B-Side Guys

A Days Wait brought Color Theory in to reimagine one of their earliest releases, and “Empty Promises” benefits from the distance. The original presumably carried the raw urgency of someone still making the mistakes they’re singing about; this version—destined for an album out this spring—has the clarity of someone who’s watched themselves repeat the same patterns enough times to recognize the script.

The narrator admits, “I don’t feel like growing up,” while simultaneously observing, “now I see you hanging around my head,” suggesting self-awareness arrived but didn’t bring maturity with it. The empty promises aren’t one-time failures but a recurring feature, something that happens “again” because that’s what this person does when they feel “like my very first time away.” It’s perpetual adolescence dressed up as nostalgia, the kind of behavior that destroys relationships while insisting it’s all in the name of keeping people safe.

Color Theory’s production adds synthpop and synthwave textures that give the track a retro gloss, which works thematically—this is someone stuck in their own past, unable to move forward even when they can see exactly what they’re doing wrong. The bridge offers a glimpse of hope: “We won’t make it on our own / If we fall apart / We’ll muddle forward to the tune / Of a beating heart.” But “muddle forward” is the key phrase there. Not breakthrough, not transformation—just stumbling ahead with the same broken machinery.

All proceeds from the project go to charity, which adds an interesting layer to a song about someone who can’t stop making empty promises. At least this time, the commitment is binding.