an 8-minute epic that shape shifts like paranoid android or stairway to heaven. It builds to a climax that’s a real resolution to themes on the album and also has one of those great triumphant lines to sing along to
“I heard that journeys end in lovers meeting
But my journey ends when my heart stops beating”
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In March of 2023 I was on tour with my band Trophy Wife. We had just played a set on the second date in a dingy hardcore bar in Philly that was selling microwaved White Castle sliders and packs of American Spirit for cheap. Ahead of us was a 17 hour drive to New Orleans that would have to be made in one day.
I woke up in the backseat somewhere in between and leaned my head on the window beside me. It was pitch black but before sunrise. The road becomes something different when you're traveling for that long, resembling more of a habitat than a construct with its own set of strict rules and guidelines. In the dark, protected by the shell of a Honda CRV, I would watch the trucks pass by like behemoth steed; big iron whales, and I am so small.
'Wooly Mammoth's Absence' became gospel during that drive. I found it before we left, sometime during our day in Philly when I was getting ready for the show. I listened alone at first, the woody nylon guitars and hushed words of Phil Elverum were a trusted secret for my ears only.
Once I showed it to them we discovered multiple versions of the song that were released over the years, my favorite of which is the first one I heard, from 'Seven New Songs'. It was a perfect companion; something wiser than me that kept me moving forward, like the only torch in a dungeon.
"Quickly forgotten was this forgetful way of life, when I left home and I lived as if I had died" he still sings quietly, and only for me.
Jan 26, 2024
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"Why would you make out of words a cage for your own bird?
When it sings so sweet
The screaming, heaving fuckery of the world?"
the crooner's sophomore outing, finding beauty and hope amidst the end of the world
loved unreal unearth, loved the debut. but if you ask me, this is his strongest album. there's something about the imagery invoked in this album that is so specific, but feels so unique to him. that underwater cover art kinda encompasses that; normally when we think of wastelands, its just dry nothingness for miles. but this feels very "noah's ark flood" end of the world. the calm before the storm, the storm, and the aftermath
the VOCALS on this thing go apeshit btw
this also just has some of my favorite songs of his. MOVEMENT is criminally slept on. shrike is so bittersweet and beautiful. dinner & diatribes and almost (sweet music) are absolute jams. talk...? TALK?!! jesus christ. i can't listen to the title track without weeping. there's such a melancholy that almost makes me sick but it's like...the hug you'd want from a loved one as the world caves in
good time😃! emotional damage😃! have fun😃!
May 6, 2024
Reminds me of cmbyn (which makes me cry)
But basically all Sufjan Stevens discography.
Apr 27, 2024
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enjoy a fun little moment of loud satisfying destruction
Mar 8, 2024
these two sentences hit me harder than I ever expected
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.
Feb 28, 2024