Track By Track: William Beckett, 'What Will Be' EP
William Beckett’s What Will Be EP drops today, and the former The Academy Is… frontman supplied us with the following guide to each track from his latest solo effort. Get a personal look into the brand new songs below:
“Stuck In Love”
One of the most aggressive songs on any of my releases, “Stuck In Love” reflects the blowout argument in the relationship curve. It’s the lyrical equivalent of saying things you don't mean in the heat of the moment, but certain dark truths become exposed as the dust settles. I wrote this one on a stormy day in Nashville, and the instrumentation reflects it. During my vocal takes, the piano was in the main room [of the studio] with me off to the side, un-mic'd. Between lines in certain appropriate areas, I would pound on the piano, spastically. We ended up keeping those noises as they added to the chaos of the track.
“Slip Away”
I wrote this song one afternoon in Los Angeles with my good friend Matthew Thiessen from Relient K. I wanted to capture the reality of coming to grips with tension in a relationship, while still exuding hope and whimsy. The chorus and melody float while the verses are very linear and matter-of-fact. I remember during the tour I was on with Relient K this year, Matt and I would walk around backstage singing this song everyday. The song was on my mind so often, it got to the point where I knew I had to put it on the EP, because it fit perfectly with my story thread.
“Dear Life”
This was the newest song I wrote for What Will Be. I wanted to write something that would bridge the gap between “Stuck In Love” and “Our Story's Already Been Told” without leaving a hole in the narrative. It was a lot of fun writing a song like this with the wordplay in the verses. I used words back-to-back that sound the same, but mean different things as the central theme in the lyrical arrangement. Oftentimes, you think someone is one way, and then they turn out to be another, day by day. Production-wise, I feel that the song really came into its own once [producer] Matt Grabe and I decided to establish a groove and a rhythm and commit to it through the whole song. Especially in contrast to “Stuck In Love,” [where the] drums change a lot with each new part in the song, “Dear Life” lives in one world for the entire three minutes.
“Our Story's Already Been Told”
The final song of this trilogy was written in New York City. I didn't have a lot of expectation sitting down to write [it]; just wanted to release some tension and see what would naturally flow out of me. This song could be interpreted in a few different ways, and that's the way I've intended it to be. I wanted to end the series with a minimalist approach, focusing purely on the story and the vocal performance. Without a lot of instrumentation to get in the way, the lyrics clear the way and take over. Though I want to leave the interpretation and meaning to the listener's discretion, I will say this: It’s not just a sad song.
