By: Staff
Arms & Hearts Unveil "The Future Is Not Bright" with Bold New Sound and Uncompromising Lyrical Edge
We got a chance to check out the latest release from Arms & Hearts, "The Future Is Not Bright," and we just dove right into track one, "Time Flies When It’s Meaningless." We loved the raw tone of the electric guitars in the opening, followed by a jump-in-your-face grit. Then, we get this breathy yet declarative style of lyrical expression that is both intriguing and captivating. As the song progresses, it builds into a bold, explosive sound that is dramatic and cinematic. We're absolutely in awe of the lead singer's vocals—they are unique, powerful, and perfectly aligned with the musical arrangement. When we hear the lyrics: “Again static fills my ears, and I think I wanna drink again,” it’s performed so well that it feels like more than just singing. It feels like being told a story, with the lead performers acting out a scene. If there’s ever a song people will sing along to, this is it. This band has a certain essence of Pink Floyd, not necessarily in sound, but in creating a song that feels like it deserves a movie, rather than just being part of a soundtrack. The guitar performances here are true standouts, haunting without being overbearing, making you wish for more every time you hear them, and keeping you completely captivated. This song exits almost as gently as it began, leaving us with a track that checks the boxes of many genres but feels like a blend of an orchestra and a Broadway performance.
Next, we jumped over to "Apologist," where lead vocalist Steven Millar once again delivered an incredible performance right from the start. The recording of these songs sounds very alive, honest, and raw. There’s an authentic feel to the rock 'n' roll and pop-punk elements, with a slight infusion of original rock and roll. The drum fills and explosive movements by Sam Johnson keep the pace driving forward. There’s an energy and drive in the interplay between the guitars and drums, making you want to tap your foot to the beat. The sound is clear and crisp, yet raw in its recording. The lyrics, “Won’t change the things that you did,” hit hard. Reflections on ego and lies are things we’ve all faced in others. This is a terrific song with a powerful message.
We then dropped down to "Val," which has an '80s Aerosmith ballad vibe, if you added a few more notches of rock 'n' roll grit. When you hear the lyrics, “They say you die twice. Once when you die, and once when someone speaks your name for the last time. So I swear to you, I’ll never stop saying your name,” it's an incredible twist on a powerful sentiment. What a heartbreaking yet beautiful way to express the pain of loss. This song is a poetic and deeply moving rendition.
"Elvis Will Do in a Pinch" is a pop-infused track with blazing guitars and drums. It’s full of energy, with a fantastic display of craftsmanship from Sam Johnson. The drums stand out throughout the entire track; there's never a moment when you don’t feel them front and center, propelling the lyrical expression.
Once again, Johnson shines in "Binaries," opening the track with a terrific drum display, perfectly paired with the guitars and Millar's vocals. The vocals here are soaring and beautiful, making this track especially impressive.
To top it all off, we listened to the title track, "The Future Is Not Bright," and this duo brought their A-game. Johnson delivers a standout performance here, and when we heard the lyrics, “I’ve got a death wish and no one to tell it to. A list of bad habits not changing anytime soon,” we felt a strong sense of self-realization that makes the song deeply relatable.
Arms & Hearts are truly a terrific duo, providing outstanding musical arrangements, beautiful vocals, and tremendous lyrical expression that draw listeners into both the music and the performance.
The latest release, The Future Is Not Bright, represents a genre shift for Arms & Hearts, blending sparkly synths and chorus effect-laden guitars while still maintaining the defiant wit and grit that define their lyricism. The album draws inspiration from artists like Spanish Love Songs, Turnover, and Chris Farren, channeling those influences into a sound that’s both expansive and deeply introspective.
You can find this release on any major platform, see below for links to take you straight to some of the profiles. Make sure to playlist, stream, and share "The Future Is Not Bright" by Arms & Hearts.
Wait… there's more!
We had the chance to catch up with Arms & Hearts for an exclusive interview in "The Cage" Music Blog.
Here’s how it went:
Hello Arms & Hearts, we’re thrilled to have you for this interview! We’ve had a blast diving into your music and exploring your work, and now we’re even more excited to learn more about you, both as artists, and as people.
Please tell us the names and roles of each band member.
Hey, My name is Steven Millar, I’m the singer and the guitarist and we also have the recent addition of Sam Johnson on drums
Is there a story behind how you chose your artist / stage name?
When I started this as an acoustic project the name Steve Millar kinda opened the door for requests of “the joker” or other Steve Miller band quips. So I sought a moniker, I found this in the title of a bonus track at the end of one of my favourite records “Boys and Girls in America” by “The Hold Steady” I actually debated changing it for this as with the addition of Sam we get “which ones arms and which ones hearts?” a lot haha (Sam is the arms for sure). Ultimately seemed like more effort and self-indulgent than the end result.
How has the genre shift in "The Future Is Not Bright" influenced your approach to songwriting?
Massively, when I wrote the previous record “The Distance Between” It took over 5 years to write an album's worth of songs I thought were good enough. I was always concerned with not adding too much to the records that would sound a million miles away from the live show of just me and an acoustic guitar. The change was caused by opening for Chris Farren on his UK tour in very early 2020, his live show is incredible and at the time was just him, a guitar, backing tracks and a projector, I was scoping out the technology he was using to make that work and asking all sorts of annoying questions. Then covid happened, and I thought I would probably never be able to play live again, so I focused on recording at home and all the self-imposed limitations were no longer relevant. Because of this I wrote over 30 songs for this record and continue to write more and more, and when things started to open up, I used what I learned from Farren to integrate my live show to me, an electric guitar and tracks. It annoys a lot of the more rigid punks, but it's more fun, more inspiring to me and in my opinion a much more put together live show.
Can you talk about any specific themes or messages within "The Future Is Not Bright" that resonate with your personal experiences?
The thing I really tried to convey with this album is an attempt to remain optimistic in a cultural climate that demands cynicism and misery.
What inspired you to incorporate elements of both personal and political topics in "The Future Is Not Bright"?
One of my favourite records “Brave Faces Everyone” by Spanish Love Songs does this so well, as an angsty teenager, I loved a lot of political music but I always found it hard to connect with songs about a specific issue if they were only about said specific issue. What SLS does so well is connect those to the personal, make it relatable and the overarching messages that politics, economics affect people personally.
Can you describe your collaboration with Sam Johnson and how that dynamic has evolved in the new project?
Sam joined shortly after we wrapped up recording unfortunately. But it has definitely amped up the live show. He’s the best drummer I’ve ever worked with.
What role do you think humour plays in your lyricism, particularly in "The Future Is Not Bright"?
I would say a healthy amount of self-deprecating humour helped move stuff along a lot, but I would say the over-exaggeration, goriness and overly dark lyrics in “I wanna Kill your Boss” is a good example ha.
What song from "The Future Is Not Bright" has had the most impact on you, and why does it stand out to you?
The title track, embodies everything I wanted to say with the record. The line “you can’t hate yourself, into someone you like” is very important to me.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to emerging artists in the music scene today?Music is a subjective medium which we have been forced to judge through a cold, objective, capitalist lens of “sells well = good / doesn’t sell = bad”. Focus on the joy of creating and performing music, don’t worry about how much money it makes for yourself or someone else.
Where do you create your music—at home in a recording studio or with a producer? How do you finalize your work—self-mixed and mastered or through another source?
I have a home studio that I record demos in, I always have far too much self-doubt when recording my own songs – which is why with this record I travelled over to Lincoln every other weekend in 2023 to record with Sam Cook. Sam’s a great producer and got super involved with crafting this sound.
Which of your already released songs is the most important to you or had the most impact on your life or career, and why?
“Apologists”, which came out a couple of weeks ago – a very personal song about an injustice that happened to myself and someone I care about. It said a lot of things I needed to say.
There is a lot of technology available today. Some artists have described it as “overwhelming” or “too much.” The current climate of music is growing with computers being more prominently used for both creation and correction. Do you feel this has a positive or negative impact on the end result for music?
I am very pro technology, it’s just another tool to enhance a song and I think we need to let go of rigid rules of how an artist should create music. I do however, draw the line at AI. I think once the original creation of the song part has been replaced by technology then it’s a no from me.
End Interview
We’re happy to have shared Arms & Hearts’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Arms & Hearts on Spotify & YouTube.
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