There has always been a fair amount of acerbic wit running through SMALL’s music. Scathing sarcasm, biting social commentary, caustic takedowns—you name it and the Atlanta trio has served it up alongside a heaping dose of searing guitars. But what is humor if not a shield (or a sword) against pain, anxiety, and the absurdity of life? It’s both a means of protection and deflection.
Listening to the group’s latest single “Ten Gallon Headache,” I was struck by how guitarist and vocalist Samm Severin skirts the line between self-deprecating quips and candid confessions. While lines like “I’m getting older but I’m gonna get buff” or “It hurts so bad I might as well be in love!” read as tongue-in-cheek, Severin’s damaged delivery suggests otherwise.
That contrast is reflected in the song’s structure. Opening in a quiet jangle of guitar and subdued vocals, the track initially feels sad and resigned. But then there is a quick pause and a laugh suddenly cuts through the background. From there, “Ten Gallon Headache” explodes in a torrent of hammering riffs and breakneck drums. Meanwhile, Severin contorts her voice into a flurry of emotions, sounding angrily derisive at one moment and wounded and exasperated in the next.
That dynamic versatility has more and more become SMALL’s calling card, and here they deliver another bracing ripper. But what resonates the most isn’t the track’s feverish intensity or even Severin’s sneering, piercing performance. Rather, it’s the sense of control she exudes both over the music and the subject matter. There’ll always be of sadness, hurt, and grief, but it’s the way we come to terms with them that defines who we are.
“‘Ten Gallon Headache’ is a reflection on pain and how the one thing we all have in common is the thing that leads us to such deep places of isolation,” Severin explains. “I wrote the lyrics of this while I was pretty messed up and hopeless from dealing with cluster headaches. I was sometimes trying to approach the pain with a sense of curiosity and acceptance, welcoming it without spinning in circles trying to fight it, and I was partially feeling very sorry for myself and being very pathetic. Pain can make me so self indulgent but it also teaches me how to be understanding. Even though pain is something we largely experience alone, it’s a pool everyone swims in. In pain, I found a deeper loneliness but I also grew more patient.
“I don’t like to think about pain as proof of being alive when love is right there validating our existence on its own,” Severin continues. “But I have noticed that pain can force me to be present in a way nothing else I’ve known can. Pain always makes itself heard. It always makes you notice.”
Listen below.
SMALL will celebrate the release of “Ten Gallon Headache” tonight at the EARL alongside the Thing and Trashclub. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $15. 21+ to enter.
More Info
Bandcamp: smalltheband.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @smalltheband