OPENSIDE: “CHARACTER FLAWS” AND SELF DOUBT
New Zealand’s Openside are no strangers to honesty and drawing from the heart in music. They assimilate their emo and synth-pop punk style to deliver ‘Episode One: Character Flaws,’ a much needed track targeting insecurities and the inner battles of the self. This is just the beginning of their journey in dissecting and exploring the heart of self doubt and the tussles with our identity and self consciousness need that confront us all.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Possum Plows tells all about Openside’s ‘Episode One: Character Flaws.’ Check it out below.
‘Episode One: Character Flaws’ is a commentary on despondent feelings within someone and the angst of voicelessness.
Can you talk about your approach, and who you let into your circle to make this song when tackling such a comprehensive and universal issue?
The lyrics to this track came together all at once on a day when I was feeling pretty frustrated and underneath it all. I wrote them at the piano at home, and then the band and I collaborated with our trusted producer, Josh Fountain, to bring the energy of the music to life.
The authenticity of this song is striking, particularly because of the fearlessness of being candid about your inner thoughts.
Was it difficult to be so courageous for this concept, or was it pretty similar in terms of your mindset relative to your other releases?
I was confident that the vulnerability of this track would resonate with people. Lyrics that shine a spotlight on insecurity and fear always speak to me the most and fortunately our team was supportive of this song as a single even though it is a little more intensely emo than our previous releases.
The ‘dancey’ and bouncy sonics of this song contrast vastly with the subject matter. Can you share about this mentality with the song? At what stage do you decide this is the route you want to take?
That was our plan for this song from the beginning. It’s freeing to sing your fears and acknowledging of absurdity in that inner voice can help dispel its power over you.
Can you talk about the importance of a song like this in today’s day and age? Why does society need to hear this message?
We definitely need to talk about mental health more, and I think that even the act of identifying that we all feel this way sometimes is comforting and reassuring. I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to present themselves and their life as so polished and perfect online that it just further fuels the anxiety that many of us feel, like we’re too messy, and everyone else has it figured out except us. We want Episode Oneto bring comfort in the ways that it’s okay to not be okay.
You’ve talked about wanting to cater to all of your audience, including those under 18. So, how do you think a message of this caliber breaks barriers and has such a strong meaning to all demographics?
Young people are often the most passionate and engaged when it comes to the things that they care about. Openside is very community focused, and we like to encourage an environment where people are free to express themselves and stand up for what they believe in. That’s what we want our shows to be, so we work to always play all ages when we can.
Was this song a culmination of each member’s thoughts and perceptions of themselves? How is the balance between collaboration and working individually?
The lyrics came from me but we worked on the music as a team. Each song has a different process, but in general, once we establish the initial spark, we all like to talk about the intentions of what we are creating and work from there.
What sparked the realisation that there is a need to address these issues of the self?
The song just kind of appeared out of personal necessity. At some point, these thoughts get so loud in your head that you have to get them out somehow. It wasn’t until we started playing this song live that we realised the potential it had to connect with others.
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