Australia is the home country of many incredible bands in the pop-punk and alternative scene—Tonight Alive, Stand Atlantic, Between You & Me, and Yours Truly, just to name a few. There are also plenty of up-and-coming bands from that part of the world. A notable name among those that I recently discovered is Terra.
The Melbourne-based quintet debuted back in 2017 with their first EP, Wasted Days. Now, after following it with a couple of singles and acoustic renditions of earlier tracks, Terra has returned with their sophomore EP, Reverie.
Introductory track “Wishful” begins the EP, led only by a piano accompaniment and the vocals:
“Sure, it’d be sad if I’m gone, but would it matter at all? Paint me a legacy even I could believe. So tired of being strong, and I think I’m done, but if I fall asleep, maybe the pain will just leave me.”
The track is quite short, clocking in at only thirty seconds, but it foreshadows the following track, “Arrows.” The intro, which highlights the lead guitar and hard-hitting drums, showcases the band’s alt rock influences early on, and the bass becomes a bit more prominent shortly afterwards as it helps drive the verses. The song contains a huge chorus with a hook that’s pretty similar to that of the previous track, while the bridge offers a feature from Daniel Cullen-Richards (alt.). Both he and Terra vocalist Cassie Sutton quite literally end that section of the song on a high note, simultaneously putting on an impressive performance.
Mental health seems to be a main theme on this EP, and a lot of the lyrics reflect that. A couple lines from verse one stuck out to me in that respect:
“Imagery in my head that hurt so bad, a pain I won’t forget / What it’s like to feel alive while you’re feeling dead inside / Look to my eyes, they’ll tell you why I’m not there anymore.”
And, from a later section of the song:
“It wasn’t me, who I used to be, tired, laid to rest / I couldn’t take it anymore, but maybe I deserved it / To sleep and not wake up again sounded like heaven / I was on my way out, I’m not scared anymore.”
WATCH: TERRA – ARROWS FT. DANIEL CULLEN-RICHARDS (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
“Frenemies” wraps up the first half of the EP. It’s another energetic track, driven by swift drums and even more catchy guitar leads in the intro. Hi-hats, simple guitar chords, and the vocals all take the lead in the verses before the intro. The instrumentation quickly builds up in a sweeping crescendo to the first verse. Sutton’s impressive vocal range is shown through an emotive performance in the pre-chorus (as well as the second verse later on), preceding another extremely memorable chorus.
The line, “Don’t trust your enemies, don’t trust friends either, they’ll all just leave you for dead,” is the main lyrical hook here. As a whole, the lyrics (especially in this chorus) express clear feelings of anger and frustration, Specifically towards someone whose actions prove that they can no longer be trusted.
WATCH: TERRA – FRENEMIES (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
The EP’s second half starts with “Fear.” This is another upbeat track that shows a blend between the band’s evident alt-rock influences and elements of pop-punk. The drums really stand out here, driving the verses before the chorus kicks in. Meanwhile, the post-chorus brings some slight post-hardcore influences to the table with those guitar riffs.
The second verse has one of the strongest vocal performances on the entire EP. The lyrics in “Fear” depict someone going through an unhealthy relationship, realizing the toxicity of said relationship, and deciding to leave it:
“Maybe I’ve been blind / Maybe I closed my eyes a long time ago so I would never know the monster in stories is the person right in front of me / And you weren’t wrong, I can’t deal with your reality.”
WATCH: TERRA – FEAR (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
Second to last on the tracklist is a personal favorite of mine, “Alive.” Much like the previous track, its overall sound mixes in some pop-punk influences. The lyrics on this one are also centered around mental health, shown immediately through the first few lines:
“Feels like there is no way out, searching for an exit in the dark / In theory, does it sound that hard?/ I’ve been trying for a while and if I’m honest, it’s getting tiring, since I’ve lost the spark of who I used to be.”
This chorus is one of the catchiest on the whole EP, and contains some more lyrics that stood out:
“Can’t sleep through the night, I’m numb to the daylight, nowhere to hide / I don’t want to live, I don’t want to die, I just want to feel alive.”
The closing track “Wasted Days” is much more laid-back in regards to its tempo. It’s reminiscent of the opening track, as it’s also led by only vocals and piano. More of my favorite lyrics on this EP are found on this track:
“Even in bright blue skies, I still have my hard times / I get sick, we all get sick sometimes.”
The other instruments join in about two minutes into the song. The backing vocals repeat various lyrics heard on earlier tracks as those instruments help prepare for massive choruses right after. A chorale of gang vocals sings the very last chorus, concluding the track and the EP as a whole.
With Reverie, Terra brings a strong amalgamation of influences from under the umbrella of rock to craft a spectacular sophomore EP.
You can stream Reverie in its entirety below:
