Nashville-based alt-pop band COIN released their highly anticipated studio album, “I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore” Sept. 13, 2024 after a two-and-a-half-year musical drought. The band, known for top hits such as “Crash My Car” and “Talk Too Much” took some time to look introspectively into the sound they were curating, before releasing their fifth studio album.
As a whole, the album is perhaps the band’s most vulnerable and self-aware piece of work. They took to Instagram prior to the album’s release to talk about the tumultuous journey they took to arrive at the finished project. “After finishing our last album, we didn’t write a song for about a year. That was odd,” the post began.
The band posted on Instagram again on the day of the album release, sharing a post that ended with the quote, “I’m not afraid of music anymore because I’m not afraid of where I am anymore.”
Today I will be taking a deeper dive into the lyrics presented on this album, and sharing my personal interpretation of the overall message.
The album opens with the bluntly titled, “It’s Hard To Care About Everything.” In a world where so many are scraping to get by each day, it becomes tiresome to feel the weight of everything else going on in the world. The song begins with the lines, “Charlie works at the woke cafe / Burning double shifts right to his grave / But hey, that’s just how it shakes.” The song then flows into a simple chorus with the repetition of “All we know are the places we go.” A simple melody paired with complex lyrics seems to be a recurring theme throughout the album, encouraging listeners to take a deeper look at each song.
Next up, we hear the opening drums of “Take It Or Leave It” the second single the band released from the album. The song, originally released July 12, 2024, delves into a relationship that the singer knows is dying out. They want a fast, painless break from this relationship—a take my love or leave me alone, don’t string me along. Saying, “So don’t go breaking my heart / Just tear me apart / If you’re going to leave me,” the singer begs their partner just to leave if their heart truly isn’t in the relationship anymore. At the end of the song we see some growth and self-reflection when the singer reflects, “Back of my mind / I’m better off alone.”
Some of the lyrics in the next track, “Asking For A Friend” are taken directly from old COIN tracks. The lyrics, “Spill my drink ‘cause / I’m nervous when I’m talking to you / I start to stutter / And I wonder if I have an excuse” and “Never, never, never, never seen a mouth like yours / Never, never seen a face like that, I’m sure” are taken from their unreleased track “Pick It Up”. These references to older songs are laced within the album, something I believe was intentional to demonstrate growth. For this song in particular, the audience can sense the singer’s nervousness and lack of confidence as they embark on trying to pursue a romantic relationship.
Track four is “Slack”, the third and final single the band released before the album dropped. “”Slack” is a love letter to our band, tying the journey together with a loose knot. Coin has been stretched in every direction, but we embrace every shape and size, even the ones that no longer fit right into place,” the band shared on X. The band references their hit “Crash My Car” with the lyric, “These days, I don’t fall too far / I don’t crash my car” and their other fan-favorite “Talk Too Much” with the lyric, “You know I don’t talk too much.” Both of these lyrics contradict the songs from which they are taken from, showing growth from where they began as a band and as individuals.
For the album’s fifth track, “Along For The Ride” the singer seems to be struggling with feeling strung along in their relationship. With lyrics like, “You fool me and keep me along for the ride” the audience can get a sense of the singer feeling played or deceived by their partner. On the other hand, I also see this song as the band’s way of asking the audience to join them “Along For The Ride” as they are on their journey of self-acceptance and growth.
“Problem” was one of the standout songs for me when listening to the album as a whole. Sonically different from the tracks before it, “Problem” has more rock-based elements to it. To me, this song takes a look at things from a very pessimistic perspective with lines like, “Garbage on my plate / Spitting up all my shame / Everything is great / And then you die.” Additionally, the singer tackles their contradictory opinions of fame and public recognition with lines like, “I should’ve been famous / About an hour or two ago / But I die when I get recognized / And cry a little when I don’t.” Finally, the song is very vulnerable when the singer says “My problem’s everybody’s problem / I think I’m the problem / I’ve got a problem with that.”
The album then repositions itself back to the softer side both sonically and lyrically with “Blueberry Smoothie.” To me, this song delves into a relationship that is sweet and refreshing like a smoothie. “You get around, around, around in every corner of my mouth” creates the implication that this relationship is leaving a sweet “taste” in the singer’s mouth, brightening their day and making them better as a whole. As the midpoint on the album, I think this song serves as a breaking point from a lot of the darker, more cynical lyrics/messages we see in the first half.
Once again we are seeing a softer, more loving message with the album’s eighth track, “222”. The angel number 222 is often seen as significant when it comes to timing in relationships. “When you see 222, simply know that there is a powerful connection coming your way that will have a significant impact on your life. It’s also asking you to trust the process and not to despair or try to push anything into being that isn’t for your highest and best interest,” numerologist Felicia Bender said to Elle Magazine. The song mentions “taking it slow” and “having room to grow” which I think falls in line with the connotation that 222 tends to have.
Next, “Growing Song” talks about growing out of an older version of yourself and welcoming in a new side. I think this falls in stride with what the band said they struggled with when curating the album – growing out of the older versions of themselves and being receptive to new changes. The song ends with “Maybe I’m growing / Or maybe I’m not” touching on the confusion that can come from these new changes.
“Bloodtype” is another standout song on the album, featuring a bit more of a folk-like twang than the rest of the tracks. Beginning with what seems to be a reference to both “Born in the U.S.A” by Bruce Springsteen and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel, the song talks about the singer being seemingly so self-aware yet not even knowing something so simple about himself (ie. his blood type).
“Olivia” talks about the singer’s infatuation with a love interest, who seems to have a powerful hold over him. Lines like, “It’s Olivia, I know / If you want me to, I’ll go / But, Olivia, it’s you” show the pedestal that Olivia is seemingly on in the singer’s mind. Perhaps Olivia is just a metaphor for something else in the singer’s life? As Harry Styles once said, “Is Olivia even a person? Is Olivia an emotion? Is she a place? We don’t know.”
“Strawberry Jam” was the lead single released from the album. With an overwhelming sense of introspection, this song follows a relationship in which one partner seems to struggle with consistency in the relationship, always making sweet promises like returning with “strawberry jam.” The band shared that the line “She likes it better with my head down, lately” was a reference to their old song “lately” where they felt that their relationship with music was much simpler, and this new album has allowed them to go back to their roots. With the line “I apologize to you / And I apologize for that”, the singer seems to be aware of their inconsistencies in the relationship, once again showing this self-awareness that is seen throughout the album.
In the second to last song, “Sing Along” the singer talks openly about how he’s aware of his problems, but doesn’t know how much longer the audience will continue to listen to him as he repeatedly messes up. To me, this stood out as the band’s almost “apology” to their audience who have stuck through, even when the band was in a dormant state. Lines like “How many times can I be wrong? / I’ve been down for way too long / How many tries can I fit in a song? / Hoping you still sing along” mark some self-awareness from the band as they realize their audience might not stick around forever.
The album concludes with “Leaving A Light On”—perhaps one of the most symbolic songs on the album. The idea of “leaving a light on” implies that despite turning away from something or someone, there’s always still a bit of hope in the back of your mind that you could return back. In my eyes, I see this as being symbolic with the band almost wanting to quit music before starting this new album. “I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore” was the light that got left on, ultimately bringing the band back together and allowing them to return to the music.
Overall, the album is reflective of the journey the band went through to reach their final product, not shying away from talking about the mental battles it took to get there. The album shows a lot of self-reflection from the singer’s personal life, romantic connections and connections with their audience in general.
The band is set to embark on their North American leg of the “I’m Not Afraid of Tour Anymore” tour at the beginning of October.
