‘Its Hard For Me Too’ is the second single from ‘Headspace Exorcism’ by Amy Mantis and the Space Between In spring 2020, as the COVID pandemic was in full bloom, 3rd member and bassist Jeff Fogelman decides to quit music, leaving the band on the verge of collapse.
During a heart-to-heart between the two remaining members, principal songwriter and front-person Amy Mantis with drummer and co-songwriter Eric Marshall laid out a plan for how the band could survive in the new post-COVID music landscape: become co-songwriters and release an album as a duo.
After months of poring over every word, note, chord change, and melody of a batch of Amy’s compositions, the two emerged from the exhaustive process with a fresh vision for the band: a modern Americana rock act for people who love rock music capable of pulling any era and style of rock ‘n roll into a modern context.
The key to this process was unpacking the impetus behind each song and giving the collection a sense of narrative structure. What Amy and Eric discovered was that each of the songs within the batch had a corresponding companion song, examining relationship dynamics, boundaries, coping mechanisms, and self-care from both an internalized and externalized perspective.
With the concept of the album fleshed out and with the help of Boston-based producer Sean McLaughlin (Elliott Smith, Rush), the band arranged the songs at 37’ Foot Productions in Rockland that summer before beginning principal tracking in the fall.
Having been unable to play these songs live due to social distancing restrictions, the arrangement and production process came to play a huge role in the finished product.
Whereas previous releases were intended to capture a live feel, the band took a song-first approach and used an array of new and experimental sounds and techniques to create an aesthetic that captures the emotional heft and resonance of the new material.
With contributions on bass from McLaughlin, keys by Boston singer-songwriter Wells Albritton, two guitar features by Southcoast-based guitarist and songwriter Randy Medeiros, and Seattle-based singer-songwriter Julia Mark, Headspace Exorcism presents a more confident and intentional version of the band.
Watch the video for ‘Its Hard For Me Too’ – BELOW:
It positions Amy Mantis & the Space Between to continue to break down barriers for women in music, specifically rock music, as the band looks to challenge the male-dominated spaces of indie and alternative rock.
Amy is no stranger to the challenges of existing in these spaces, from men in other bands assuming she’s not the band’s guitarist at gigs to simply being excluded from the jam economy from which so many rock bands form during her time at Berklee.
The band hopes to use their platform to challenge these assumptions about women in rock music and create an inclusive, welcoming space for people of all identities to celebrate the robust lineage of influences from which they pull.
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