Bad Copy

Late last year, we premiered the debut single from Chicago’s Damned Praise. Today, we’re so lucky to be premiering another single! This one is entitled “Don’t Believe,” and while it’s about a number of things, it’s a love song.

Jason Swearingen, frontperson of the project, had the following to say:

“Over the past few years, I’ve been processing a lot, the majority being queer, neurodivergence-based, and/or religious trauma. My life has largely been defined until this point by narratives others placed upon me, and while it can be freeing to shed all this baggage I never asked for, the act is, itself, a traumatic experience. We don’t really comprehend how crucial our support systems, down to our perpetually inadequate self-perception, can be until they’re gone. At the same time, I am also a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which, for me at least, involves a dysfunctional lack of trust in one’s own perception. ‘Unmoored”‘ is a term I frequently ascribe to myself.

But I have a partner who has helped me learn to trust myself more and more over time. She has given me more than I could ever rightfully ask, and there’s very little I believe in more than the deep commitment we have to each other’s happiness, safety, and self-actualization. Madeleine L’Engle said, ‘Love isn’t how you feel. It’s what you do.’ I think we do a pretty good job of it.”

Stream the new single below and keep checking back for more from Damned Praise