X Ambassadors - Hold You Down

It was either "Renegades" or "Unsteady" that I heard first and then I saw the special video they created for "Unsteady' and I immediately fell in love with this band. They have a sound that's got a whole lot more soul infused in it than your typical alternative music and I think a lot of it comes from the fact Sam Harris and Casey Harris are brothers. You can feel the connection between the two of them in their music and it's never more evident than it is in their newest single, "Hold You Down" from the upcoming LP, Orion. This is the third single off the album and they brothers say it's about brotherhood and their relationship. The video is an amazing trip through the history of the Harris boys as you get the opportunity to see their lives growing up through family home movies.

I have two older brothers and I know what that bond is like. We don't get the opportunity to share it much anymore but I can honestly thank them both for a lot of how my personality developed and the man that I am today. I remember hearing Duran Duran or reading comic books for the first time thanks to my brothers. Playing video games and getting into general mischief with them as we were growing up was part of a right of passage that you can only experience with a brother so I can feel how genuine Sam is when he's singing this song knowing it's an ode to those times when the relationships are all that's important.

"We'll be the last ones dancing when the lights go out / when there's no one to hold you / I'll still hold you down"

It's that bond. It's that love for your sibling that can't be duplicated though any other relationship you'll ever have in your life. It's unconditional. It's the support and care that you can only get from someone that's been there with you since day one. It's the acceptance of all our faults, our flaws, our successes that dive us to be more than what we feel we can be and it's good and it's honest. This song means a whole lot more to me than I thought it initially would because I don't have that closeness with my brothers anymore and I miss it. It's absolutely amazing to see how the brothers interact on stage. How Sam never once let's Casey falter as they're walking on stage together. And it's that love and support that Sam has that's incredible. Casey never once wanted his blindness to affect who he was as a person. He saw it as what it was, a small obstacle that would prevent him from doing certain sighted things but never would stop him from playing piano once he learned and he's an incredible musician.

This song is incredible. I enjoy it immensely and hope that it means a lot for other people as well. Especially those that may be estranged from their siblings. Orion will be released on June 14th and it's going to be a huge record. I love what these guys stand for and love the music they create. It's important and means something to the collective music fan base at large.

X Ambassadors - Unsteady (Dance Video)

"Love is love is love is love is love is love..." - Lin-Manual Miranda

This video is a powerful visual representation of what it's like to want to express what you feel toward someone in public but can't. I realize that there are many heterosexuals in the world that won't partake in public displays of affection but this is different. It's not that we, as gay men and women, don't want to; in some instances it can prove to be deadly or violent. So you see the person that means the world to you for the first time that day and you want to hold them, but you can't. So you go through it all on the inside. You process your feelings and you are still left longing and wanting more. This happens every day, every hour; around the world and until we are all equal - this will continue to happen.

So thank you X Ambassadors for this beautiful video. They say art reflects and represents life and this is a beautiful reminder that while we may not be able to love openly and freely, there are those people in this world that are more than willing to help us make it a little more steady.