Some parts of the record feel conversational, or like you’re breaking some sort of fourth wall talking to the listener. Is this also caused by the nature of the show?
I think this desire to have a conversation may have come from the pandemic and realizing how important it is not to be isolated. I was really relieved by what happened. Maybe the songwriting that happened at the time made me think, Can we get rid of whatever is holding me back and be able to connect with someone )? From In this sense, it may be subconscious. I have a new sense of irreverence, especially when the concert is as thin air as it usually is.
The lyrics at the end of the album are about beginnings, and as a whole it has an open-ended feel. Do you think the unusual process of making it made you think more about life after its release? Do you think it will continue to evolve as you continue touring?
Well, some songs on the record didn’t make it to the show – they came from a practice day and somehow made their way onto the record. I guess I think maybe the central feel of the record, especially on the opening track of “In Lightning” [
Multitudes], is trying to develop a Instincts that arise from something that is not instinctive at the moment – tend to be positive in nature. Collect moments of hope, not evidence to the contrary. I know I could easily carry all the excuses why everything sucks in my back pocket, but the last song, “Song of a Sad Friend” is about pain having a purpose. That kind of pain isn’t something that can be taken away, when you pat someone on the back or whatever and say, “Oh, don’t cry”. Like, no, absolutely you know better than anyone why you’re crying, and why you’ve come to this dark hour. It comes from awareness of that moment, and awareness of the specific constellations that make up our personal, isolated problems…that exact equation is the only thing that can move you toward hope. Get to know it, maybe not befriend it, but accept it. It never stops: the dark narratives in our heads and our tendency to label, name and tell stories within ourselves won’t stop. But to use it as an asset for making the next best move or the next ideal decision, it does feel like a place to end the record, because it’s an arrow back to the beginning of the album and “In Lightning.” It’s a cyclical awareness of being our own worst enemy, and slowly, slowly learning how to make a truce with it.
