Happy Ears: Space Control by Real Face
By Real Face
January 2019: I’d just broken up with a girl, and would write songs in my college’s practice room everyday after class, trying to process my turmoil. Before her, I’d always sworn I wouldn’t write break-up songs. They seemed whiney, self-aggrandizing, and I mistakenly esteemed myself as one who would write about deeper things. But there I was, free styling emo-inspired confessions to a slightly detuned piano.
As most profound things come, I semi-consciously sang “I can’t control you, even though I try to, time and again.” It felt simultaneously incriminating, and freeing. Incriminating, because the words implied I was a sucky person, but freeing because I was able to give up my show. Before I sang that lyric, I don’t know if I really understood how much of a control issue I had.
It was that insidious type of control where I was always being nice and helpful so that she could grow. This only led me to put way too many expectations on her, driving us apart. I thought I was doing her a favor by keeping her accountable to her goals, but at some point, I had to learn that was never my job. She would grow at her own pace, without my help—that meant me giving up control, and letting her have space.
Space Control’s chorus stayed unfinished in my voice memos for 9 long months—I knew I needed time and perspective before finishing the song, as I was still in the thick of the situation. She was what I cared about most, so naturally I’d learn new things from my grief daily. With thousands of words written in my iPhone notes, I finished writing the song in Nashville, TN, while studying at the Contemporary Music Center (CMC). I was in a new physical location, and finally had the clarity to complete my first break-up song.
Sonically, Space Control reflects the ambience of bands like Pinegrove and Kacey Musgraves, paired with the minimal rock drums and bass of Pedro the Lion. While largely driven by acoustic guitar, the song is anything but small—piano, strings, slide guitar, and mandolin effortlessly support the vocal forward mix. The reason this song slams so hard is because it was the collaborative effort of 10 musicians and 3 engineers. Ben Mariano (John Louis, Card Club) mixed it, and John Naclerio (Brand New, Microwave, Real Friends), mastered it.
It’s now April 21, 2021 and Space Control is streaming everywhere. It turns out that this song was the deepest thing I could have written. I hope it resonates with you, giving language to your experiences.
Check out the music video here: