In a world where memories are usually wrapped in cotton candy, Joe Longshot holds the dust cover, rips the seams of childhood memory, and patches it with a snarling guitar, a haunting vocal, and a solid smack of the real. His most recent single, "Tia's Bears" is a powerful mash-up of Hard Rock, Pop Rock, and Alternative Rock that turns a bedtime tale into a frenzied dream that sticks with you well.
Joe said that the song is loosely inspired by a real-life bedtime story that Longshot's aunt used to tell him, albeit a traumatizing, if not traumatized one. Instead of shying away from the trauma, Longshot leans into it, adopting the otherworldly feel and channeling it into a musical trip that dares you to, quite literally, enter a twisted fantasy now. With its trailing question mark, the title suggests unease, and this is not soft-focused teddy bears and lullabies but something much creepier.
"Tia's Bears" pulls no punches. The guitars are raw, the drums are relentless, and Longshot's vocals sound urgent and sharp. The production has a cinematic feel, like the soundtrack to a moment of revelation or a journey into the subconscious. Each section of the track is bursting with energy, but there's an intelligence in how it holds itself back. Flights of aggression are countered with periods of eerie tranquility, following the unpredictable cadence of a warped memory.
Longshot grabs the story's themes of corrupted innocence, fear lurking within comfort, and the thin line dividing dream and nightmare and spins them fresh with abstract, vivid writing. He doesn't provide a clear course but works in emotion and mood and allows you to navigate through the dark. "Tia's Bears" is a brash addition to Joe Longshot's pneumatic catalog and a sign that he's not averse to playing with discomfort, memory, and myth. It is not merely a song but a reckoning with the stories we are told, not to mention the truths buried between the lines. With this release, Longshot demonstrates that he's telling stories that resonate, haunt, and bite back.