Pierce The Veil: Pass the Nirvana

By Alexx Shaner

Crash and Burn Blog

09/01/2022

It’s hard to believe that Pierce The Veil just released a single after nearly six years of anticipation from their last album, Misadventures. Rumors have been spiraling for a while now, and it has felt like forever since we had some new music from the band. It started with the band posting a cryptic video with the number, (619)492-3894. I freaked out immediately and tried calling it, but then my friend reminded me to just try texting it. I subscribed to text messages from the band, and soon got the text with a link to pre-save the new single. I was over the moon and screamed multiple times that day. The countdown began for the next day to come, and I had to only wait till 9 pm PCT since I live in California. Once it hit nine, I ran into my room to blast it into my earbuds. I loved the guitar tones, the complexity of the bass lines, plus Vic’s screaming. From the first listen, I got Misadventures/grunge vibes. I fucked with it, and I liked the overall tone of the song. I liked it so much, I listened to it for over two hours, plus another hour this morning… I enjoyed it. I know people have mixed views on the single, and I wanted to share a few views from my friends, a lyric analysis, and my view.

When talking to friends online, I had a pretty similar response. Everyone was very excited about the song since this has been a while since the band released music. We held on way past may… It's September Vic. The whole time, the whole PTV fandom was freaking out. The lyrics were found, and published on Genius pretty quickly. I managed to not look at them until the song was released though, and it was worth it.

[Intro] Yeah [Verse 1] Sink until you're unimpaired Slow motion like a rolling eye We can hear you loud and clear Suicide season is upon and high [Pre-Chorus] Why you always saying, "Let the good times roll"? Kick your mind open like a punk rock show Uppercut bleeding through the soffit nose If you didn't come home injured Would you say it was a good show? 'Cause every single fucking day I try to roll my eyes and breathe One hit, now I'm off this shit [Chorus] Give up, give up Give up, give up Give up, give up I can't hear you Through the tension Through the tension Through thе tension, right now (This is only a distraction) [Verse 2] Swing, batter up, let's play Powеr until the target bleeds This gun would never turn on me So, Paul Meany, will you drop that beat [Pre-Chorus] Why you always saying, "Let that shit go"? Pennywise fashion on a sad skid row A gentrified neighborhood of blood-soaked homes Draw the lines a little further Now they're coming back to get you 'Cause every single fucking day I try to roll my eyes and breathe One hit, now I'm off this shit

[Chorus] Give up, give up Give up, give up Give up, give up I can't hear you Through the tension Through the tension Through the tension, right now [Bridge] I can't shine to save my life But I'll feel through the dark without you I set fires ablaze inside And stepped into the light to blind you [Chorus] Give up, give up Give up, give up Give up, give up I can't hear you Through the tension Through the tension Through the tension, right now [Outro] I can't hear you I can't hear you I can't hear you

Credit: Genius

Vic did comment on the song’s meaning, and the thought behind it really touched me. I was 14 when COVID started, and I did lose a lot from the pandemic. I had repressed mental illnesses, and I was going through a lot.

Vic stated, “‘Pass the Nirvana’ is about the many horrible traumas that the youth of America has endured over the past few years. COVID, no proms, no graduations, an insurrection, school shootings. The list goes on. Their lives have been tossed around like clothes in a dryer as the tensions within our country have infiltrated our own homes, friends, and families. To me, this song represents a euphoric detachment from all of that anxiety and stress about finding some form of peace or nirvana.”

I interpreted it in a very similar way to what he stated. After listening to the lyrics a few times, I analyzed the song and how the lyrics affected me directly. I think the song represents the trauma our generation has endured, with the spiraling media out of control plus other things, like the pandemic. My depression completely sank in during the pandemic, because I just moved to California at the time. I think our generation lost a part of their lives, and that part we can’t get back. People search for happiness or ‘nirvana’ and they hope that takes away the stress, trauma, sadness, and rich emotions they feel. And people thought of Nirvana as the band, but nirvana does mean something besides the band. Nirvana means that a person’s desires and suffering just go away. It essentially means peace.

Continuing from the reaction fans had to the song, it was varied. My friends and I agreed on a similar vibe with Misadventures, but also with grunge and the early scene. Some people thought it was a new sound, others thought it was very similar to the band’s earlier works. We enjoyed the new photos of the band, and how early skater core/grunge they were. A question I had though, was what does this mean for the album? Would this suggest a more grunge take, or continue to discuss the issues of society? After listening, I was curious to see if it set the tone for the album or was simply just a piece of the bigger picture. When talking to my friend who was a long-time PTV fan, she had mixed views on it. She liked Vic’s iconic screaming, and we agreed on it somehow got even better. She did mention how similar it was to the scene and emo culture too. She liked it but did not listen to it for three hours on repeat like me. My guitarist from my band, who is also a close friend, said it was great and complemented the guitar tone. We agreed on the fact that it related to Misadventures and early emo subculture.

My review was a combination of all of the previous ones. I first thought it was going to be mainstream, but I realized it wasn’t though when I first listened. I immediately noticed Jaime’s bass, since I do play bass too. I loved the complexity of it, and how it intertwined with the guitar to make that grunge tune. I related the tones with Misadventures, early scene, and maybe a mix of emo. I loved the song though, it was completely unreal to hear them again. Overall, I really enjoyed the song because of the meaning behind it and the art within the song. I would give it a solid 8, it was a really great song! See u guys soon next post.

• Alexx

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Credits:

• https://genius.com/Pierce-the-veil-pass-the-nirvana-lyrics

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