The Life I Designed Treats Me Like Garbage

Columbus, OH's Ground Swell returns with “Garbage // 71 North," a two-song bundle that is out now. The release captures the band in a moment of reflection and resolve – no longer writing about coming of age, but about becoming who your life has led you to be. Sometimes that person isn’t who you expected. Still, there’s something freeing in getting to know them.

Written immediately after the Things That Were Yours EP, these are the songs that came with hindsight and hard-earned confidence. “Garbage” pairs surreal self-awareness – “I look like a million dollars / I live like a hallucination” – with the stark refrain, “The life that I designed, it treats me like I’m garbage.” It’s a sharp reckoning with ambition, identity, and the plans that don’t quite pan out.

“71 North” feels like a restless highway confession, balancing bright imagery with emotional dissonance: “This looks like heaven, but I feel like hell.” Movement becomes a metaphor for transition – heading somewhere new without fully knowing what waits ahead.

“These are the songs I wish I had the words and the confidence for when we made Things That Were Yours,” says Ground Swell's Nick Crede.

Again, “Garbage // 71 North” is out now. Stream the new singles here!