New single confronts the reality of being far away from home; premiered on GroundSounds
LONG ISLAND, NY | January 25, 2019 – Anyone who has ever spent an extended time away from home, knows of the strain it places on relationships and communication with family and loved ones. Brian Cotter, the singer/songwriter of Teach Me Human, knows this reality all to well, as an active aviator in the United States Air Force. His new single, “Tell Me That You Love Me” reflects on the resulting stress, isolation, and insatiable need for connection.
An energetic yet emotive indie-rock track, “Tell Me That You Love Me” was first written in Iraq, while Cotter was on air force deployment in 2018. He shared, “The lyrics represent the conflict of living in a new and dangerous reality while still attempting to connect with loved ones back at home.” The accompanying music video provides an insight to the lyrics, showing the duality between each individual’s reality. GroundSounds premiered the release, saying that it has an “energetic urgency that pairs perfectly with memorable guitars and huge hooks.”
Being away from home is particularly difficult for active military members, who often face an harsh contrast to normal life – whether in a regimented routine of duties on base, or during the chaos of an active deployment. “The video shows me in seclusion, alone, in a not-so-normal place,” mused Cotter. “In all the other scenes I am still alone in nicer locations, signifying how even travel can be isolating. It cuts to my significant other [Kelly] at home living a normal life – putting on make up, driving, watching TV, and using her phone in the comfort of safety, but she is also alone. She is trying to call me and find out how I am and what’s going on but I never answer because of the circumstances. She desperately needs reassurance, she needs to hear that I love her. We are both alone, both sad, but living two different lives.”
The scenes were shot throughout eastern Long Island, New York. With a twist of cruel irony and true to the content, Kelly’s scenes were shot separately, as Cotter left for assignment in Texas. Full of metaphorical content, the track and video hit home, with a moving and emotive relay to the themes of isolation, anxiety, and basic human need for connection, comfort, and love. All of Cotters music reflect on similar themes. “I think we all need to learn some human sometimes,” he said. “I don’t always feel the way we behave sometimes is our fault. Their is no manual or instruction book that we get to help us deal with things like death, heartbreak, friendship… I am learning [to be] human everyday. I take many things from life and mix it with metaphors.”
“Tell Me That You Love Me” follows Teach Me Human’s previous single “Rock Me to Sleep” released last fall. Both are out now on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and all major digital retailers. Cotter is actively working a full-length album.
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Cover art for “Tell Me That You Love Me”
ABOUT TEACH ME HUMAN
Most Teach Me Human songs are written at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
Brian Cotter, the singer/songwriter of Teach Me Human and an aviator in the United States Air Force has been playing music for almost his entire life. With an extensive resume of previous bands across many genres —grunge, punk, alternative, and hip hop—and an almost shocking array of life experiences, he is still trying to figure out how to be human. Drawing from these influences, as well as the eccentric prowess of artists like Beck, David Bowie, and Nirvana, Teach Me Human was born.
From small bars across the Eastern half of the United States to larger and more notable venues in New York City like Webster Hall and CBGBs, the members of Teach Me Human have been spreading their music and honing their craft for years. It is this mixture of influences and experiences that come together to form the sound, a mixture of gritty rock and roll with pop sensibilities that’s not afraid to keep you guessing.
Most of Brian’s songs are now written in his head as he flies in the belly of his unit’s C-130 aircraft, to be worked on and fleshed out later if they still remain there at the end of the day. This influence is apparent, with songs like “Rock Me To Sleep”, “Tell Me That You Love Me” and “No Joy” offering a unique metaphorical perspective that looks at life through eyes of world traveling aviator, giving vibrancy to Teach Me Human’s songs in a genre so often overpopulated with clichés.
After independently recording and releasing two EPs, Teach Me Human is now working on their first full length album, as well as bringing their quest for humanity to the masses.
