Chicago hardcore band Absolute Truth are back with new music while continuing work on their upcoming record for WAR Records. The group just released a track titled “The Lies We Buy,” recorded during the same sessions that produced their contribution to the Youth Crew 2006 compilation.
According to vocalist Chad Rapper, the song comes from a much more personal place than some listeners might expect from a band often labeled as “positive hardcore.” “A lot of times people label us a ‘posi hardcore’ band, and that’s not really how we see ourselves,” Rapper tells No Echo. “Sure, I try to write some lyrics that can be positive or optimistic, but this song went in a little bit different direction.”
Rapper explains that the track was inspired by the mental toll many experienced during the COVID era. With normal routines and connections suddenly stripped away, the vocalist found himself confronting depression for the first time. “My life is always set up in a way where there’s something I’m looking forward to—band practice, hanging out with friends, family outings, traveling,” he says. “COVID literally wiped everything off the table, and it was just a feeling I don’t think any of us were ready for.”
The uncertainty and isolation hit harder than expected. “For whatever reason, it hit me really hard and I just kind of fell into a dark place where I didn’t have a lot of motivation to do anything, and it’s not a place I was familiar with,” says Rapper.
“The Lies We Buy” reflects the internal battle that followed. Rapper says the song focuses on the destructive inner dialogue that can accompany depression and the effort required to push through it. “A lot of times when you experience depression, you start convincing yourself you’re not worth anything, and when it gets really extreme, you might even start telling yourself that life isn’t worth anything,” he explains.
“When we say that enough, we might start believing that lie. So really the song is kind of pushing through those feelings and picking ourselves back up and not buying the negative lies that we’re telling ourselves.”
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Absolute Truth on social media: Instagram
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