Everyone Leaves- The Lonely End EP Review

“Everything ends, people change, everyone leaves, we all move on together” is the official description of the Columbus, Ohio based band Everyone Leaves. While admittedly saddening, the description offers the perfect glimpse into the band’s state of mind. With raw and brutally honestly lyrics, Everyone Leaves isn’t afraid to talk about issues like depression, anxiety, and the gamut of problems that come along with struggling with to take care of your mental health. However, while the band does show just how hopeless it all can feel, they also remind listeners that there is underlying hope that can be found in struggle. That underlying hope is the central message of the band’s new EP, The Lonely End, which will be released on October 14th on Little Heart Records.

The EP opens with a track called “Feeling Other” that perfectly captures the tone and feel of the album. It wastes no time getting to the heart of the message: depression and anxiety can break you into a thousand pieces, and sometimes you can’t be the person people need you to be, but it is possible to put yourself back together. Several of the songs like “...But Can I Still Come Home?” and “The Lonely End” furthers the bands exploration with the struggle of depression and finding ways to cope in order to become the person you want to be. Although nearly every song on the EP touches on this issue, it doesn’t become overbearing, due largely impart to the lyrics which offer a multi-faceted view on what the struggle is like. In a way, this makes the songs feel more relatable because listeners can easily find ways to apply the songs to their own lives.

In an industry where there’s hundreds of songs about conquering the sadness, it is reassuring to see a band not singing about the end of the struggle, but rather the uphill battle it takes to get better. This messages prevails most prominently in the song “Head In A Vice.” The chorus begins with the lines, “I must remember I am a work in progress too. I am worthy of love just as much as you.” This line could easily become the mantra of a generation, especially because in today’s world so many people love everyone but themselves. Everyone Leaves reminds their listeners that life moves at a different pace for everyone and its important to keep in mind that who someone is is a constantly changing work in progress that is worthy of the love they so readily give to others. It's comforting to hear. Its empowering to single along to at the top of your lungs.

What Everyone Leaves is doing is important. While many bands are not scared to tackle the discussion of mental illness, Everyone Leaves goes one step further. Their music is honest, raw and real; it doesn’t hold back. There’s no feel good, everything will be alright song to close out the album. Instead there’s a heart-wrenching song about hopelessness that dares to ask, “If I keep living like this, how long do I have left?” It serves as a call to action of sorts. It forces the listener to acknowledge their own feelings to better understand themselves and challenges them to think about how they can begin to fight their own personal demons. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s a sliver lining that offers the promise of hope and for most listeners, it’ll be enough to get them through.

The Lonely End is Everyone Leaves’ second major EP following their well-received The Great and The Terrible which came out in 2015. Many bands worry about the sophomore release, but if their work and album reception is any indication, Everyone Leaves is going to be just fine.

#EveryoneLeaves #TheLonelyEnd #LittleHeartRecords