It’s a feeling that comes through not only in the gauziness of the production, but also in the vulnerability of the songs themselves. Sagar began writing Helium shortly after completing Fresh Air, and in the middle of what he calls a “binge” reading of Haruki Murakami. It’s not hard to picture the narrator of these songs as a distinctly Murakamian character: He moves through time by himself, bemused by and insulated from a world he doesn’t quite seem to have been made for. Everyone Sagar encounters here — including himself — seems to be a step removed from present reality, whether by technology (“Anything At All”), solitude (“Just Like My”), or sweet fantasy (“Like Mariah”). The record is stitched together by a series of instrumental interludes, synthesizer explorations whose haziness adds to the suspicion that this is all an uncanny dream.
Which isn’t to say that Sagar is unmoored in his own world. In fact, much of Helium is the result of what he calls “a much clearer mental state” than the one he’d experienced shortly following Fresh Air’s completion. “I had a better idea of the sound that was working for this record and what it was turning into as I was writing the songs,” he says. That’s owing in part to the album’s genesis. Where his previous three records were recorded directly to one-inch tape in a local studio, Helium was recorded and mixed by Sagar alone in his apartment in Montreal’s Little Italy neighborhood between April and June of this year. Freed of the rigid editing process he’d endured before, he was able to lose himself in pursuit of tone and texture. “I didn’t have to book time, compete for good hours, wait on availability. I did a lot of it at home in the middle of the night,” he says. “It made me get more obsessive about details.”
A budding interest in ambient and experimental music — particularly Visible Cloaks, DJ Rashad, and Jlin — pushed him to tinker with the micro-sounds that surround the songs here. It’s a process he found creatively invigorating; even the tinkling boom-bap of Young Thug informs “All Night Long.” It’s a far cry from the chorus-laden guitars of his earlier work. “Ever since I started introducing synthesizers into my music, I’ve gotten more interested in texture,” he says. “I’d hit a creative dead end [with guitars], so synths took over.” The warm chords of a Roland Juno 60 form the album’s base, and gave him a clean palette with which to work. “No tape hiss, no humming power outlets and shitty mixing boards,” as he puts it. “Everything just came out nice and pure.”
Still, for all the growth it demonstrates and the ways it luxuriates in its discoveries, Helium is at its core a record that isn’t beholden to any particular set of sounds, textures, or instruments to get its point across. In that sense, it feels closer to the bone, at once assured of its vision and remarkably vulnerable. It’s perhaps our purest view yet of Homeshake’s home country.
Every Single Thing
Homeshake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every single thing
That I shouldn't do
Seems to come so natural
I don't know about you
Feeling so out of touch
Staying inside too much
Introducing all these hands
But I'm out of luck
Thought it'd be easier
For me to think of her
I was dreaming as you spoke
And not listenin' to you
Thought it'd be easier
For me to think of her
I was dreaming as you spoke
And not listenin' to you
Is there anything you need?
Make you feel more comfortable
Put your mind at ease
So what do I do instead?
When I think about every single thing
Nodding through my head
Keeping me inside
Thought it'd be easier
For me to think of her
I was dreaming as you spoke
And not listenin' to you
Thought it'd be easier
For me to think of her
I was dreaming as you spoke
And not listenin' to
Every single thing
E-every single thing
Every single thing
Every, every single thing
Every single thing
E-every single thing
Every sing- every single thing
Every, every single
Every single thing
In the song "Every Single Thing" by Homeshake, the singer discusses their struggle to engage with life fully. The first verse reveals that the singer often finds themselves doing things they know they shouldn't but can't seem to help themselves. They express feeling out of touch and isolated by staying inside too much. The second verse introduces an interaction with another person where the singer is not present, instead, they are lost in their own thoughts, dreaming and not listening to their companion's words. The chorus repeats the idea of the singer's struggle with engaging with every single thing and highlights their introspection and disconnection from others.
The lyrics convey a sense of boredom and disinterest in life's everyday experiences, and the singer seems to be grappling with finding a way to break that monotony. The repeated lines, "Thought it'd be easier for me to think of her, I was dreaming as you spoke, and not listenin' to you," suggest that the singer may have a tendency to retreat into their own thoughts as a coping mechanism. The chorus then emphasizes this struggle with engaging and being present.
Line by Line Meaning
Every single thing
All of the things that I shouldn't be doing
That I shouldn't do
Actions that are not good for me or others around me
Seems to come so natural
Feels like these actions are instinctive and easy for me to do
I don't know about you
I am not sure if you feel the same way as I do
Feeling so out of touch
Feeling disconnected and isolated from others and myself
Staying inside too much
Spending too much time indoors and not socializing enough
Introducing all these hands
Trying to make new connections and friendships
But I'm out of luck
Having no success in making these connections
Thought it'd be easier
I believed it would be simpler
For me to think of her
For me to focus on someone else instead of myself
I was dreaming as you spoke
I was not actively listening to you because I was lost in thought
And not listenin' to you
Not paying attention to what you were saying
Is there anything you need?
Are you in need of anything?
Make you feel more comfortable
To help you feel at ease and relaxed
Put your mind at ease
To soothe your worries and concerns
So what do I do instead?
What actions can I take to improve the situation?
When I think about every single thing
When I reflect on all of my actions and behavior
Nodding through my head
Agreeing with what is being said, but not doing anything about it
Keeping me inside
Causing me to isolate myself and not socialize
E-every single thing
Every possible action and behavior
Every, every single thing
All actions and behaviors, without exception
Every single thing
The entirety of the actions and behaviors that are being reflected on
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Peter J. Sagar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind