E Lyrics

(FULLY) REMOTE

we tried to speak out, you know we have tried
our words were censored and our tongue was tied

you know the numbers were falsified
you know statistics, and what they can hide
official missives but the dispatcher lied
how can we locate all those who have died?

try! try!
dig and dig and dig and dig!

the information is now living inside
we're looking outward from behind our eyes
as circulation delivers the code
we're getting ready to go fully remote

hide! hide!
the last aboard, shut the door
get inside!

NULL

ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one,

null

counting backward
just keep breathing
backward counting
levitate
breathing deeply
spirit leaving
sinking upward
to the ceiling
now beneath us
see the body
thinking nothing
pulse is beating
hearing voices
sounding muted
lips are moving
without meaning
hearing voices
making contact
try believing
counting backward
try believing

JUMPROPE

we walked over mountains empty handed,
across bridges and borders untethered and unarmed,
for the safety and comfort of white noise in air conditioned cars,
crawling down 10-lane roadways in the heavy summer heat.

you are a whisper. I am the silence in the dark
on late night walks far from the sigh of the highway.
you are a memory. I am an echo: can you hear me?
can you hear me? or have i faded?

air thick in the forest
clouds of mosquitoes
in a hidden cabin, content to exist and nothing more

when I am sinking, you break the surface
with absent-minded humming that sets me at ease.
you are the sunshine; I am a shadow. I can see you!
I can see you! but you won't see me ever again.

a sliver of blue sky, the smell of a well-mowed hill
eyes red and downcast, hands so strong and small
when you are out there I want you to know that
I am not okay and will never be well again.

I am a cold spring. you are an absence
in pictures we can't bring ourselves to look at.
you are the sunshine; I am a shadow.
you are a whisper; I am an echo across the valley in twilight,
and I am very tired.

watching and waiting in the dark corner
shapeless and shifting, creeping and crawling.
when it's time to leave you will turn away.

tell me a story. tell me a memory. sing me to sleep.

CLARION

we see the safety signal
we hear the safety signal
we know the safety signal
we fear the safety signal

listen, the clarion
ringing, from far beyond
so bright, so clear
listen, do you hear?

we see the safety signal
we hear the safety signal
we know the safety signal
we fear the safety signal

sand turns to broken glass
sun burns the mountain pass
wind whips a stinging lash
guide us to find a path

the earth dies
with each step that I take
see the lake turns
to alkaline flat
now the grass burns
and the land turns black
the birds cry
turn back the flock
and the sun's eye
must make us stop

NAMES UPON A LIST

an eyeless face
this empty place
there's not a trace
to be found
just look around,
just look around

these faceless eyes
up in the clouds
up in the sky
what have they found?
surveilling all
upon the ground, surveilling all

chemistry upon the plates
revealing negative mistakes
a missing face
in shades of gray
is turned away

and now the face
is in the clouds
projecting mystery
it shrouds
the truth behind a mist
concealing names upon a list
of all of those who would resist
revealing names upon a list
of all of those who would resist
of all of those who could resist
and now each face is recognized
we can identify by sight
all of those upon the list
who would conceivably resist

LIVING WATERS

watching bubbles rise,
at the waterline,
phosphorescent lumination
tracers light the night
it's pouring through the cracks,
we can't hold it back,
we're moving into a different dream,
with targets on our backs

ASH

we left our prayers back there in the town
buried in rubble, down,
down comes the ash from the sky
quiet as snow and comfortable lies

a blanket of ash settles around
our steps trace a trail away from the site
a trail erased with the gentle sound
of a breeze as it sweeps us into night

we left our papers back there in the town
they burned with the rest, burned down
ash in the wind, in the sky, on the ground
ash settles down without a sound

the tips of our fingers are raw from the work
of digging debris to save what we could
the backs of our hands are raw from the cold
no comfort now from the lies we've been told

POSTPERFECT CONDITIONAL

you will not survive this.
you will not survive this.
you will not survive or get out alive.
you will not survive this.

you will not survive this loss.
you will not survive this sorrow.
it will beat you and defeat you.
you will not survive this.

from first breath to first steps
sweetness so distant and far
anger and shame, pain we will carry forever

you will not survive this loss.
you will not survive this sorrow.
you will not survive or get out alive.
you will not survive this.

it's all lost. it's all a blur. it's all broken.

GAIN OF FUNCTION

the gain of function
is purely science
and all our research
in strict compliance
the board of ethics
has certain guidelines
let's roll our sleeves up
we're under deadline
and now our forelimbs
appearing longer
and our conviction
is growing stronger
the world needs us
and our good work now
a sacred purpose
a secret vow

we work in darkness, who dares shine a light now,
all of the evidence, is in our defense,
we have a purpose, nothing will deter us,
make a decision, reject all division

the polished product
is in the pipeline
the first responders
are on the frontline
the population
is under lockdown
nocturnal species
come out to feed now
are you hungry?
are you alone?
look at these forelimbs
see how they've grown
we can taste it
as it glistens
now that night falls,
let us listen…

your claims of ignorance, don't make you innocent,
all your ablutions are just more pollution,
the scales were tilted, what does not kill us,
here they come now and here we go

Any Information

Any information that you have
Any information that you have
Any information that you have about my brother
Any information that you have about this place
Any information that you have about my brother
Any information that could compromise the state
Any information that you have

DESIRE PATH

The look in your eyes
The hitch in your step
It knocks you down
And you walk around
Down in the dirt, on the ground
A worthless disguise
Identify
Pretending you're alright
You're doing fine
There's nothing left in your mind
The path of desire
I can see you've worn it down
You've worn it down
You've worn it down
And everytime you lie
You're lying right now, right now
Bringing your trouble
Coming down
There's no reason why
You've got to die now, die now
Will she come around
Like she always does?

NO SIGNAL

I see a green light
It doesn't feel right
Not gonna cross
My hesitation's
A new sensation
I'm growing patient
I'm borderline
I don't know my mind
I see all the signs
Frozen in time
We lost the pieces
Something we needed
Has been deleted
No sense in counting
All we created
How much was wasted
Focus your eyes
Stay in the lines
Don't try to cross
Against the light
And though you were warned
You could not fight
You were not lost
They held you tight

JUNGLE CATS

So far away, so far away
So far away, so far away
We are the jungle cats with
Tattoo tears
Offering sweet release from
Certain fears
Faded ink
Faded ink on my skin
Faded ink
Faded ink on my skin
Inside, inside
My yellow eyes
Reflect like mirrors
Blinding like headlights
Bright in the night
Hide in plain sight
See the sunrise in
My yellow eyes
I move in the dark
Hide in the light
I feel so strong
And I know I'm right
I emptied my mind
I went along
I sang the song
I fought the fight

BREATHE AGAIN

Hey now, it's gone too far
I never thought we'd be where we are
today,
are you okay?

We can't fall too far,
Something has got to break this and save us,
From our certain fate

And when you awake
And find tomorrow is still today
Come back, come back, come back
To your body
And remember
And don't look down,
And, don't look now
--we've got to
--learn how to
--breathe
--all over again
--we've got to
--learn how to
--breathe
--all over again

HEY STRONGMAN

Hey strongman
My dear friend
Hey strongman, how I want you
Hey strongman, how I need you
Hey strongman, come and hold me
Hey strongman, dominate me
Hold me in your strong arms
Hold me in your long arms
Grip me in your strong hands
Whisper to me your plan and
Tell me what you want me to do
Tell me what you want me to say
Tell me when you think I should go
Tell me if you want me to stay
Long yellow rubber gloves are
What you need if you want to
Clean this house, if you want to
Make it clean
Whisper in my ear
I can smell your breath
I can feel your clean shave
The rubber grip of your glove

CAUGHT

I caught you falling out of line,
You caught me falling out, you were just in time
We can't feel ourselves, we play William Tell,
We can't walk straight but time keeps marching anyway

Don't be silent,
Don't go quietly without a fight,
There's no alibis

I want to hear you,
I want to hear you,

I can feel you,
You are near.

ACID MANTLE

anoint me
with oils
inject me
complete me
a lab mouse
will greet me
my sister
secretion
my skin in
rebellion
the acid
a mantle
disrupted
a portal
I join you
by virus

CONTAGION MODEL

GM: In the back of our lab, we engineer the germs.
With this diagnosis, man, I can confirm:
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around

We put it in the blood, see how the pathogen tracks
Inhibitions fallin, cognition cracks
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around

The body's decomposing. Soften up the bones.
Ideas infecting and becoming our own
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around
IT'S CONTAGIOUS: Spread it around

TZ: (don't isolate me, don't erase me, quarantine)

GM: Synthesize
Terrorize
Dehumanize
Normalize

That's our model!

TZ: (don't isolate me, don't erase me, quarantine)

SUNRISE

Regenerate yourself,
Regenerate yourself again,
Start from the end, and begin.

I will wait until the end,
My friend you can come back again,
Hang on when you begin to spin,
And regenerate yourself.

MIASMA

hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
to maintain
the body
a simple
incision
release
the pressure
for stable
condition
the cupping
may mark us
it's part of
the process
the sickness
is rising
it comes to
the surface
open
a window
vapors
are rising
miasma
retreating
the patient
reviving
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
the doctor
gives orders
it's not a
decision
tighten
the bedstrap
for this
prescription
a scalpel
can enter
with perfect
precision
to maintain
the body
a simple
incision
a simple
incision
the pressure
releasing
the sickness
rehearsing
a secret
secretion
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
hey-hey-hey
to maintain
the body
a simple
incision
release
the pressure
for stable
condition

DEAD DROP

You've got the information and
you hung your shingle out.
(I can feel your eyes)
You sellin' out the nations and
it's what we're talking about.
(they're burning holes in my back)
You tell your wife that you're going out for
(you're like a shadow)
another night on the town but…
(who are you following?)
You'll sit in the park watch out for the cops.
Look for the chalk that's marked on the box
Dead Drop
Dead Drop

You've got your motivations and
a secret bank account.
(they caught you in a lie)
Ya think it means salvation but
you've got no reason to doubt.
(now you're compromised)
A little honey you fall into her trap, but
(hide in the corner)
you can work your way out if…
(behind a magazine)
You sit in the park watch out for the cops.
Look for the chalk that's marked on the box
Dead Drop
Dead Drop

Dead drop it's a setup!
A blowback, a brush pass, the black ops, the hand-off
Nations' misinformation is
Selling. I'm selling', I'm sellin' at a deep discount

GELDING

after the accident
I lost my feeling for
that which I'd found
attractively sexual
though strangely not
for beauty and art
for negative space
subtractive, conceptual
I ceased assessing
of legs and of asses
nectar of youth
now absent caresses
the stroking of beauty
beguiled by pleasure
forsaken, misshapen,
now without measure
a gelding repentant
and empty of seed
freedom at last
in the absence of need
a gelding repentant
and empty of seed
freedom at last
in the absence of need
after the accident
after the accident
after the accident
after the accident

LIKE A LEAF

Tearful eyes
look afraid to let go
It's not as bad as what it seems

Take your time
You can set the tempo
if you fall into a heap

My dear boy
I'm just gonna hold you
Why are you shaking like a leaf?

Another troubled day
Will it be ok?
Sometimes along the way we break down
And we all break down

Sleep tonight
and try again tomorrow
Just some rest is what you need

So my dear boy
I'm just gonna hold you
Ho o o o o o o o o o o o ld

Another troubled day
Will it be ok?
Sometimes along the way we break down
And we all break down
We all break down
Break down

APIARIES NEAR ME

TZ: I don't rhyme
I am lying
I'm just trying
To hold the time
To draw the line
Make it fine
Your heart shines
Into mine
It's a sign
You're my kind
I will find
I will find
I'm alright
I saw your light

JSS: swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
swarm!
apiaries near me
stay alive, stay alive, stay alive
swarm to me, surround me
engulf me
in the light of the hive
apiaries near me, let me search
the hive mind knows
what it's worth
we arrive, we arrive
at the hive

PENNIES

Hello, you know I know your daughter
You've lived inside her eyes forever,
She even has your sense of humor,
She even said that she forgives you

Your name will live with her forever,
She stayed as long as they would let her,
You waited you did not forget her,
Pennies on her eyes forever

You know I know,
You know I know

THE PROJECTIONIST

TZ: Are you worried?
I don't care!
I'm so worried you don't care!

JSS: I could stare you
I could stare you down
When I look at you
You're upside down
On the back of my eye
Then you're right side up
When you reach my mind
It's all turned around

TZ: Time keeps slipping
Running down,
I'm so worried,
I'll lose the count

JSS: I could stare you
I could stare you down
When I look at you
You're upside down
On the back of my eye
Then you're right side up
When you reach my mind
It's all turned around
I could stare you
I could stare you down

TZ: We are coming from the shadows,
We are running from our shadow

POISON LETTER

I've got something I can't tell you,
If I want to, I don't want to,
Words can't hurt you, I won't let them,
What's the matter, poison letter?

It's a fine line
You could fall and lose your balance,
Lose your balance

It's a fine line,
If you fall in,
I will follow
I will follow

How do you know?
You can't trust yourself no more,
You're a stranger at the door of your home,
You're alone

Can you know when you can trust yourself again?
Is it safe to let you in?
I don't know
Does it show?

A HOUSE INSIDE

a house, inside,
I'll show you where to hide
and every night the
windows are shuttered tightly
we have a house inside
a spectral place where
our inner selves reside
without a trace to see there
and inside the house
the entry hall receives guests
the dusty decor
ancestral portraits look down
suspecting what you've guessed
look up now

the stairwell, upwinding
the landing's shafted with light
the stairwell, upwinding
in light the dust is shining
you've not seen light like it
it's blinding and it's perfect
each grain of dust glowing
floats slow for close inspection
each grain of dust dryly
is just a cell of skin
history drifts highly
suspended, floating, flying

awaiting,
awaiting resurrection
ascending the stairwell
this greeting seems like farewell
the landing, you've reached it
your waiting image greets you
antique and heavy
the mirror that is hung here
imperfect and convex
distorts as it reflects
it looks now much more so
the twisting of your torso
reflect now, your eyes
dark somehow in the light
gaze deeply, what's in there?
escape has made a shape there
a house inside
I'll show you where to hide

DOWN SHE GOES

Out to the rocks she sails
Where your family dissolves and fails
And all of the sirens sang:
I will be your ghost

The sound of the sea and waves
Covers the mess you made
Where all of the sirens sang:
I will be your ghost

Down she goes

All aboard a vessel
Made of skin and bone
Well I renounce the body,
Temple and the throne
And render unto Caesar
I leave the rest behind
Wash away the edges in the ocean's laughing time

Down she goes

ONE IN TWO

This train's gone,
It's been derailed right from the start

It did not brake,
And we're going to break apart

The head's cut off, but the body's spinning like a top,
The head's cut off, but the body's run amuk

It's not your fault,
That you're dancing the last waltz,
It's not your fault,
That you're dancing the last waltz

You did not choose to be born as a chosen one,
And witness to, just how the mighty have fallen

UNTIE ME

You are the darkness but we are the sun
Loosened the cincture and we became one
At night, we light our way from within
Pull down your shades but that's how we make it

We won't be modest, shamefaced or sober
A turn of the key, the motor turns over
That's right, we like that ruinous sin
Pull down your shades, but that's how we make it

Untie Me

CANNIBAL CHATROOM

illuminations and a light from behind, tell me
who stained the window?
taste a community I never could find, my
terminal temple
to find a mind inclined to think as I do, to
taste the forbidden
the richest flavor is the flavor of man, you can
taste what he's hidden

welcome my friends to cannibal chatroom, please
sign the disclaimer
eighteen or older and ready to cook - user,
enter your name here
flesh is on offer on the altar of friendship,
blessings upon us
eating our own, as the passion consumes us, con-
sumption becomes us

HOLE IN NATURE

-The lyrics for this song are assembled from excerpted quotes by Alberto Giacometti, from James Lord's book, A Giacometti Portrait, (New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 1980.)

for what I'm doing,
there's more than light enough.
what's best is simply
to look at people.
I've
never seen the trees like that before
maybe the canvas
will become completely empty
everything fine if...

look at me
you have the head of a brute
things look black, my poor friend
I've got to destroy everything again
what I'm doing is negative work.
everything is disappearing once more.

I
have to make a little hole in nature.
I've
never seen the sky that way before.
it's so high.

I saw the emptiness.
it's the first time in my life
I saw the emptiness.
it's the first time in my life

I like working in the dark
the photograph exists and that's all there is to it.
I'd like to be able to paint like a machine
yes. I've made a little hole,
there's an opening.

HOLLOW

TZ: When your eyes are empty
You'll fill them with anything,
You will blindly follow,
Anyone who takes your lead

When you live in the hollow,
You don't have anything,
You can't drink the water,
They feed you everything you eat,

GM: We know you need it
Sign your name right on the line
But down the line,
There will be only lies
With which you'll breathe

TZ: When your idols are empty,
You can fill them with anything,
The smoke will rise and cover,
Whatever you don't want to see

When your words are hollow,
They're easier to sing,
You're an American Idol,
You can drown out anything

GM: We know you need it
Sign your name right on the line
But down the line,
There will be only lies
With which you'll breathe

GREAT LIGHT

TZ: Feels like radium JSS: Great light
TZ: Falling down JSS: Fill me
TZ: What was in that cloud? JSS: Great light

JSS: Dark thoughts begone. Foul dreams begone. Flood drain from my eyes. Dark thoughts begone.
I command it. I command it. I command it. I command it.

SILO

I have realized, you've broke all ties with what's behind.
I sympathize, there was no time for you to cry
Since you fled, I've seen what's left was left for dead,
The sky is on the ground, it's upside down, a looking glass
I sympathized, there was no time to say goodbye

DELICATE FINGERS

JS:we will have
money
we will breathe
water
we will have
money I
promise I
promise
you

creatures so
tiny
unseen on our
skin
bathe in pure
light tiny
creatures burn a-
way

delicate
fingers held
closely
lamplight shines
through and the
color of
blood shines
through
we will have
money
we will have
money
we will get it
we will get it
we will get it
we will get it

TZ: There is a backlight which casts shadows,
Of everything that you can imagine,
We try so hard not to think bad thoughts,
We try to hard not to think at all,
There is a light that burns from the outside in
The inner voice is getting stronger
There is one line, there is no cross,
There is no line we did not cross

I WANT TO FEEL GOOD

JSS: I want to feel good (repeat)

TZ: Leaving
all the way back home
rising up
from the bottom floor,
first generation
rising
Going down
all the way back home
give it back
first generation
going home
to the mother nation
first generation
rising
I wasn't born this way
I wasn't born in this place

REGATTA

Casting, a line goes out
Curling, as it frees
Catching, and tightening
In a circle they were waiting
Rocking, riding, and the sea was like a horse,
a shot went off and
it's on
In a circle they were waiting
Up and down until the signal

CANDIDATE

GM: You run a rainbow ruse
For your cold-read clues
Watch the spirit medium
Bending spoons
Bend. Bend. Bend it.
Such an obvious tell
In the story that you sell
It's the art of seductions
And it serves you well.
Sell. Sell. Sell it.
JSS: I heard the words
the news and analysis
I had a presentiment
you are me candidate

GM: Prestidigitate.
Hyperventilate
I could be the President
And now I'm running for President.
In the king's dominion
My court the public opinion
I am the psychic surgeon
You are the vestal virgin.
Bend. Bend. Bend it.
JSS: I'm ready for conversion
by luminous immersion
the values of the empire
are burning in our hearth fire.

GM:You got a snake oil cure,
Tin-foil coiture
Well I could the president
Well I could the president
So now I'm running for president
And now I'm running for president

THE ARCHER

JS: the stars are
preserved in
the sky like
an archive
of light---

the record
transmitted
how long it
has taken
how long it
has taken
how long it
has taken

that system,
it flickers
who knows it
could vanish
what star is
forever?
what happens
to us now?---

my finger
will draw it
palms up now,
you feel it?
the archer
she's with us
the archer
she's with us

TZ: That star will surely flower,
That flower find a crevice,
That bow now taught with power,
Release a course of arrows,
The string outlines the spirit,
The shape is in the absence,
The body of the animal,
Orbits like a carousel

FISSURE

This is a failure of reason, a seizure
This is a rupture, an interruption,
Come back to your senses,
And illuion of freedom,
The loop of feedback becomes too frequent,
Your words are tumbling out of sequence
The city's crumbling, cracks in the cement

WATER

JSS: I wanted water
the underside
provided liquid
and a place to hide
this is not water

reluctant sun
come out to dry
the burning sky
let's burn the father
his tie has come

TZ: What we are we don't regret,
What you did we won't forget
What you want you will not get,
What you did we won't forget,
What you want you will not get

JSS: I wanted water
a second chance
let's ask the father
or what remains

E

LIVING WATERS

ANY INFORMATION

COMPLICATIONS

NEGATIVE WORK

E (Self-titled debut album)

FOUNDATIONS/TRIALS