The sentiment “it takes time” is one that, on its face, should be reassuring. The idea that growth will occur in time, or that pain will pass in time, are things that one can typically take comfort in. However, as “They say it takes time” is repeated at the close of Tulsa-based The Others Like Us’ newest EP - aptly named It Takes Time - the sentiment is anything but reassuring. Instead, it serves as a heart wrenching close to an EP so full of intimate self-loathing that it reads almost like a suicide note.
If one were to ignore the lyrics, It Takes Time’s energetic riffs and punchy drums, complimented by an incredibly talented and varied vocal performance, would seem like a rather fun album. With fun pop-culture samples introducing songs, and song titles like “Shred Flanders,” the EP appears to be having a lot of fun with itself, in a way that is very on-brand for the emo scene. Indeed, this EP is a stunning return to form for the softer side of midwest emo, with intricate and complex guitar leads and rough, screamed vocals. Similarly, the lyrics are about as emo as it gets.
The real tone of the album becomes apparent the moment one looks past aesthetics, and begins the first song. “December 3rd, 2021” lacks the intricate riffs or rough vocals mentioned prior, and instead sounds more like an almost-whispered confession, as a simple guitar melody accompanies the guilty admission of “I know I need to be stronger/For the two of us right now/But I don’t know how much longer/I can do that right now.” The singing is slow, almost spoken, and vulnerable.
“December 3rd, 2021” sits in sharp contrast to the rest of the EP, sonically. Immediately after the confessional intro track, a pop-culture sample leads us into the explosive sounds of the rest of the EP. A mix of sung and screamed vocals take us through the singer’s expression of their own shortcomings in the next three tracks, with lines “I’m a fucking mess/A lost cause at best” standing out in the second track, “Starting a Fist Fight In A Buc-ee’s Parking Lot Just To Feel Something” (an incredible, and incredibly stereotypical, title for an emo song), and “Who would love a fuck like me/Who would give a fuck about me” being screamed in the explosive final minute of “Tony Hawk Pro Skanker,” after two minutes of slow, screamed buildup.
These admissions of self loathing are what make the final track the crown jewel of the album. “You’re Supposed To Say Over, Over” takes these themes to the extreme, serving as a sendoff to a narrator who simply couldn’t be better. The song is a beautiful combination of the sounds defining the earlier songs of the EP, with softer verses that lead beautifully into high energy, screamed choruses. The entire song is a resignation - lines like “Don’t you know/It won’t get better” and “Empty promises/I’ll never make/Don’t believe me” lead to the final lines of the song: “Someday/I’ll be gone/Please forgive me/Nothing more/A fleeting thought/In remembrance/Someday/You’ll move one/Please forget me.” The lines are delivered as if the singer is desperate to get them off his chest, and it’s this confession that makes the repeated “They say it takes time” afterwards so haunting - the singer is at peace with leaving, and would rather be forgotten for the benefit of others than keep trying.
The haunting sentiment of the EP is a weighty one, and is delivered through a collection of incredible lyrics accompanied by stellar riffs that at times feel as frantic as the singer’s thoughts, and drums that lend a sense of weight and scale throughout each song. It Takes Time is an incredible take on the emo genre, which takes the sound of the genre to a polished extreme to say something incredibly, intimately personal.
