the image of the city in Sudden Lights' songs
LONG POST AHEAD hehe
saw a text made by a fellow sudden lights fan @things-things-bd about riga and decided to bring my own takes to the table while also making the topic a bit broader.
tbf the idea of exploring their lyrics and writing some kind of essay or smth has been living in my head since the moment i finished my deep dive into the second album (so it's about two years). i only needed smb to kick me. it happened... in a way.
note: neither latvian nor english are my native languages. all the opinions are author's personal interpretations of found translations based on general and (limited) linguistic experience.
priekšpilsētas (2017)
i'll also go album by album, and we will start here.
the record is youthfully maximalist in places (understandable for music written by 17 to 20-year-olds) and already screams signature SL melancholy. the city, as my colleague already said, isn't mentioned much explicitly: we see it only in nine head monster and the title song, priekšpilsētas valsis. however, i'd also like to add just fine to the list, considering the official lyric video uses images of city life.
all three examples paint an unpleasant picture of a huge terrifying place (PV), a monstrous entity, filled with loneliness, questionable desires, and lost souls (NHM) that are living their empty lives "going nowhere" and "worshipping some kind of coloured chinese paper" (JF). the author here might be putting himself in opposition to the city, that could serve as a symbol of the whole big world that he doesn't fully understand yet. it's crazy, it's seemingly senseless, but it's getting closer every day, and he is scared of what is actually awaiting there. the choice of the album title ("suburbs") might also be explained by the same reasons (staying on the verge of something bigger).
vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav (2019)
this one, in my opinion, is the most city-centred release of the four, despite the first one trying to claim the title. 7 out of 10 songs have city images mentioned in lyrics and in most cases it does actually MEAN something.
gonna cover a bunch of the tracks:
dzīvnieks explores losing yourself in the (seemingly new) surrounding environment which is *badum-tss* the city. there's so much around, you need it all, you're overwhelmed, you're literally getting completely insane, going from place to place, forgetting who you are, and you have absolutely no fucking idea what to do about it. you are becoming one of those living here and at the same time you're not like them, they do not accept you, which makes you a pack animal left alone in the city while being hunted by others.
rīgas ielu nemiers. well, look at this title, ah? "riga's street frenzy" they call it, quite self-explanatory, i might say. too noisy, too fast, giving you anxiety and being almost too much - what a wonderful place to live in. of course one would be wanting to run away from there...
vakuums, one of my most favourite SL songs in general and a perfectly angsty piece. it doesn't make riga a central character, but still it's obvious that this place is bringing mostly pain. "along a stretched barbed wire from the tower of st. peter's church // till the riga cathedral // i'd walk barefoot // just to feel something" (translation link) - these lines also speak for themselves. all the author feels is emotional vacuum, and he sees only one way of reminding himself he's still there.
ielas vidū. ohhhhh how we love songs that are full-scale existential reflections. is comfort of being one with the crowd the actual comfort? is it worth it to stop feeling anything negative just to exist in safety? what's there left of us when we're alone? do we really know what life must be about? do we still remember how to care about others? and all these questions are asked using the image of a person standing among the stream of people in the middle of the street, where that full street probably depicts life and society as a whole.
izbēgšana. don't like the sound of this one, but it's still, in fact, about escaping the city, running away from the world that is driving you crazy and won't help you with anything anyway. so you're diving into your own tiny universe to never see the rest of it again.
so, as we see, the city is still not a friend. but now we have to live there and deal with it. it surrounds us, it makes us feel all sorts of things, they are Not Pleasant, and the only wish is to get the hell out of there. or accept it? who knows. if we continue with the previously described idea of the city being a symbol of the big world, then this album is a whole metaphor of struggling to start living in it on your own and trying to find at least some peace in everyday life.
miljards vasaru (2022)
i suppose that the global context had a large impact on the creation of this record and the vibes and thoughts it carries. i like to call it a perfect pandemic album because first of all it talks a lot about longing, fear of loneliness, and other quiet inner struggles, and any physical aspects of the world don't really matter here. we all were left trapped inside our rooms and our minds, and the Outside stopped existing for a while. this is why, i think, cityscapes aren't that present in the lyrics. and even if they appear for a moment, like in jasmīns for example, the streets are still empty. complete silence. and please, don't forget to turn off the lights when you're leaving.
īsas vasaras, garas ziemas (2025)
album number four. a mix of sadness, desperation and hope. it was hard to analyse because you barely see any city details at first, but they are here, in the background, almost never in focus... except for the first and the last songs, but there's no characterisation (unlike in album one). and this is the one where the city finally gets accepted as a part of the author's life. he's the riga troubadour. he rides in a tram along the streets, using it as a hideaway from the hardships of life (either running away from all this or becoming one with his fellow rigans while singing together). he wishes to live there, next to his significant other. and it is mostly warm and loving.
this is a "coming-of-age album", as it was called in some podcast andrejs was in, and this particular detail, this change of perspective (not that noticeable at first glance imo) might be one of the signs of growing up. finding your place. accepting it, as it accepts you.
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it was quite a fascinating journey and i would say that i loved every part of it. didn't expect it to become THAT long but. it happens when you love a band just a little bit too much. and seeing them grow from this new perspective made me appreciate them even more.
let's see if i find any time and inspiration to write detailed general analyses of each record separately...