Lost For Words by RISE includes the very instant heartbreak strikes: sharp, sudden, and breathless, and transforms that shock into an angry, rebellious throb. Instead of letting the burden of sudden death knock them down, the four Liverpool lads use that raw experience of being dumb, when there is no language one may utter, to drive themselves onwards. It is a break up song that will not sink in the grief, but will stand up, inhale and work through the grief with a firm determination.
Feeling alive is one of the qualities of the song ever since its very first beat--restless, urgent, and impossible to sit down to. The drumming of Alex Mahoney does not maintain a beat, but rather, drives the song along like a heartbeat that is unwilling to slow down and every beat is clear and purposeful. The guitar of Brian Petch is bright and rich, and it is not blindly running through the mix. The breaks and outro of his solos are like heart-spurts--instances when the pain trails out and turns into a force, into something liberating.
The vocals of StayMellow are brutally sincere and emotional of the song. It has a familiar fire that reminds of 90s rock stars but the weakness in his voice makes the performance purely his. He is singing as though he was on the verge of pain and possibility and decides to take the plunge. The harmonies building up behind him are puffed out, and the track is elevated into something larger, nearer to a community, like the band is telling: you are not alone in this. Paul Kinley keys are interspersed with the construct with gentle sophistication and create a richness and cosiness to that trademark RISE blend of synth and rock-modern, unique, and immediately familiar.
What touches so much about "Lost For Words" is its emotional reality. The song does not hesitate to mention the sting of being caught off guard; it does not ignore the pain, the disorientation, the gasping why? But it doesn't stay there. It swings to empowerment with a maturity that is earned, to accept rather than to feel bitter and strong instead of feeling self-pity. It is the voice of a person who decides that they is not going to die in love.
Produced in Whitewood Studios and co-produced with Rob Whiteley and Kinley, it is crisp and sure, and none of the elements take a back seat to the rest. RISE has produced a song that is both official release and battle cry, a call to action that we can not find the right words, but still we can decide we are going to move forward in deliberate, brave, and a heartbeat that will not subside.
