B-Side Guys

Mental health becomes architectural when Lifeboats construct emotional breakdown through post-hardcore precision and melodic hardcore accessibility. “Untrustful” operates as anxiety documentation rather than typical cathartic release, exploring how psychological collapse feels when someone else’s voice becomes unreliable narrator of your reality. This French quartet has created something that captures the claustrophobic experience of being told recovery methods that fundamentally don’t work for your specific situation.

The track’s structural approach mirrors the cyclical nature of anxiety attacks through repetitive chorus sections that build intensity rather than providing resolution. When the vocalist declares “My heart is beating fast / And then I collapse,” the musical arrangement supports this physical manifestation through rhythmic choices that create actual tension rather than simply describing it. The metalcore elements provide framework for exploring genuine psychological distress without romanticizing mental illness.

Lifeboats’ energy proven during their debut show with Counterparts translates effectively into recorded format, maintaining the raw authenticity that live audiences responded to originally. Their approach to mixing “brutal and neat” sounds creates production aesthetic that reflects the song’s thematic exploration of internal chaos versus external pressure to appear functional.

The track’s exploration of voice and trust becomes particularly compelling through the repeated assertion that someone else’s guidance feels inadequate for addressing personal psychological needs. Rather than dismissing external help entirely, the song examines how well-meaning advice can become additional source of frustration when it doesn’t match individual experience. This nuanced perspective distinguishes the track from typical hardcore anger that targets external enemies rather than examining complex internal dynamics.

Most effectively, “Untrustful” captures the exhausting reality of being told that trying your best should be enough when personal experience suggests otherwise. The line about facing “the damn ground” every time they attempt recovery provides specific imagery that prevents the song from becoming abstract suffering performance.

Lifeboats succeed by treating anxiety as worthy subject for serious musical exploration rather than simply using mental health language to add emotional weight to otherwise generic hardcore material.