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Mar 20, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

Boston, Massachusetts band Bicycle Inn have shared their debut album, This Time and Place Is All I’ll Ever Know. With the talents of Declan Moloney on bass, Noah Aguiar on guitar on vocals, Jae Carrascal on drums, and Dylan Ilkowitz on guitar and vocals, the band brings together strains of emo, indie, and power pop, joining in on the latest rising wave of emo along with bands like Into It. Over It and Tigers Jaw.

Amidst their catchy blend of styles, the band explores long-established mainstays of the emo canon—mental health, the struggle to fit in, existentialism, and the pain of loss all make an appearance. After the acoustic tones of the opening “Roll Initiative,” the band launches into twinkling emo riffs, sing-along verses, and ripping punk climax of “Leap Year.” The band stays in this lane through much of the record, but packs the tracks with fresh changes in tempo and mood, like the post hardcore breakdown of “Poor Lake’s Camp” or the shifts between stark confessionalism and upbeat power pop on “Leatherbound.”

Meanwhile, the band gets relentlessly catchy with the singles “Very Cool Brett” and “Dexterity Saving Throw,” also adding to the extended Dungeons and Dragons motif that returns with “20 Sided.” Finally, the band closes on a cathartic anthem with “Members Only/Cost of Living,” offering up some cautious hints of hope with the closing lines, “Making it through the night was always an option.” With their debut Bicycle Inn have quickly proved themselves a band to watch on the emo circuit, honing a balance of anguished emotion and propulsive emo melody.

Check out This Time and Place Is All I’ll Ever Know, out now on Sun Eater Records, and read the band’s exclusive track-by-track walkthrough of the album below.

Roll Initiative / Leap Year:

These songs work in-tandem and were actually one song. They are about realizing who you are has been all for the sake of someone else. Understanding the fact that you have put on different faces, pretended, and lived life on someone else’s terms. Ultimately, it comes down to what do YOU really want out of your life…all seen from the perspective of a New Year’s resolution.

Poor Lake’s Camp:

This song is all about people who tell you, “just smile, you’ll feel better.” It is a rebuttal towards those who invalidate other’s struggles. Instead of seeking to provide empathy and compassion, their bit of “golden advice” is to get over it and treat it as if it’s not a big deal because they themselves aren’t the one fighting. Moreover, someone’s challenges are a nuisance to their good day.

Leatherbound:

“Leatherbound” is in reference to a Bible. Growing up in a faith-based household I struggled quite a bit with understanding my place in the world. It’s a look-back at my early childhood and how my faith got me through the darkest points in my life; simultaneously wrestling with accepting God and having this idea of making decisions on my own.

Full Blossom of the Evening:

This song is a culmination of many conversations I have had with loved ones who contemplate suicide. The narrative is portrayed as two friends; one looking for answers, and the other unable to provide them. As someone who struggles with depression and who’s dealt with scenarios such as this, I wanted to ask tough questions to myself from another’s perspective, wrestle with a desire to rescue, and ultimately connect the struggles many have - the thoughts that drive us to forget who we are and how much we truly matter.

Very Cool, Brett

This song was written in hindsight of so much change and uncertainty in life. From moving houses, birthday parties, old friends, and losing loved ones, this song is completely reflective. Change comes whether we like it or not, and ultimately how we handle it can make or break us.

Pine Box:

We have all either had, or know someone who has abused us or another. Whether it be emotionally, physically or mentally. This song touches pieces and hurts of personal stories, directed at a single entity. In its essence, “Pine Box” is directed at an abuser from the perspective of a loved one who helped the victim through their recovery.

Dexterity Saving Throw:

“Dexterity Saving Throw” is a song about avoidances. With so much always happening in our lives it can be hard to focus on what we convince ourselves is the most important. Hoping your base in life is built on something strong; but rationalizing what you’ve spent your time building is not going to last. In its mood, it displays an impending fault waiting to reveal itself.

In Memory:

Losing someone is one of the hardest things to deal with. Death and tragedy surround us at all times. This song was written about a collective group of recent losses; crescendoed on one that hits home the hardest for me. Recently, I lost a student of mine to stage four lymphoma cancer. It was abrupt and devastating. A beautiful life, full of joy and love being ripped away from this world. Being a part of the entire journey, finally attending and speaking at the funeral, and staying with the family during their last goodbyes was harder than words can really describe. This song talks directly to the unforeseen end and asks, “why?”

20 Sided:

This song is in large part about escapism and finding yourself again. “20 Sided,” walks through a narrative of using something as simple as a DND campaign to ultimately realize the around you is unfolding. This vignette paints a picture of realizing yourself, while losing yourself in a story you initially didn’t care about. The journey is really the friends you made along the way; letting go of control and opening yourself to the bigger story, together.

Paper Thin (Slowly)

PT(S) is what it feels like to be away from someone you truly love. Love can be intoxicating, and leaves us with desire when we are apart from it. This song uses the metaphor of smoking and getting that high from it. After smoking for awhile, it no longer becomes a high but an addiction that without a choice, you have to fulfill. You’d kill for a cigarette the way you’d kill to hear your name said by the person you love the most.

Members Only/Cost of Living

This song is all about fearing death which is the “cost of living.” It’s a struggle with being afraid your life is meaningless and stagnant. The final lines of the song reveal a strange and albeit scary thought, “Making it through the night was always an option.” We get so terrified of what comes tomorrow, that we forget tonight has to come first. Spending your waking hours hoping tomorrow comes can lead to a long and dark night.