Amongst the Waves

What used to be a house of cards
Has turned into a reservoir
Saved the tears that were waterfalling
Let’s go swim tonight, darling
and Once outside the undertow
Just you and me and nothing more
If not for love I would be drowning
I’ve seen it work both ways, but I am up
Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel Like I
Have a soul that has been saved
I can feel like I
Put away my early grave
Gotta say it now
Better loud
Than too late
Remember back the early days
When you were young and thus amazed
Suddenly the channel changed
The first time you saw blood
Cut to later, now you’re strong
You’ve bled yourself, the wounds are gone
It’s rare when there is nothing wrong
Survived and you’re amongst the fittest
Love ain’t love until you give it up
Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I
Have a soul that has been saved
I can see the light
Coming through the clouds in rays
Gotta say it now
Better loud
than too late


Usually I talk about the songs as a whole, rather than go line by line, but I think I’m going to use the second approach here because Amongst the Waves needs it. There are parts of this song that are absolutely fantastic, possibly my favorite moments on Backspacer, and yet there are other moments that just fall flat. It makes for an incredibly inconsistent song that averages out to decent.

Although it’s fairly simple (or sounds that way) the way this begins musically is magnificent. The guitars are clean and bright with warm fuzzy accents, with just a hint of tension, made grander by the fullness of the keys and the base. Likewise Matt’s just keeping time, but in an accelerated way that’s urgent without being frantic. The song begins mid build, which is a pretty remarkable thing to pull off without any bombast. You’re immediately taken in by this feeling of clarity and a sense of motion and impending climax, but somehow it’s all very understated.

Eddie sounds great here, with another winning vocal melody and a subtle breathlessness that makes what he’s saying sound important without drawing too much attention to itself. Whatever is about to be said reflects the conclusion of a long fought and hard won battle, but they’re spoken with the quiet and confident passion who knows that what he has to say has meaning, and that it’s vital that people listen, but doesn’t necessarily feel like he has anything to prove to anyone who doesn’t want to listen. There is that great line in Faithful where eddie sings ‘I’m through with screaming’, although he immediately screams (albeit in a somewhat understated way) the lines that follow. Whereas faithful is being sung by someone in the middle of a crisis of faith, Amongst the waves is sung by someone who has gone through it and is reflecting on the experience

Lyrically the verses in this one are fantastic, some of Eddie’s best writing in a while. He obviously overuses the water imagery in his writing, but it works here (and in force of nature) because he really develops the metaphor, and the way he plays positive and negative images off each other is really clever. The idea of a house of cards is something that is completely unstable , offering no sanctuary or protection despite how impressive it is on the surface. His experiences have transformed from the house of cards into a reservoir, something deep and permanent, artificially constructed but once built capable of supporting and preserving life. The water filling it came from tears, from hardship and suffering, but those days are gone, and what was once so destructive has become sustaining. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. He follows that up with the undertow lyric. Undertows are the invisible currents that, if you’re not careful, can easily pull you under the water. Those tensions are still there, still found in the reservoir, but it’s possible to move past them, especially if you’re not alone, and once you’re beyond them, once you’ve survived them, there is a rich, substantive peacefulness awaiting you. You’re better for having been tried and tested, provided you make it through. The secret to making it through, the familiar refrain for them, is to not try and make it alone. We find our strength through our connections to other people, and the ones who survive are the ones who open themselves up to that

So far this is a great song, but what kills Amongst the Waves for me is a fairly bland and mediocre chorus. The same warm fuzzy accents that appear in the verse are nice but the main riff is something we’ve heard a million times before, and given how weightless the verses are, the chorus actually ends up taking us back down to earth when it needs to soar. Eddie doesn’t help things along here, as there doesn’t seem to be anything all that different in the vocal performance other than a choppier melody. The buildup was great, but there’s no real payoff here. I’m not saying he needed to explode here. Amongst the Waves is an understated song and something like the chorus of Given to Fly would be out of place, but something’s needed. Maybe it’s some kind of vocal harmony, maybe something more akin to the cleaner rises in In Hiding, but it doesn’t work as is.

Lyrically this is decent, but not as impressive as the verses. We’re all familiar with Eddie’s surfing metaphors and how this is shorthand for freedom and release, and that love can create the same sensations, but he’s not doing anything clever here with it (and reservoirs, to my knowledge, don’t have waves, although this isn’t as bad as boats having reigns). The religious imagery is actually a bit stronger, since he’s using those conventional metaphors (soul, the early grave) but using the word like makes it clear that he’s capturing a spiritual feeling in a non religious context. The love he feels makes it so that there’s something worth living for, makes him feel that there’s something unique and eternal about himself, but it’s not a literal soul—sort of like being in a crowd for the outro of Alive feels like a religious experience, even though it has nothing to do with that. The chorus ends with the “gotta say it now, better loud than too late” lyric. Since the obvious contrast in the lyric should be now than too late, switching the loud and now is fairly clever, and hints at an incredible depth (or reservoir) of feeling. If he doesn’t really shout it, get the whole thing out, it almost isn’t worth talking about at all. Some thoughts can only be conveyed at the top of our voice. But the performance doesn’t match the sentiment. A ‘gems and rhinestones’ level of intensity might have sounded out of place, but if he’s not looking for over the top he needs to find some other way to convey the sentiment, and he doesn’t. This is really one of the only vocal missteps on the whole record, but it’s a big one.

Fortunately the transition back into the verse is seamless (this is a record with great transitions), and the song quickly returns to the quietly urgent, inexorable build of the verses. Musically they build off the basic ideas of the first verse, but the drums hit harder (and maybe a bit faster?), the keys are slightly more foreboding, the accents a bit more insistent, and even the transition back into the chorus hits a bit harder than the first one.

Lyrically this is even better than the first verse, and Eddie delivers it just as well (and I’m pretty sure the verses are my favorite moments on Backspacer). Also, as if to offset the religious imagery of the chorus Eddie uses some pretty clever evolutionary language here, referencing development and growing up, and the traumas that mark the transition from a wide eyed innocence into the type of cynicism that we often mistake for maturity and wisdom. But this is a survivor’s song. 15 years ago the song would have lingered here, and we’d have a number that would make sense on one of the early records. But the point is not to dwell, but to look past it. The person he’s singing to (I suspect this might be autobiographical) has faced their fears, has bled themselves dry (purged themselves—even if this is medieval science it’s important that the agent here is the subject of the lyric. They’ve made it through themselves) and when the blood is gone there’s peace and acceptance. There’s the peace you find on the other side of cynicism where you recognize that an imperfect world with imperfect people in it is always going to have something wrong with it, but that this can’t stop you from finding your own perfect moments in an otherwise troubling world—the undertows never go away, but you can find ways to swim past them into calmer water, especially if you’re not swimming alone. The ‘survived and you’re amongst the fittest’ lyric is one of my favorite on the record. I especially love the way it plays off of the pseudo religious ‘soul’ imagery, since the idea of the survival of the fittest (both evolutionary and social Darwinism) was so often juxtaposed with religious ideas in our history. The’ love ain’t love until you give it up’ lyric is nothing we haven’t heard before, and serves as a solid if unremarkable transition into the second chorus, where things go wrong again.

Musically the chorus is a bit more persuasive than the first time through, a bit more aggressive, and while I’m not sure aggressive is the mood they should be going for on this one, at least it differentiates itself more from the verse that precedes it I like the keyboard parts underneath it, and I wonder if they should have made that a bit more prominent (think the ‘church’ feel that the choruses in Marker have, which would have fit well here). Vocally this has the same problem as the last chorus, and if anything the improvements in the music actually end up washing over Eddie, when he’s supposed to be rising above them. Even the vocalizations going into the bridge seem a bit tired and muted, and while those choices made artistic sense on Riot Act, they don’t’ work here. The ‘light coming through the clouds in rays’ lyric is a nice image, but it’s not one that really fits here with the stormy music. There are some bright guitar parts when he sings that lyric that would have worked well, but they’re overpowered by the fuzz.

The bridge takes these problems and makes them a bit worse. I actually like it, but it sounds like it was written for a different song (Marker has the same problem). It’s too confrontational, too murky, too embattled. It’s a muscular, grinding solo that doesn’t make sense here. This needs to sound a bit like the end of I Am Mine (or the outro of Force of Nature, where this would have worked as a good bridge if it could have fit into the tempo of the song) and while there are some moments towards the end they are again lost amongst the clatter and the fuzz. It sounds like it’s something that’s trying to come into being, rather than something that is already there.

The same can be said of Eddie’s vocals in the last chorus, where he finally starts to differentiate himself from what came before. The problem again is that they don’t really fit the song all that well. Amongst the Waves is alternately reflective or a victory lap but either way it is situated after the struggle. Eddie’s already won this war, and with the bridge and the final chorus he’s either still fighting the battles (bleeding himself) or he’s just finished. There’s something emerging, something being discovered, something immediate, which is powerful but out of place. If Amongst the Waves was a journey of discovery and it culminated with this hard won freedom this could work (I’d like a little more from Eddie, but he’s heading in the right direction) but that’s not the song he wrote. The chorus of In My Tree wouldn’t work in Present Tense. They’re capturing different moments in time.

So we’re left with a real mixed bag of a song. Fantastic verses that manage to move while standing still, flat, somewhat uninspired choruses, and an interesting bridge and outro that don’t’ quite fit in. It gets a frustrating 3 stars from me.

Average. I mean, I really like this song but it seems like a "pearl jam anthem-lite".

Decent song, gave it a 3. I like it, but I cant give it a 4 when I like the songs I've given a 4 alot more than this.

thats mostly the reason i hate it. its not technically that awful, but it sounds so damn "lite" and boring. the guitar solo is the only part i can tolerate. i cant listen to it.

I can listen to it and enjoy it, but it's simply average to me.

cringeworthy moments in this song:

- "Waterfalling"
- "Darling"
- the chorus : lyrics, guitar, melody, everything
- "I gotta say it now, better loud than too late"
- the guitar line played between chorus & 2nd verse
- The entire end to the song with that "say it now" bullshit
- The guitar sound during the solo, which doesn't seem to fit the song

will the person who gave this 5 stars please come out and say how many PJ songs in total he/she would give 5 stars?

I gave it a 5. I don't care. I love this song. I think the verses rock, and the choruses soar, especially chorus #3.

It's a positive song, I dig it. I still get goosebumps hearing it. My favorite off the new album.

Of the studio albums, I've given "5" to 8 songs.

Thanks! Amazing how tastes can differ. I don't hate this song, the verses are quite good. But there's too many things about it that I don't like.

True. Your dislikes are things I don't really see as irritating or wrong for the song. Then I see people loving "Force of Nature" and I have to wonder what they are smoking. I just don't get that song. Nothing horrible about it, but I find it boring.

This song, I will defend though. It makes me feel good and that's all that matters.

I only give 5 stars out to the songs that REALLY blow me away. Like G2F and Parting Ways. If it's close to that it gets 4 stars. With that system a 3 star ranking is nothing to be ashamed of.

When I first heard it I thought it was a little cringeworthy and that the chorus and hooks thoughout were too overdone. Thankfully, the lyrics are really strong, and that's kind of what this band hads become famous for - an anthemic sound with depth and substance to back it up. Now I like it...I'm not crazy about it, but having seen youtube clips, it looks like great fun live - especially the chorus. It could be the best singalong they've written since GTF/I Am Mine.

And in regards to the chorus - I think you're being a little harsh Stip...It feels fine to me, and I think the way the last line of each chorus progresses each time is a really effective touch, with the last "laaaaaaaaate" being particularly good. I agree that the solo/bridge section feels a little out of place though.

3.5 stars.

thats such a bad lyric in the topic title

anyway, this song's not bad

This song is terrible.

I don't really like this song very much

i love that lyric

For me this one is 3.5, but for the sake of the poll i voted 3.

Its a fine song, certainly nothing terrible, but it just strikes me as being very "safe" and well kind of boring.

I prefer the studio version to any live takes i've heard so far.

Not so hot on this song, probably my least favourite on Backspacer. 2 stars, I guess. I don't think that the lyrics are "bad" as such, they just don't move me at all and (more importantly for me) the music just seems like it's trying a bit too hard to be anthemic and soaring, without ever actually getting there. I can look past poor lyrics if there's a great tune there but this doesn't gel for me at all.

I really, really dislike the idea (and the execution) of the pre-recorded harmony guitar they use live for the last phrase of the guitar solo.

Does this band really need to pre-record things now? Just play it differently if it's impossible to play it exactly like the album, y'know - that really leaves a sour taste in my mouth on this one.

I thought Stone played that part live.

Yeah I thought he did too...he plays rhythm throughout the solo and then just doubles that harmony line for a couple of bars and then drops back to the rhythm, no?