Review: Can't Stay Forever by Eat Your Heart Out

Newcastle, Australia’s Eat Your Heart Out is set to release their sophomore album, Can’t Stay Forever, on September 9, 2022 via Fearless Records. This is a follow-up to Fluorescence which was released in 2019. The band, comprised of Caitlin Henry – vocals, Will Moore – guitar, Dom Cant – bass, and Jake Cronin -drums was formed in 2012. Prior to their 2019 debut, the band released three fan favorite EPs – Distance Between Us (2015), Carried Away (2017), and Mind Games (2017).

The new album was recorded with producer Jack Newlyn at Durham Recording Studios in the small town of Stanhope, 150 miles north of Melbourne. Vocalist Caitlin Henry reflects on the experience, “We had an amazing time with Jack. He enabled us to take control of the writing and performances. He made sure it was our vision. We were all on the same page with what we wanted to create.”

Most people tend to very active in our busy world. As a result, procrastination has become a common trait among may people. Eat Your Heart Out is no exception. “In the past, we’ve always left everything to the last minute,” reveals Henry. “We only had enough songs for the record. This is the first time where we gave ourselves the opportunity to write more than we needed and actually cull what we felt wasn’t the strongest. We came out with the best of what we’ve done.”

Covid-19 gave a lot of bands downtime to work on new music. Eat Your Heart Out started writing songs for their latest album in late 2020. Each band member spent the next year writing songs. “Everything always moves into a new phase,” says Henry. “It might feel bad at the time. When you look back on change, it’s always for the best. The Pandemic showed me that in a way. It changed everything we’d been planning for the band. We just had to work our jobs and be at home. We established more adult routines, which gave us a chance to experience normality. Nothing is permanent. Anything can change at any time. You have to see the positives.”

“Down” was the album’s lead single. “The lyrics were inspired by the idea of social media addiction, and specifically, when you’re comparing yourself to others or see a negative comment about yourself or your art from some random person on the Internet and you know you shouldn’t give it any weight, but sometimes, you do it anyway,” the band says, “You always come out feeling worse, but it’s so easy to become addicted to the quick validation of social media.”

“‘Sour’ was written towards the tail end of our time in the studio,” Henry offers. “We initially had a slightly different instrumental track that we just couldn’t quite get to work with anything vocally. We re-worked the instrumental with our producer Jack, and the vocals flowed really quickly within a day or two after that! The chorus in particular came together in an hour or so. The song is about seeing someone bottle up their negative feelings and dissociating, rather than talking it out, and getting stuck in a cycle.”

Probably the strongest track on the album is “Twenty Something”. “It’s about being in your mid-twenties and thinking of what you’re doing with your life,” Henry says. “You have no idea of what’s going on around you and feel a bit lost.” This is a subject that most grown adults have experienced.

Eat Your Heart Out has amassed over 10 million streams on Spotify alone with its previous releases. Can’t Stay Forever should certainly add to these totals. Caitlyn Henry shared “When you listen to this, I hope you see our growth as songwriters and as a band. We’re really proud of what we’ve done and put everything we could into this record. We want it to mean something to you.”

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