeting for the first time, going home together and waking up next to each other with little memory of the night before and continuing on with their separate lives.”
The video plays out this scenario with a guy and girl getting ready to go out for the night. The couple is seen talking and engaging and digging each other to a chorus of lyrics that show they are putting on a facade. When the night is over/Will you remember my name?/When we wake up sober/Will you recognize my face?/Can’t carry on this masquerade much longer/A painted smile inside pain grew stronger/My time is running out
The track also signifies Lovato’s personal balance of being both a musician and a father.
The video is a great compliment to the fast-paced punk-pop rhythms and thoughtful lyrics. The song is all that we have come to know and love from Mest.
Watch below and for more information check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.