McCafferty's recent EP, Forest Life, is one of The Alternative Tone's favourite releases so far this year. I caught up with Nick to get a track-by-track on the EP, in order to give us more insight into McCafferty's fabulous imagery and lyrical themes.
Jeff
There was a girl I was friends with in high school named Becky and she was in a relationship with this guy from freshman year until last summer, when their relationship fell apart she told me it happened really fast, that's why the song is so short. I wanted to explore the aspect of a relationship with so much feeling that just ends abruptly and the emptiness that you feel after. I've had people message me and say they wish Jeff was longer, but that's the exact reason I made it so short.
Jeff
There was a girl I was friends with in high school named Becky and she was in a relationship with this guy from freshman year until last summer, when their relationship fell apart she told me it happened really fast, that's why the song is so short. I wanted to explore the aspect of a relationship with so much feeling that just ends abruptly and the emptiness that you feel after. I've had people message me and say they wish Jeff was longer, but that's the exact reason I made it so short.
Snakes
I wrote "Snakes" with the mindset of making a song that sort of pokes fun at all these dogs out there in the DIY scene about smoking and partying, it's really simplistic in the lyrics because I wanted it to just get to the point of sort of being ridiculous. It's really just another song about some desperate hipsters who get to consumed by the party scene
Trees
I wrote "Trees immediately after I wrote "Snakes" in one day. "Trees" is a very personal song to me in the fact that bullying is something I can relate to. I was bullied a lot in school and it's something that I think a lot of people brush off as something that "can't be fixed" or "is just going to happen" but it's wrong. It's really fucking wrong. "Trees" tells the story of a homosexual young man who is judged by his sexuality. There is a scene that the song describes where the young man is followed home and jumped by some kids from school and strung up in the trees by his underwear, this scene is probably the most heart breaking piece of art I have ever created.
"just string me up, two or three, just string me up down by the trees, Just by my pants, I'm such a freak, a fucking fag that never sees"
I've included the word "faggot" in this song because its a word that I believe many people don't take seriously. To me, the word "faggot" is one of the most beautifully destructive words in the English language. It's a word that has the power to cut someone like a knife but a lot of people don't see that, they see just a word to call a friend, and don't get me wrong I have a horrible fucking mouth, but it's the way it's used that completely changes the usage. I felt like this song could make some people uncomfortable, but bullying is something that does exist in today's society and there's no "safe" way to depict it, so I did it the best way I knew how.
Your's, Mine, Hours
Everyone has a Gina.
Dear Everyone, I'm Sorry
This was the first song I wrote for Forest Life. I originally wrote it right after our previous demo I Hate This Body and couldn't decide if I should release it as a single or something but I think it made a good inclusion. The song is about me in high school and all the shit I fucked up. It's about me kicking down my door and running away while me and my parents get in a fight, it's about me and my girlfriend sitting in the car when we both confessed that we were both virgins and the way I remember my face turning red and looking away. It's a really personal song and I love it.
Floorboards
This is my favorite song on the album. I had a friend who was really close to me who got an abortion, and I saw first hand not only the physical toll it took on her but also the emotional toll.
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