Exile (2023)

Certified gold. First full-length album; already the difference is evident as Foster starts pushing the boundaries of what's allowed on an album and what should stay within the pages of her songbook. The line between singer and musician is crossed for the first time as the band experiments with who should sing (Biana Vacker and Keefe Sencen), who shouldn't (Fitz Vacker), and who won't (Sophie Foster). The sass and sarcasm on songs like Not For Me and certified platinum single Call You What?, is contrasted by most of the album's focus on life's tragedies, like illness (Alone), heartbreak (Bandaids Only Do So Much, Fly Me Away From Here), and the struggle to trust (Dark Inside).

"Alone" || 3:31 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Sad guitar opening; Biana's vocals, while spot on, contain a level of grief new to the band's repertoire; no drums present, but cymbals crash at different points throughout

Trivia: Penned during Alden Vacker's cancer treatment; both Fitz and Biana have said in interviews that they feel immense guilt for how they treated their friends during their father's treatment; all Sophie will say about the track is that it was influenced by many things

"Bandaids Only Do So Much" || 4:09 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || At the time, the most openly angry track the band had released; lyrics talk about the anger one feels at the end of a relationship, whether it's romantic or platonic; hard drum line

Trivia: The only song the band has ever released with unknown inspiration; conspiracy sites theorize that this song was not written by Sophie at all, hence the silence about it; the members of the band have neither confirmed nor denied this theory

"Better" || 4:41 || Released As Single || Lyrics by Sophie Foster and Dex Dizznee || Clashing cymbals and banging drums make this track a powerful anthem; Biana's vocals are desperate, but confident; Fitz's guitar takes on a life of its own

Trivia: First time Dex Dizznee was credited on an Everglen song; originally written for a college friend's film project that was turned into four short films, and then eventually dropped altogether; Sophie found the lyrics while packing up her college apartment and gave them to Biana

"Fly Me Away From Here" || 5:19 || #1 || Released As Single || Lyrics by Sophie Foster and Keefe Sencen || Similar to the previous track, the instrumentation here is powerful; close listeners realize that the vocals and the drums never overlap; Biana becomes a vocal powerhouse with this track; ends with ten seconds of true sobbing

Trivia: Inspired by Keefe's childhood, and his parents' eventual divorce when he was a teenager; Biana has stated that she feels it is the saddest song they have ever released

"Gonna Get There" || 4:26 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Slow song; almost leisurely plucking of guitar strings and hitting of drums; Biana's vocals take the listener to a whole different place

Trivia: Sophie wrote the song the morning before her high school graduation; she has stated that she was feeling unusually peaceful at the time, and decided to write a song

"Summer Fall" || 3:13 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || The previous song goes right into this one; the fast-paced, fun sound is meant to be jarring, as the previous track lulled the listeners into silence and peace; written for the party scene

Trivia: Intentionally placed in the middle of the album to distract from its general depressing sound; also serves as a midway point, as the album's tone shifts to less obvious pain

"Call You What?" || 4:21 || #1 || Released As Single || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Sassy pop-rock tune; lyrics tell the story of a girl who takes none of the crap she's being thrown by the guys she's set up with; guitar is less playful, but still light-hearted; drums tie the song together

Trivia: Written based on Sophie's own experiences with being set up by well-meaning friends in college

"Happy For You (feat. Marella Redek)" || Released As Single || 4:34 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Opens with raucous, indiscernible noise, then fades into melodic run of notes; Biana takes background vocals while Marella sings lead

Trivia: The label wanted a feature track, so Keefe suggested Marella Redek; Marella and the band all attended school together, and she and Sophie had once been very close friends

"Not For Me" || 4:01 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Sassy, upbeat track, with cutting lyrics and viciousness disguised by fun guitar and enthusiastic drums, a common theme for the album

Trivia: While not commenting on this track specifically, Keefe said in one interview that the amount of songs that hid negativity on the album was intended as a direct jab at Sophie's tendency to pretend she was fine when that couldn't be further from the truth by the rest of the band

"Everybody, Everything" || 3:48 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || An acapella track showcasing Biana's impressive range; when performed live, it's even more impressive, as Biana chose her favorite people from both the industry and her childhood to sing with her, and she brings in random crowd members to sing their parts when in concert

Trivia: The track was written the night before Sophie left for college, when she was feeling her most panicked about things changing; the chorus and final refrains were taken from the conversation with her parents that calmed her down

"Dark Inside" || 4:56 || #1 || Released As Single || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Opens with a dramatic cymbal crash; only track the band ever released where the instrumentation is done by hired musicians, as both Fitz and Keefe support Biana vocally on this track

Trivia: While Sophie has said nothing about the emotion in this track, she has said that the content came from numerous times she wanted to tell people things, but couldn't work up the nerve to do it

"Old Fashioned Like That" || 4:08 || Lyrics by Sophie Foster || Return to the sound the band presented in their EP; lyrics paint a picture of a young, happy couple; Biana's piano helps this track shine; ends with an uncredited child singing 'Rain, Rain, Go Away'

Trivia: The first time Biana revealed that she had taken piano lessons for ten years was in an interview following the release of this song; the identity of the child has never been revealed

"It's Gonna Be Okay" || 3:41 || Lyrics by Fitz Vacker || Soothing, slow guitar; intermittent drums; gentle, warm vocals and piano playing; although Keefe assists Biana with vocals, he is primarily the drummer in this track; true antithesis to the opening track

Trivia: Written after the band's second rejection by labels they auditioned for; Biana has said that she was very down and upset following that session, and it took over two hours for her to calm down

Bonus:

"If I'm Gonna Do This" || 4:01 || #1 || Released As Single || Lyrics by Sophie Foster and Dex Dizznee || Upbeat song hiding heartbreaking lyrics; piano solo; intermittently cuts out, only to cut back in a half second later

Trivia: Sophie and Dex wrote the song the day before Sophie left for college; Fitz debuted the instrumentation in a solo interview and the full song was first played at a show on their Exile tour