Feel It In Your Soul: Exploring Bearings' New Record

Words by Mary Perez

Graphic by Emily Lantzy

If you aren’t already listening to Bearings, you may be missing out on your new favorite band. The Ottawa-based quintet - comprised of vocalist Doug Cousins, guitarists Ryan Culligan and Ryan Fitz, bassist Collin Hanes, and drummer Mike McKerracher - are back with their sophomore album, Hello, It’s You, following their 2018 release, Blue in the Dark. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Courtney Ballard, their latest record introduces influences outside of the pop punk realm that their previous works reside in. In my interview with Cousins and Culligan earlier this year, Culligan noted that the album, though pushing boundaries of their genre, still sounds like Bearings, and he’s absolutely right. Though Hello, It’s You sounds rather different from Bearings’ debut, they still maintain some of the elements that fans love from Bearings, from the thoughtful lyricism in the hard-hitting choruses to the exciting vibrancy within the undeniably catchy melodies. 

Opening the album with “Better Yesterday,” Bearings set the stage for the rest of the album with captivating energy and a catchy chorus. With the mention of the album title within the lyrics, “Hello, it’s you / Little red dress, what’s your name,” the first track is bursting with summertime vibes. The guitar riffs behind the verses and the ending of the chorus really stand out, regardless of how many times you listen to the song.

For anyone who has been lucky enough to see Bearings perform before, you’d know this band is incredibly fun to watch. Their incredibly lively stage presence makes Bearings’ sets so exciting, and this album is full of songs that will definitely translate well for live performances. A lighthearted track with a captivating rhythm, “Sway” is one of the songs that I’m sure fans are looking forward to dancing along to at future shows. In their Discord Q&A for Pure Noise Records, the band collectively agreed that the track is one that they are extremely excited to play live. Continuing with the summertime vibes, “Super Deluxe” sounds like the perfect song to listen to while driving down to the beach. The track has a retro sound that still manages to feel new and exciting, playing around with a bouncy chorus that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head.

Near the end of 2019, Bearings released “I Feel It All” and “So Damn Wrong” as singles, both songs bringing a very different feel from the usual Bearings sound. Taking on a sound straight out of 80’s pop rock, the singles teased a future shift in Bearings’ sound. Although originally an unintentional change, the sound was rather serendipitous for the band to find, as the songs fit well on an album that took on a rather distinctive sonic direction within their discography. 

“Lovely Lovely” opens with Cousins singing about dreams of an ideal life before transitioning into a rather bittersweet chorus, “Lovely lovely, do you love me / Life ain’t nothing but a dream.” In their Discord Q&A, Fitz noted that the track has a similar feeling as “Blue In The Dark” in being emotional and calming, but “Lovely Lovely” has more of an uplifting feel to it that is not seen in the older track. I can envision this song being a fun song to sway and sing along to a future show with friends and strangers alike.

“No one’s gonna love me like you did,” Cousins sings out, “Tell me what’s been happening in your head.” The 6th track, “Love Me Like You Did,” ties into the following song, “Over Now,” both taking on the idea of getting over old relationships. Though the former is a heartbroken reflection about not being able to imagine loving and knowing someone better than a past lover, the latter describes the feeling of getting to shake off an old relationship as a result of finally moving on.

Perhaps the most striking sonic direction on the album comes in the form of “Dreams,” a track that plays with elements of emo-rap. Lyrically, the song approaches the mixed emotions toward an old lover, fluctuating between being drained in a relationship yet feeling rather depressed about having them gone. Dramatically different from what fans were expecting to hear on this record, it was interesting to see how Bearings experimented with sounds that more closely reflected what they listen to. 

The intro of “Transient Colours” immediately hits you with one of the catchiest chants I’ve heard in a long time, accompanied by a forceful rhythm section to lead the melody. The verses explode into a soaring chorus, driven by the incredibly introspective lyricism: “All we are is all we know / Burning up inside our souls / Hate the thought of letting go / All of you is all of me.” As the song closes out with the same chant that it opens with, Bearings take listeners full-circle with the album, touching on those consistent themes of identity and the fear of letting go. A strong track to close out the album with and likely to become a favorite of their fans.

Bearings are incredibly skillful at mixing influences without straying too far from the sound that their fans know and love, and this album is an extremely diverse reflection of the music that the band draws inspiration from. Throughout the album, Bearings explore the dissonance between feelings and reality, as well as feeling emotions so deeply in one’s soul. Cousins notes that the album was meant to shift between emotions, designed to mirror the way in which life is always changing. Though the album has themes and messages that constantly reappear in different songs, the distinct directions that the album sonically takes on create a wide range of feelings that take listeners on quite the journey. From the lightness of “Sway” to the urgency of “Transient Colours,” Bearings continue to prove their versatility within their discography. “We’re just trying to push it forward,” Cousins stated in our interview. “We don’t want to make another Blue in the Dark.” They definitely succeeded in doing so, creating two records that feel authentic to Bearings’ sound without sounding identical to each other. Be sure to check out Hello, It’s You on all streaming platforms!