u/Terrible-Cockroach99

Mild spoilers for Before the Storm follow.

This is one of those Daughter songs that feels like it is slowly gathering itself before it finally breaks open. The gradual build-up is what gets me most: it lets the tension simmer until the eventual release feels less like a dramatic climax and more like something that simply could not stay buried anymore.

The emotional palette of the song, to me, is despair. Not quiet or delicate despair either, but something heavy and oppressive. When the track finally erupts, it feels like all the emotion it has been holding back crashes down at once.

Because of that, I have always connected “Witches” very strongly to Chloe Price, especially the emotional space of Before the Storm: grief, abandonment, self-destruction, and being alone inside your own head. There is something about the song that feels like a spiral, but also like someone reaching into that spiral and refusing to let go.

On a more personal note, I also write fanfic in the Life is Strange fandom, and I wrote a short scene that I associate closely with this song. It takes one small, haunting detail from Before the Storm, Chloe’s late-night “max” text, and reimagines the emotional weight behind it in this short live-action-style scene.

I thought I’d share it here as a little companion piece to the song:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/68911446

For me, “Witches” feels like the sound of someone standing at the edge of what they can carry, right before that weight finally breaks the surface.

I remember the first time I played BtS: that moment after >!Rachel learns the truth about Sera!<, and >!Chloe goes upstairs to find her!<. The whole thing is so quietly devastating and tender at the same time. What struck me most is how right it felt. After only a couple of days of becoming friends, Chloe somehow ends up being the most adequate person in that house to comfort Rachel, more so than her own parents. And if you put yourself in Rachel's shoes, it's hard to argue with that. >!Her parents had just shattered the version of her life she thought she knew.!< Of course the only person she'd want next to her that night is the one with no stake in the lie.

And then >!Chloe projects those stars onto the ceiling!<, while "I Don't" plays quietly in the background. I'm sorry, but that scene has no business being that good. 😋

There's something that feels so right about where they both are emotionally at that point. Rachel needed someone to hold her together and be there for her, and Chloe, >!drowning in her own grief and anger!< , needed someone to focus on, someone who needed her. In other words, she needed to be needed. When you're that deep in your own darkness, being needed by someone else is one of the few things that can pull you out of your own head, even briefly. They were, in that moment, exactly what the other required.

And Koda's track earns every second of that scene.

I have to thank Life is Strange for playing right into my music listening habits. So many songs I've absolutely fallen in love with since playing the game, and Crosses by José González is one I think about a lot.

The first time I heard it is burned into my memory: the bus ride to the diner, Max with her earphones in, quietly in her own world. It felt so her. The melody is melancholy and understated, the lyrics minimal and almost fragile, and yet there's this quiet, uplifting undercurrent running through it that keeps it from being heavy. It's a song that holds sadness and something like hope in the same breath, without making a big deal out of either.

And that's exactly why it works so well for Max. We know, especially when you compare her to >!the AU version!<, that >!William's death and her subsequent estrangement from Chloe!< left something permanently altered in her. A sadness she's folded so deeply into herself that it's just become part of who she is. >!The AU Max is the contrast that makes it visible!<. Crosses doesn't announce that sadness. It just carries it, the same way Max does.

What does this song mean to you?

P.S.: If you haven't seen the live performance of Crosses at the Sydney Opera House, do yourself a favor. Stunning.

Found this shot of Elena on stage and edited it to capture that classic Kodak Tri-X 400 look. The deep blacks, gritty grain, and smoky contrast that film delivers like nothing else.

Tri-X has been the go-to black-and-white stock since the 1950s for a reason. ISO 400 that pushes beautifully, rich tonal range, and that signature texture that turns low-light gigs into something raw and timeless. It’s made for moments like this: smoke, spotlights, and pure intensity.

Composition-wise:

• Low angle puts you right under her, feeling the weight of the performance.
• Strong backlighting creates a powerful silhouette: head bowed, guitar in hand, sparkles catching just enough light.
• Asymmetrical balance with the mic stand on the right keeps the frame dynamic.
• The hazy background and high-contrast grain pull it all together into one moody, filmic shot.

If you’re into real Tri-X photography (street, portraits, live music), check out this solid gallery on Lomography for inspiration:
https://www.lomography.com/films/871911232-kodak-tri-x-400/photos

Thoughts? Does the Tri-X vibe work here? 🤘

Original Picture Source: https://tumblingandy.tumblr.com/post/71766032562/daughterfans-elena-tonra-of-daughter-at

So, this one just recently clicked for me.

What I love about Human is how unique it feels within their catalogue. It shares that anthem-like quality with "Youth". That rare ability to feel genuinely uplifting without sacrificing any of the lyrical depth or Elena's delivery. At its core it's a song about rumination and self-acceptance of one's very human limitations, and somehow it manages to carry that weight while still opening up, breathing outward. Not many songs pull that off.

I remember watching them play at a festival, and before Smother, Igor was trying to gently warn the crowd, something along the lines of "this next one is quite slow, maybe not the most festival-friendly song", which was both funny and kinda cute. And every time I think about that moment, I think: "Human" would be the perfect song to follow right after. A short breath after the weight of "Smother," and then that gradual lift. It just makes sense.

What does this song mean to you?

Photo Source: Human, Live @ KEXP Seattle, 2013