David St. is the third EP and is by far my favorite EP that Chris Margolin & The Contraband has come out with. I had the honor to be able to listen to this EP before it came out, and from the start, I loved it.
I wasn’t too familiar with Chris when he sent over the EP for me to listen to. Besides the fact I had listened through the bands discography once or twice before and was a fan of what I heard. Since then, I’ve had the joy to talk to him quite a bit. Hearing him on the Western Grunge Tapedeck podcast, I was able to learn a lot more about who he was and how much knowledge and experience he has in and about the music business.
Chris was the first artist ever to send me anything unreleased, so I thought, with him putting out this EP and me about to put out a website, why not release my website when his EP releases? He is the first artist to ever let me have early access, and I really thank him for that. I thought it’d be a cool way to kick off the website.
Chris also took the time to send me the lyrics to each song, so I was able to use those in this article. Truly, I can’t say enough about him, he’s been one of the easiest people to work with, and I thank him for that.
I love this EP and band, and I hope y’all do too.
Thank you, and welcome to the first article to be published exclusively on Get Western.
The first song off the EP is titled David St, which also happens to be the title of the EP. I think David St is a great song to start this EP off, it almost sets the tone for the songs that follow. To me, I get an 80’s to 90’s rock vibe from it, which, if you have listened to Chris on Western Grunge Tapedeck, you’ll know that he started out in the rock scene.
But I do feel like with everything I’ve listened to by Chris Margolin and his band The Contraband, I’ve gotten a more rock vibe, and I feel like it’s something a lot of people shy away from. But Chris and the band don’t, they embrace the rock sound, and they do a great job with it. David St is a great example of what I’m saying.
Now, the song starts off, I believe, with some acoustic strumming, but just about four to five seconds in, the rest of the band jumps in and kills it. One thing I love in this song is the riffs that are being played, but overall, on the music side of this song, it’s a banger. I love songs where you can almost ignore the lyrics and just jam out to the musical side of the song, which I’m not saying this song doesn’t have a good lyrical side, because it for sure has good lyrics. But I think what really sold me on this song was the music.
But now I want to jump into the lyrical side. Most of us who are fans of music are suckers for lyrics. I for one am, but more than that, I love a good hook in a song. The opening lines for David St, being: “It’s another lost weekday to another pack of smokes.
Another day where each word I write feels more like a joke to you.”
Hits hard as hell for me. I was talking to another artist about this song specifically one night, and he said he felt the second half of this line, telling me how he feels like nobody is listening to the words he’s wrote. The more I thought, the more I felt that line too, and I feel like that line, “Another day where each word I write feels more like a joke to you,” is something a lot of writers and other artists starting out can relate to.
But this song doesn’t just have lyrics that writers and artists can relate to. It has a lot of lyrics I believe everyone, no matter who you are or what you do, can relate to. Probably the best example is the line, “Another lost weekday, to a list of my regrets.” I think a lot of people overthink their past and have a list of regrets. Some days we don’t think of them, but other days we can get lost in them.
The last part of the song I want to talk about I think solidifies my earlier point on the rock influences, because the way Chris sings the line, “I spent a lot of years just trying to be the person I was told to be” really does give me an older rock song vibe.
Overall, I really love David St being the song to kick off this EP. I really think it sets the tone for the rest of the songs.
The next song up is Matches & Gasoline. Now, this might be my favorite song off the EP. Something about the guitar riff at the beginning really grabs me. The overall musical side of this song is great. I love the drums, especially on this one. The way the drums and guitar riffs mix is beautiful to me, and I just can’t say enough about the music.
Another part I love about the music, and I guess the whole song as a whole, is around the two-minute and fourteen-second mark. It all kind of fades out like it’s the end of the song, then four seconds later, Chris starts singing again with the guitar being played. I love when songs do that. Now, I have seen bands do it and it works. I’ve also seen it not work. However, every now and again, I’ll hear this and love it. Matches & Gasoline is one of those instances where I love it. I think with the amount of experience Chris has, he is able to pull this off and make it work.
Now, onto the lyrical side of the song. “I’ve been here before, can of gas on the floor, hold the match til it burns out. I’ve done terrible things for stories to sing, I ain’t willing to burn it all down, for your matches and gasoline.” This is the chorus to the song, and I love it. I find it easy to paint a picture of the story being told here.
Now, my favorite line from this song has to be: “Blue Skies on the stereo, another 100 miles to go, don’t let this flame go blue.” Something about this line, I just love.
Another thing I think Chris did really well with the lyrics is how in parts of the song he says, “I think I need gas today,” and in other parts he goes, “I think I need a match today.” Every time I’ve heard the song, I pick up on that.
“So I’ll pull over. I’ll reignite the flame. I’ll drive sober.” That’s another line from the song that I love. I think it’s honestly just the way he sings this part.
Now, the last part of the song I want to talk about is the ending. I love the way he ends it. It’s really cool with the repeated “no, no, no.” I really love it.
I truly love this song. It’s easily my favorite off the whole album.
Song number three is titled Next Hit Song, which I think will grab a lot of people’s attention. I also see this being a big one off the EP because the hook and opening lines to this one are great: “I stole some aviator glasses from a 76. I grabbed a can of RC Cola and some Pixie Sticks. I know the music is loud with those ’90s hits.”
I love the way this part of the song is. It has that, I guess you could call it, static sound, and I think that will grab a lot of people. Between that and the vibe from this song, I think a lot of people will love this one.
Also, with that line I just mentioned specifically the part that says “‘90s hits” I think it kind of speaks to Chris and the band’s music as a whole. I know I’ve already said it, but their sound does have that ‘80s to ‘90s rock vibe. I think this song especially mixes that era of rock with a more modern-day rock sound, and it gives off a really good sound.
Another line that I think people can relate to very easily is, “Got too much stress and not enough sleep.” I mean, who doesn’t feel that in one way or another?
I think if you really take the time to listen to a lot of the lyrics throughout this whole EP, there are a lot of lyrics you can relate to. I feel like sometimes you can sit and listen to a whole album or EP, and there’s a chance you don’t find even one lyric or line that connects with you. That isn’t the case with this EP. I’ve listened to it quite a bit and have found multiple lines in each song that I can relate to.
My favorite one from this song would have to be: “I’ve got you. You’ve got me. What else do we really need?” I love that line. I think a lot of people in a relationship can relate to it the most.
Like I said earlier, I think this song will be a big hit off the EP. I’m anxious to see how it goes.
Last Call is the fourth song off the EP, and it starts off great. I love the opening line:
“I don’t really drink at the bar anymore. It doesn’t play well with my anxiety.” I am not the type of person who likes to go out much. If it’s for a concert, hell yeah, but other than that I’m not big on crowds. I feel like in a couple months when I turn twenty-one, I will go to bars here and there, but not often because of the anxiety big crowds give me. So this line, right off the bat, hits hard as hell for me.
Before I get further into the lyrical side of this song, I want to talk about the musical side. The guitar on this song is great. In my opinion, this song has a more prominent electric guitar than most of the other songs, and I love it. I think it adds to the rock sound you get from this EP. This is another song that has really great drums to it.
Now, you might notice I don’t make many comments on the bass guitar, and that’s because I am horrible about picking up on the sound of the bass. Now, I think if there wasn’t bass in songs, I’d notice, but even knowing there is bass in almost every song I listen to, I still can’t pick up on it. But overall, on the musical side, I love everything about it.
Now going back to the lyrical side, I really like songs that start off with the chorus, and this is one song that does it. Now, I don’t want to say the lyrics to this song are simple, because that would be a severe understatement with what is being said, the song isn’t a lyrically complex song, and that’s one thing I find really cool about songwriters.
Some, it takes a lot of words to put a great song together. There are some Turnpike songs that you listen to, and there are so many words, no chorus, just verse after verse, and I love that. I think Felker is a great songwriter. But as good as those songs are, you have to acknowledge that there are some badass songwriters out there that don’t have to write that way and can write a helluva song with way less words. Both can be great, and I think Last Call is a great example of what I’m talking about here.
Now, I’ve said it many times one thing I love about music is that I, and many others, can always find something from a song that means something to them or sticks with them. Sometimes it’s a guitar riff, sometimes it’s a lyric. Most times, for me, it’s a lyric. And for this song, it’d have to be:
“If these thoughts in my head remained thoughts.” Now, I have a bad habit of when I get a thought in my head, I turn it into an action. Sometimes that gets me into trouble, but sometimes it turns out great.This is a great song. I know many of y’all have heard it by now. It was the last song off the EP put out before the EP itself was released. I think last time I looked on Spotify, this, along with the next song Even Stars Align and Matches & Gasoline were up in or near the top five for popular songs by Chris and the band, and I love that for them. Also, at the time of me writing this the band officially has over 3,500 monthly listeners!
Now onto the fifth and final song off the EP, Even Stars Align. Right from the start, you get met with a nice guitar riff and some great drums. I love the musical side to this song, it’s great, and I think the way the music mixes with Chris and his wife Courtney’s voices is amazing.
I’ve seen it go wrong many times where you can only hear one person singing, and I hate that. If I know there is a duet or even just a backup singer, I want to hear them, especially when it’s a male and female together. I also love that Chris brought his wife in on this. I think the song would be great without her, but adding in her voice makes this song so much better in my opinion. I feel like when you get a husband and wife together on a song, it’s a lot easier to believe the words they are singing.
On the lyrical side, I love the first verse. I think a lot of people can relate to at least one line, if not every line. But to me, the chorus is what really sold me. It’s partly because of Chris and Courtney’s voices, but really because it’s a damn good chorus: “I know I don’t have all the answers. I know that life is but a dream. I know people who fade into daylight, and like stars, wait to be seen.” Something about that right there, I just love. Maybe it’s because I do know I don’t have the answers and that life is but a dream. Or maybe it’s because I know people who the other half of the chorus would apply to. But I just truly love it.
The last part of the song I want to talk about is the last verse: “I’m alright, we’re alright, and stars collide from time to time. And I’m alright ‘cause we’re alright, and stars align from time to time.” I think many of us in relationships can agree with this. If you look at it from the relationship view, sometimes all it takes for you to be in a good spot is your relationship being in a good spot. Then the line “stars collide from time to time”. You know sometimes it gets rocky, sometimes there are fights, but it gets better. I think that’s what is being talked about in this verse, and I love that because I think a lot of us can relate to it.This is another amazing song and I think Even Stars Align being the last song is a great way to end the EP.
Thank you for reading this article on Chris Margolin & The Contraband’s newest EP David St. If you would like to learn more about Chris, I’ve also done an Artist Spotlight on him. Again, I can’t thank Chris enough for allowing me early access and being incredibly easy to work with. David St. is out now, so y’all gotta listen to it. Have fun, take care of yourself, and listen to some damn good music today.
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