Nothing Hurts Forever is the collaborative album between Scottish musician and composer Euan Millar-McMeeken (Graveyard Tapes, The Kays Lavelle) and British composer and musician Gavin Miller (worriedaboutsatan). It is out now via Whitelabrecs. According to the press release, The result is a raw and intimate set of ten pieces for piano, strings, guitar and drone, which stop just short of what you might call modern classical music. Euan’s piano compositions retain an authentic character which deliberately documents the original recording environment, as marks are left on this album by creaking chairs, scraping floors and a family environment. Gavin’s strings and guitar adornments add a richness to these, emphasising texture and heightening a melancholic mood.
‘Nothing Hurts Forever’ is free from a clear concept, as Euan wrestled with homesickness having moved to England and was looking for a creative outlet in which to channel his feelings, or perhaps escape them. He was struck one day whilst listening to Frightened Rabbit, whose lead singer Scott Hutchinson had passed away in 2018. He recalled words that were said back then: ‘nothing hurts forever’. He remembered thinking at the time of Scott’s death that this wasn’t always true, as some things do in fact hurt forever. Perhaps this statement is more useful, to provide reassurance during a period of discomfort or unease. Adapting to changes, such as moving home or changing jobs for example. For bigger things, perhaps the hurt can lessen or fade over time or perhaps it never truly goes. From this point, the record felt like a follow-on to the previous Glacis album ‘The World Is A Little Lonelier Without You’, a tribute to his father.
With the adaptation and sensitive expansion of Euan’s piano environments, Gavin has retained all of the personal character which is so important to his peer. Yet the stories are given an extra dimension and something so personal becoming a collaboration opens this out to be a space for our own interpretation as the moods and track titles provide food for thought.
Check the full streaming below.