Our Basement,

“Soft Chains” is about being stuck in a toxic relationship, but knowing that one day you’ll find a way out.

The lyrics are inspired in part by the torch song “As Long as He Needs Me” from the musical Oliver! As a kid I didn’t understand how Nancy could sing something so beautiful about her horrible boyfriend… I spent a lot of time thinking about it and it made me really angry and confused. As you get older you come to realize that things are often so much more complicated than a song in a musical might let on.

In partnership with visual artist Kerry Zentner, we leaned into the idea of being a fly stuck in a spider’s web. In the video, we try everything to appease a giant spider that lives on top of our home, but ultimately nothing we do is good enough. I think a lot of people can relate to the feeling of trying your hardest to make something work when it is, at its core, completely and fundamentally unworkable.

“Soft Chains” is particularly special to us because it’s the first song we ever worked on together. Thanks for listening! 💜

– Mear
(Frances Miller and Greg Harrison)