Regence Focus on Mental Health and Rocking Out With New Single “Medicine”

“Medicine” is the type of song that can put a local band on a national map, both with its musicianship and its lyricism.

Regence’s new single “Medicine” is the type of rock song that should continue to garner the Charlotte rockers the worthy attention of listeners who haven’t discovered them from their live shows, or even their previous single “Where I’m Going.” Much like that single, “Medicine” is a high-energy rocker with inspired lyrics. “Where I’m Going” commented insightfully on life during the pandemic shutdown of the last few years. “Medicine” gets even more personal, with bassist Eli Helms sharing and commentating on the state of mental healthcare and his experience with it.

“The lyrics are inspired by some of my own experiences with mental health issues, specifically how difficult it was to find good treatment. Our healthcare system seems content to prescribe strong substances that sometimes cause more harm than good, often choosing to treat the symptoms rather than the cause,” states Eli. WIth all of the focus on mental health and “self-care” that so many corporations and employers pay lip service to, it is often difficult to find serious care that treats “the cause” of the mental illnesses that affect so many instead of just managing the symptoms. Good art brings attention to such societal ills, and Regence does so with a healthy dose of solid rock music. It goes without saying that Regence, as they will readily tell you, are fans of grunge and 90s alt-rock. Just one listen to any of their songs will reveal this. Regence goes beyond just working within a genre of sound though. They seem to be striving to live up to, and bring attention to, the types of thematic content that their heroes like NIrvana and Foo Fighters have over the decades (or in Nirvana’s case, the half-decade that they recorded). With songs about the struggles of pandemic-induced anxiety and mental health battles, they are well on their way to being a band that doesn’t just rock, but rocks with purpose…

…and rock they definitely do. While “Medicine” revels in the high energy that their previous single “Where I’m Going” does, “Medicine” takes it up a level. Colin Moser’s frenetic guitar riffs, that border on the frantic, carry the song, reflecting while engendering an anxious feeling in the listener that deftly communicates the message and mindset of the lyrics and thematic content. Singer Trey Spears’ delivery ties it all together with Eli’s bass and D.J. Buchanan’s drumming driving it all home with a relentless beat.

“Medicine” is the type of song that can put a local band on a national map, both with its musicianship and its lyricism. We need more bands with this type of radical, yet artistic, honest recording and playing live. Authenticity is sorely lacking these days. Time for a revival. I’m ready to see what else Regence has in store for us.