Guards was formed in New York City when Richie James Follin returned from a European tour to a recording studio with nothing in it but a broken electric 12 string guitar and an omnichord. He wrote and recorded a few songs there with the help of his friends (Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, James Richardson of MGMT, Loren Shane Humphrey of Baby Fangs) and little sister (Madeline Follin of Cults) and simply spread them the Internet, rapidly gaining the blogosphere’s endorsement.
“Life is a war” was recorded at a friends studio in downtown los angeles all in one single first take. The idea behind this was to capture a raw instinctual moment that had a raucous edge to it. Loud guitars, buzzy sub bass, string synths, and live open drums were smashed together. Doing it this way captured an energetic about to burst feeling that matches the lyrical content. The message of the song is that life can be tough and maybe in a dream it could be a different way, but as hard as it can be, it is always a little bit better here on earth with a friend.
“Life is a war” was recorded at a friends studio in downtown los angeles all in one single first take. The idea behind this was to capture a raw instinctual moment that had a raucous edge to it. Loud guitars, buzzy sub bass, string synths, and live open drums were smashed together. Doing it this way captured an energetic about to burst feeling that matches the lyrical content. The message of the song is that life can be tough and maybe in a dream it could be a different way, but as hard as it can be, it is always a little bit better here on earth with a friend.
