THIS YEAR, on June 26, The Crane Wives are coming to Utah! Their show is to support their 2024 album, “Beyond Beyond Beyond,” and to meet high fan demand. Switching from an indie-folk band to more indie-rock really is interesting! This four-piece band sheds light on the vulnerability and dark side of humanity, earning it love from many and a place in different communities and fandoms. The tour is broken into three acts: the first with special guest Lilith Max, the second with Yasmin Williams, and the third with Brye.
To start their album, “Scars” was said to be a companion song with their earlier song, “Never Love an Anchor”. Emilee Petersmark—vocalist and songwriter for The Crane Wives—was adopted when she was an infant, and her trauma inspired this song about losing a family despite gaining a new one.
“Scars” is about maturing and accepting the trauma that follows you throughout adulthood. It shows with its powerful lyrics. Petersmark was questioning what was so imperfect about herself at the beginning: “Was I born with a hole in my heart?” She continues to question it until the end, coming to terms with her trauma and accepting what has been done, “tell me it’s inevitable that I end up with scars.”
Petersmark’s voice is raw and honest, with the instruments bringing out an angry tone to the whole song. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking song.
“Bitter Medicine” is a fan favorite because of its upbeat guitar riffs and energetic vibes, but don’t let that fool you. “Bitter Medicine” is about imposter syndrome and self doubt. The Crane Wives have lots of fans, but do they ever wonder how these artists feel with thousands of eyes on them?
In the music video, Petersmark lies in bed in a minimal, all-black-and-white room. As it progresses, a dark presence (balloons) fills the room, consuming her. Jackson Ezinga, the director of the music video, knew what fit with the song well. The darkness of the balloons is the self-doubt, and it’s pulling her down.
A lot of people can relate because, no matter what, we’ll always have doubts and wonder if we’re worth it. The lyrics, “don’t look up to me, I’m not as tall as you think,” just add to that self-doubt. At the end of the video, her friends (band members) help her, giving viewers the message that loved ones, friends, or anyone else will help you get through it. “Bitter Medicine” is an amazing song.
“Mad Dog” is one of the best songs. It sheds light on burnout and the search for happiness in the same place. Every day it’s just work work work, thinking it’ll be recognized and be over soon, but it never ends, “Like a mad dog after a rabbit, I keep running, running, running, running. I don’t feel like it gets me anywhere, anywhere.” As long as one doesn’t change themselves, they’ll always be chasing that need for happiness and never be able to find it. It’s a weirdly comforting song that I can listen to on a loop.
There are so many good songs by The Crane Wives, “The Moon Will Sing” being their most famous. If there’s any concert that you should go to, it’s The Crane Wives!
