SINGLE
Of Reflection
Music
“Of Reflection” started as a full demo track (as opposed to my usual “sound sketch” of only a few bars or 20 seconds) and was written specifically for this project. The song is written in a strange tuning where I reverse the positions of the “A” and “G” strings. I tuned the 5th string down to “G” and the 3rd string up to “A”. It creates a more open sound and chords can be played open, over-driven, and still retain their voicing. Its the oldest trick in my book. I mean I didn’t invent this move I learned it from a friend when I was a teenager and it’s stuck with me.
The demo track has some intro drums which I sequenced on my iPad - they completely rip off David Haik’s pattern at the beginning of “Fake Lighting”. I was listening to a lot of Pianos Become The Teeth. Most of this song concept came to be in Japan in December of 2018 while I was sick and trying to rest in my hotel room.
When it came time to get into the studio and finish the songs, this demo was one of two (I think I had 6 or 7 demos we listened to as a group) where Nick Thompson was happy as far as having interesting movements and melodic guitar parts. One thing he wanted to fix instantly was the fact there were only major chords and no minor chords. This kept the dynamics on a rather flat dynamic field. The chorus was gutted from the demo and Nick wrote a solid chord progression which supported his vocal line from his scratch track. Kaleb Luebchow was a good sport in keeping the vibe (again I was obsessed with Pianos at the time) but completely rewrote all the drum parts and fixed all the patterns to fit the music that Nick and I wrote. Kaleb and Rick (engineer, studio owner, mix-master, and all around Sailor Jerry) detuned a snare that comes through like a champion on this intro track. Everyone had a hand in making this song feel epic.
Subject Matter
“Of Reflection” is all about my dysfunctional and broken family coming closer together as my mother rapidly lost her health over the course of a year, and ultimately passed away due to multiple organs shutting down. It felt sudden. Spending time with her and my brothers days before she passed woke me up to a lot of things I had been ignoring due to all of the pain surrounding my relationship with my family. Not everyone in the family snapped out of it. But my grandparents and my brothers and one of my uncles decided to drop all of the bullshit and try. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through however I also gained a family (or a new version) that I had never had before and we supported each other. All of it mixed together was devastating & healing at the same time.
Lyrics
We all lose the game in different ways
things we do or say to keep us sane
when I lost you, I found truth
in tragedy
thankful for the intervals
the symmetry
(& I know)
I have always loved you
I always will
Can I be there for them?
only time will tell
all the blame, it falls away
the lies, the walls, the guilt, the shame
to live without you
has taught me everything, everything
As far as we’ll allow, let’s be honest now
we will lift the pain that weighs us down
when that which makes me bend makes the king bow
We have always loved you
We always will
we will stay together
cause you’d want us to
all the blame, it falls away
the lies, the walls, the guilt, the shame
to live without you
has taught us everything, everything
