Track By Tracks: Human Missile Crisis - Waste Away (2025)

About the singles, lyrically and musically:

This was our first time working together with Jamie in over 20 years. We originally worked with Jamie back in 2005 after our old band (Violent Theory) won an East Coast Music Awards battle of the bands that awarded us studio time with him.

These two songs are very different from each other, but overall convey the dynamic sound of Human Missile Crisis. Snake In the Grass is more on the upbeat, dancy side, with some fun slidey guitars accompanied by lyrics about being on the lookout for those horrible people in life who are nice to your face but will turn around and stab you in the back at any chance they get.

Mona Lisa is a little more of a traditional rock song with a singer-songwriter vibe mixed with our style of loud, powerful, punk rock choruses. The words speak about things a lot of shift workers or traveling musicians can relate to, being gone for long periods of time, and up and about during weird hours of the night for work when you could be home resting in bed next to your loved one. It speaks of a world where we're all living, struggling to get through it to get back home to our loved ones. It’s something I think we all can relate to.

Track by Track. Lyrically and musically:

Overall, I like to keep my lyrics vague in a sense so that the listener can ultimately come to their own conclusions on what these songs mean, but here’s some insight.

Snake in the Grass has multiple themes within it and is the more dancey, upbeat song of the two. At first, when writing it, memories returned to me of a time when I found myself in the desert of Canada. A place called Osoyoos, British Columbia. When walking through a vineyard, I noticed “Danger rattlesnake crossing” signs posted around, and you could see their slithering trails in the sand. A friend said to me, “Look out for snakes in the grass,” and it always stuck with me. This phrase, used for hundreds of years, describes a treacherous person, a person you think is your friend, or even lover, who could turn around and stab you in the back at any moment. We all have encountered them in our lives and have stories to tell regarding how they hurt us or attempted to hurt us. This one is part of my story.

Mona Lisa is a more traditional rock song with a heavier punk rock chorus. Written about my own life and vampire-like schedule, working late-night shifts, and being away from loved ones who work the regular day shift. It’s a song I think a lot of people can relate to, especially touring musicians and any shift worker. Having to be away for long periods of time when you just want to be home in bed with your loved one is a tough thing to work through, but it’s something a lot of us do experience.