I Prevail released their debut album, Lifelines, on October 21, 2016, through Fearless Records. Their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” had attracted attention in 2014, but the first full album carried expectations that had not existed when they made their EP, Heart Vs. Mind. They were writing for an audience that already knew them, with touring competing for time previously spent developing songs.
“Scars” gave the record its starting point. Released as the first single, it also opened the album. Brian Burkheiser said the song established the direction they wanted, combining guitar riffs, electronics and a large chorus without sacrificing heaviness. Its message came from watching people feel pressured or bullied into living a certain way, something the band members recognized in their own lives. Burkheiser wanted the song to encourage listeners to pursue their ambitions without apologizing for who they were.
Much of the writing happened while I Prevail were traveling in 2015. In an interview with Upset, Burkheiser described the adjustment from making an EP with few expectations to following it with an album people were waiting to hear. “We had our whole lives to make our first EP,” he said. The new songs had to show that the earlier material was something they could build on. Ideas and arrangements developed around that changing schedule, with the band working through themes including alienation and self doubt.
The recording process added its own problems. Eric Vanlerberghe told Cryptic Rock in November 2017 that an initial trip to Los Angeles to work with unfamiliar producers had not worked out. The band returned home, completing the album through work in Los Angeles and Michigan, where they reunited with EP producer BJ Perry. Vanlerberghe remembered the sessions as stressful, with the group trying to finish new music before the attention they had earned moved elsewhere.
Perry and John Pregler produced Lifelines, and David Bendeth mixed it. Burkheiser identified Bendeth as their first choice for the job and said they waited for him to become available. Having found an audience quickly, the band still had specific people they wanted involved in shaping the finished record.
The songs addressed different kinds of pressure. When “Stuck In Your Head” premiered on SiriusXM’s Octane in August 2016, Burkheiser explained that it grew from reaching his limit in a bad relationship. He compared that relationship to a worn record, but wanted the song to express anger and finality rather than dwell on heartbreak. That choice gave the track a different emotional purpose from the encouragement behind “Scars,” even as both dealt with refusing to accept a situation.
The title track also stretched the division between the two vocalists. Vanlerberghe, primarily responsible for the screams, contributed clean singing to “Lifelines.” He later told Cryptic Rock that he had been practicing his singing and wanted more opportunities to use it without abandoning the band’s heavier elements.
Making the debut also influenced what I Prevail wanted to change afterward. Looking back in a March 2019 interview with Hysteria Magazine, Burkheiser said outside pressure had steered parts of Lifelines toward a formula he did not always connect with personally. For its follow up, Trauma, the band insisted on greater control over the material and on writing songs they felt invested in. “This time around, we put our foot down,” he said.
