Alt-rock group X Ambassadors have officially announced details for VHS(X), a reimagined version of the band’s hit debut album VHS. The new release, out now, sees the band reworking hit songs like “Jungle” and break-out single “Renegades” in celebration of the record’s 10th anniversary. Along with the news comes the brand new version of “Unsteady (Rerecorded)” and a new music video.
On VHS(X) and the newly released version of “Unsteady”, front man Sam Nelson Harris shares: “The most valuable lesson I’ve learned about being an artist, I learned when writing this song. I had this great, simple hook written but I didn’t know what to do for the verses. I played it for Alex, our producer, and asked him what he thought I should try and write about. He thought for a second, then asked me what my relationship was like with my parents. “Um, I love them? They’re divorced? It’s complicated?” Write about that, he said. Why? I thought. It seemed so bizarre to me, so mundane. And honestly, my second thought was: who would care? Everyone’s parents get divorced. It’s not unique. Who’s going to care about me whining about how profoundly affected I was by it? And– here’s the key– I was embarrassed. But I wrote it anyway. And making the choice to say something out loud that I felt to be embarrassing, I later realized was making the choice to be vulnerable. Which is what it’s all about. Vulnerability.”
He continues: “Now, whenever I have a thought like: Oh God, I wouldn’t want anyone to know that about me, I know I have to try and write something about it and be vulnerable. Because guaranteed there’s someone out there who feels the same way too, and hearing me sing about it might make them feel a little less alone.”