Particles

Album: Broken Machine (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the most personal song on Broken Machine. Nothing But Thieves explained: "We went through a lot of changes both as a band and as people during the process of making album two, this song was written in the eye of the storm."
  • While touring lead singer Conor Mason experienced insomnia before becoming hooked on sleeping pills. This song is about how his addiction created tension with the rest of the band. Mason explained to Faceculture.tv:

    "It basically started because I went on a tour bus for the first time ever, and this was like, coming up on two years now. I wasn't sleeping that well in the tour bus and I was worried 'cause I had to sing... So I went to a pharmacy and just got, you know, run-of-the-mill sleeping aid tablets. I got through this tour for a week and I was like "Oh cool, this is fine", not thinking too much about it.

    And then I came home and I found myself not sleeping and my mind made me go 'This must be because you've just used this tablets and you're not used to' and it just spiraled and for a year it just got worse and worse. And I was so addicted to taking these things.

    And we wrote a song called Particles that was right in the center of everything going downhill."
  • The song is paired with a video that sees Nothing But Thieves performing in America, interspersed with shots of the band encountering some interesting characters across the country.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.