Don't Even Need To Try
From The Messy Middle
Don't Even Need To Try
The third track reintroduces momentum after the preceding track’s introspective quiet, and the transition feels earned rather than abrupt. The hook here is almost sneakily clever: STAB wraps a genuinely uncomfortable thesis, ‘I’m looking at the screen and it’s a bit of a lie,’ inside a bright, four-on-the-floor pop-rock track running at a brisk clip, and the tension between the two is exactly the point. The breakdown, where the vocal drops to a near-whisper asking ‘Can you see the tired look around the eyes,’ lands like a cold splash before the final chorus rushes back in, and that structural contrast earns its keep. Dressed in a bright major-key feel but written from a place of real unease, it sits in the same territory as early Paramore learning to write radio pop without losing the edge. Coming third, it settles into the album’s rhythm before the sequence begins its long run of harder-hitting material, and it holds that position comfortably.
Lyrics
(One, two, three... smile)
It's a perfect angle and a really nice filter But it feels like I'm leaning, like I'm out of kilter I'm looking at the screen and it's a bit of a lie I don't even need to try
I spent twenty minutes picking out the right words Just to describe a lunch that I didn't even taste I'm polishing the edges, I'm hiding all the mess Trying to give the people something to impress (is it working?) But the guy in the photo looks happier than me He's living a life that I'll never quite see
It's a perfect angle and a really nice filter But it feels like I'm leaning, like I'm out of kilter I'm looking at the screen and it's a bit of a lie I don't even need to try
I'm checking the numbers like they're some kind of score But as soon as they go up, I'm just wanting some more It's a feedback loop, it's a hall made of glass Watching the best versions of myself just pass (they look good though) (yeah, they look real good) But there's nothing behind them, it's just empty space
(Stop) (Zoom in) Can you see the tired look around the eyes Can you see through all the clever little disguises Probably not Neither can I
It's a perfect angle and a really nice filter But it feels like I'm leaning, like I'm out of kilter I'm looking at the screen and it's a bit of a lie I don't even need to try
(Who is he?) (Not me) (I don't even need to try)