Dependency in Young Relationships: Phase // Jack Garratt
The album Phase recently released by Jack Garratt begs the listener to analyze the path they’ve drawn in life, and poses questions previously not brought to surface. He offers a perspective of a relationship in incredible depth, which may be easily identified with. Yet there are missing pieces in the story that can be filled with reflection and analysis. Let’s look at a select few songs from the album:
Coalesce (Synthesia Pt. II)
Like most of the songs presented on this album, Garratt begins by laying down a synthetic beat that comes in and out, automatically enticing the listener. When his voice enters, its smooth texture that suggests a foreign accent contrasts with the music in the most captivating way. He tells a story through expressing his wishes:
I hope to God I’ll see you one more time
And feel your warmth embrace my fragile mind
I hope you take my innocence, every night
Just moments later, he shouts in exclamation and begs the audience to hear his story til its bitter end.
This song is a great preface to the intense album, as Garratt immediately presents his desires for love and deep connection, while also telling the audience: Here are my thoughts, I hope our minds can form a bond and we can cherish this music together.
Breathe Life
By far the catchiest song on the album, and the one that tells us the most about the artist and his lived experiences, Breathe Life is the story of a supposedly selfless and giving lover on the verge of giving up entirely.
I know when to give up and I know when to breathe
Believe me, I owe it to her
Tell her I owe it to her
This song speaks volumes, showing the perspective of a hopeless lover with little left to live for. It is common in our society for us to desire someone to love us fully; and secretly, for someone’s love for us to outweigh what we feel for them. This song presents the romanticization of that, and the desperate role Garratt plays in his own relationship.
A common listener may have thoughts along the lines of “Aw… How sweet. He truly believes he owes his lover the world, that’s pure romance…” Yet as the song progresses, the message takes a turn, in the same way relationships built off these worshiping feelings do.
Take my silence as a warning
I will not deter your mourning
This borderline threatening statement forces me to be skeptical of the lover describing this relationship: he is not the selfless beacon of light that we may quickly judge him to be. He is a selfish lover, claiming that if things go awry, there will be consequences, and you have been warned. This power struggle is entirely too easy to fall into when you believe that your partner is a living deity, because you are convincing yourself that you are doing things for them when you are truly acting selfishly.
Weathered
A common theme in all of Garratt’s songs from Phase is that they are all written like poetic diary entries, rather than telling a story or teaching a direct lesson. More often than not, he is speaking from a personal perspective, using “I” statements and following them with a string of thoughts.
Weathered is no exception as he makes predictions for what his life will consist of when he detaches from his youth. He ties in his dependent relationship again, begging his partner to keep him young, and therefore content.
And no wonder I keep you close
You’re the water to quench my throat
And if I never let you go
Will you keep me young
The language he uses is again aggressive, demanding from his significant other that she has to stay around, or else his heart will cease to beat and his blood will turn cold. His youth is fleeting, and that makes him anxious, so he places dependence on his partner to keep him from experiencing these potentially paralyzing emotions.
The Love You’re Given
Garratt amplifies his victim complex to its full extent in this song. He claims that his lover refuses to accept all that he gives her because she’s scared, and her ego is too large. Again, he presents this in a romantic way, turning his unrequited love on her, screaming and repeating that “you won’t let me love you…”
I promise you if you’re gonna lock me out
I will stand as your ghost
If you take the love you’re given
I will leave you alone
These are incredibly problematic responsibilities to place on another person.
Garratt places a blame on his partner that stems from insecurities built in his own mind. Being unable to identify the source of his overwhelming emotions, he forces it to be the problem of the person he is in love with, because of their deep connection. It is overwhelmingly easy for him to so as a means of not solving his internal problems.
Chemical
At this point in the album, Garratt recognizes that the love he feels for this person is creating problems and may not be entirely healthy. Yet he doesn’t speak about this in an apologetic way. He is very matter of fact about it.
So don’t try to reason with my love
My love is powerful, ruthless and unforgiving
It won’t think beyond itself
By telling his lover not to try to control his love, he is being selfish and placing more blame on her. If she tries to maintain a stable relationship with him, he is saying that it will be her fault for not receiving the results she desires. There is a severe lack logic and heartfelt emotion in that statement. Here we see a manipulative and unkind partner in Garratt.
All of Phase depicts a relationship from the point of view of only one person involved in it. This forces the audience to sympathize with Garratt at least somewhat; when they hear the music but don’t necessarily listen. He asks us in the opener to allow our minds to coalesce with his, which is instrumental to our understandings of his perspective, but leaves out 50% of the context of the relationship.
We as listeners are not clued in to what his lover is feeling, how she’s reacting to all of his nuances and demands. This perspective is critical in our understanding of their relationship and our instinctual sympathy for the artist.
Phase is beautifully written, both lyrically and instrumentally. It tells a story of a man through diary entry-like songs and offers an outlet to him. Yet the audience needs to be keen in how much we feel in connection to Garratt and to be aware that he may not be morally just in all his thoughts. This is an album that needs to be analyzed in order to be enjoyed to its maximum potential.