Music is one of those spaces where mental health can be understood and some struggles can be alleviated, even if it for a moment. Whether that’s listening to your favourite comfort tracks, finding community at a gig, or releasing your own emotions into songwriting. It might not be the solution, but it’s a source of empathy and compassion that comes across our pages on a weekly basis. Our latest addition to this theme is ‘Mind Running Wild’ from Sunderland’s unparalleled four-piece Chloe & the Brainwaves.
It’s in post-industrial British towns and cities like Sunderland where so many people can fall through the cracks in a broken health care system, and fewer sectors have been harder hit than mental health services. Tired of watching so many fellow Mackems suffers,and we suspect drawing on first-hand experiences, the band have put forward this dreamy indie-rock song which reverberates with an air of protest.
As the band reveal, “Mind Running Wild is about coming to terms with the trauma of psychological and sexual abuse endured as a child and the emptiness and shame it leaves behind. Through government cuts, funding to Mental Health services make it impossible for victims to access the help they desperately need. Then they battle with addictions and misunderstood negative manifestations that follow them throughout adulthood, leaving adult victims of childhood sexual abuse without a voice. This song is a glimmer of hope for those people. Speaking to a safe person or counsellor can help relieve the weight that is often carried as a secret for decades. You are not alone.”
There’s so many different states of mind portrayed through this track. In the opening, Chloe’s brooding vocals ruminate on a defeatist thought pattern, “I had these socks on for three days, there’s no intention of taking these off.” This is backed by The Cranberries-esque guitars and 90s era rhythms that gives the track a timeless quality. Elsewhere, the band is less restrained, going harder on those drums and strings, to convey the urgency of the present situation. Equally, ‘Mind Running Wild’ is a song of hope and its a message most keenly heard around the two minute mark. With a more mellow backdrop, Chloe takes on lighter tones to soothe both the listener and herself, “You can be anything […] I can be anything.”
Far from growing up, Chloe & the Brainwaves are passionately eager to see change in their city and beyond. Their hope for the future is impossible to ignore. Hands down, ‘Mind Running Wild’ is one of the best tracks we’ve heard as of late.
You can also listen to ‘Mind Running Wild’ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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