Highlives are quite literally soundtracking youth. Each of the five songs on their new ‘Misguided Youth’ EP represents a different period of modern upbringing, one which vocalist Liam Edwards describes as “constantly being influenced and manipulated by our surroundings.”
‘Wake Me Up’, the EP’s opening track, marks the start of the journey which twists and turns through various struggles, difficult decisions and the inevitable questioning thereof. The record culminates in ‘Better Days’, representing the band’s overall message.
“[‘Better Days’] represents a realisation of the fact that often we put ourselves in a position where we feel pressured and vulnerable in order to feel as though we have met the expectations of the people around us,” Edwards explains. “This can then can cause a sense of doubt and self-loathing when these expectations cannot be met, which is one of the issues addressed within the lyrical content of the EP.”
“Sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself if you’re really doing what makes you happy, and if the people around you that you care about are doing the same. Without a genuine drive and determination to succeed in life, running solely on the expectations of others, people can be led astray and therefore feel worthless.”
“‘Misguided Youth’ discusses being young and naive, stuck in-between the good and bad temptations of life, and not being the person that you want to be. This EP for me personally is a reflection upon my own experiences, as well as an interpretation of how I feel other people around me have dealt with and feel about situations, often similar to my own.”
‘Misguided Youth’ will be available from the 11th December. It will be free from BandCamp, and on all the usual streaming services. Highlives will kick off the next year by headlining The Flapper in Birmingham on the 8th January 2016.