You wouldn’t be the only one to think that the lockdown, however necessary, seemed like lost years. Austin McAuley felt that to the extreme – resulting in LIMBS‘ Coma Year EP.
McAuley explains: “I have absolutely poured myself out into this EP, lyrically… I lost my father in 2015, and as much as I’ve been doing my best to get by over the years, as soon as the pandemic hit, it felt like I was reliving all of those feelings all over again and losing everything important to me.”
LIMBS can anticipate that a fair few people will hear these hard-hitting post-hardcore tracks because their 2020 EP, Only The Lonely Know, has been streamed over 1.2 million times.
“Listeners will connect to the total honesty and vulnerability we’ve put on the table. These are the insecurities and traumas we face on a day-to-day basis, and we’ve learned that the only way you ever overcome something is by bringing it to the forefront and tackling it.”
Jordan Hunter, guitarist
You don’t have to suffer alone
McAuley knows that it’s particularly important to talk about mental health and reach out for support. This is because his experience of loss has manifested in spiraling anxiety: “it’s a looming feeling that I can’t shake off. I’m always worried about what’s going to come next and it fuels my anxiety to an uncontrollable degree.”
Slow Burn is a key example. It embodies what it’s like going through and coming out of a panic attack.
“It lays out the inner struggle of combating all stages of a panic attack and the mental anguish that follows. In the moment that an attack reaches its peak, it feels like my heart is going to stop; like I have no control over the events taking place. From my racing pulse to blurred vision and cold sweats, it seems impossible that I’ll ever make it out on top.
In the end, I always find a way to bring myself out of it, somehow able to find the strength to carry on. But that strength is so easily forgotten whenever another episode arises.”
Austin McAuley
He’s clear about what you should do if the lyrics hit you hard.
“If you’re struggling with anything, if the words in this song hit you in a specific way, talk to me, reach out to your loved ones. I want this EP to be a siren or a beacon for people to hear and realize that they’re not the only one in a dark place.”
LIMBS – Coma Year EP tracklisting
- Mortality Moment
- Spirit Breaker
- Coma Year
- If I Go Before You
- Vertigo
- Blood and Heel
- Slow Burn
Coma Year EP by LIMBS is due out on UNFD on June 24, 2022.
Are you struggling?
If you’re in the UK, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected]
If you need to chat by text for mental health support, text SHOUT to 85258
International helplines are listed at befrienders.org