As part of the long build up to the release of Transit Transit, they made available, "Audience No.2", as a 'pay what you will’ track on their website. Soon after, they joined PJ Harvey for a tour of Russia. During this time they also continued to play their own shows, trying out new songs live, and in some cases revisiting the recorded versions to make necessary alterations or, in some cases, total deletions. In the summer of 2009, they collaborated with the painter, Kill Pixie (Mark Whalen) for 'Future Spa', an art exhibition/sound installation in Los Angeles. In more recent months, the band has toured extensively, including an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties in upstate New York and an opening spot with Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace.
Now, the much-awaited follow-up, Transit Transit is finally here. It begins no less uniquely than its predecessor, although this time the subtler concussion of rhythm that starts the title track is an announcement of change, and the following mood and vocal-- a metaphysical sorbet. If you have been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for this record, Transit Transit has yielded an unexpected mix of material, but has everything you had hoped for. And if Autolux is a band you are just discovering, here is a deep and profound world of noise and emotion to immerse yourself in.
The band produced Transit Transit themselves with guitarist/vocalist Greg Edwards serving as engineer. The record was recorded - at Space 23, the bands makeshift studio in their rehearsal room near downtown Los Angeles. The title track "Transit Transit" (the last song to be recorded) was started in Denmark by Edwards, using a virtually unplayable upright piano and a sample of a coffin-style freezer found in a nearby basement, and then finished back in Los Angeles. There is a notable sonic progression to Transit Transit: samples, vintage synthesizers, and manipulated ambience glue central song components together. There are a lot more vocal harmonies and piano driven songs, even a bit of trumpet. Vocal duties are shared by all three members throughout the album - their voices strangely similar - but each having a definite emotional character. Bassist/ singer, Eugene Goreshter continues to innovate his bass style, effortlessly modernizing the instrument's melodic role on songs like "Census" and "Supertoys", while still providing an on-edge rawness and groove-filled momentum. Edwards' guitars serve to modulate the moods throughout the record, constantly evoking feelings found in the space between emotions. And Carla Azar's sturdy, creative drumming (a phenomenon to behold on stage) continues on record with plenty of hook beats - ferocious and orchestral, at once.
The majority of the album was mixed by Kennie Takahashi, three of the tracks being mixed by Dave Sardy, and then mastered by Bob Ludwig. Artist Kill Pixie and Carla created the artwork for Transit Transit.
Audience No. 2
Autolux Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Threw away what i can't believe
Tell me how you lose this feeling
All moods have been dealt and played
Tell me how you lose this feeling
All hands have been cut and waved
I have always been your vegetable
I would drop myself through black holes
To end up at your door
There's no one else to get hung about
And there's nothing else makes you twist
You set yourself up
The lightning bolt hit
You watched yourself change
And no one's left to blame
The helicopter's spotlight shaking
Hungry orson on the make
The less you put yourself in
The less you feel so fake
Suddenly i'm alright
And it's time for you to go
You set yourself up
The lightning bolt hit
You let yourself change
Now everyone's to blame
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
And the gulf sign split the screen up
The lyrics to Autolux's song "Audience No. 2" seem to explore ideas related to change and loss of identity. The opening lines refer to the space between thinking and speaking, and the decision to discard beliefs that no longer feel true. The repeated question "Tell me how you lose this feeling" implies a sense of longing for a lost connection or emotion. The lines "All moods have been dealt and played / All hands have been cut and waved" suggest a sense of finality or exhaustion, as though the singer has explored all possible emotional states.
The chorus introduces the image of the singer as a "vegetable" to someone else, with the other person being compared to Swedenborg, an 18th-century mystic and philosopher. The desire to be close to this person is so great that the singer would "drop [themselves] through black holes" to reach them. Yet, despite this intense bond, there is a sense of isolation and loneliness, with no one else to "get hung about."
The third verse introduces a series of vivid images, including a helicopter spotlight and a "hungry Orson" (likely a reference to filmmaker and actor Orson Welles). The lines "The less you put yourself in / The less you feel so fake" suggest that the singer has been struggling to maintain a sense of authenticity, perhaps by avoiding situations or relationships that feel inauthentic. The final lines of the song, which repeat the phrase "And the gulf sign split the screen up," may represent a final rupture or separation between the singer and the person they have been addressing.
Line by Line Meaning
In between the thinking and the saying
The pause before speaking; considering what to say before saying it.
Threw away what I can't believe
Discarded ideas or beliefs that don't ring true.
Tell me how you lose this feeling
Asking how a certain emotion or sensation fades away.
All moods have been dealt and played
All emotions have been experienced, expressed, and understood.
All hands have been cut and waved
All methods or options have been explored and exhausted.
I have always been your vegetable
A metaphorical reference to being a passive recipient of care or attention.
And you my Swedenborg
A reference to Swedish mystic and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, who believed in spiritual experiences.
I would drop myself through black holes
Willingness to go to great lengths or extremes for someone else.
To end up at your door
The ultimate goal or destination being the person's presence.
There's no one else to get hung about
No one else is worth getting upset over.
And there's nothing else makes you twist
Nothing else has a profound emotional impact or effect on the person.
You set yourself up
You created this situation.
The lightning bolt hit
The sudden realization or realization of a truth.
You watched yourself change
The realization of personal growth and development.
And no one's left to blame
Taking responsibility for one's own actions and outcomes.
The helicopter's spotlight shaking
An unsettling or uncertain situation.
Hungry orson on the make
A reference to Orson Welles' film The Stranger and the main character's paranoia and suspicion.
The less you put yourself in
The less invested or involved one is, the less false or inauthentic they feel.
The less you feel so fake
Reducing one's own sense of inauthenticity or insincerity.
Suddenly, I'm alright
An unexpected, positive shift in emotional state.
And it's time for you to go
A realization that someone else's presence is no longer necessary or beneficial.
Now everyone's to blame
Acknowledging that everyone has a role or responsibility in a situation's outcome.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
An interruption or interference in communication or understanding.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
And the gulf sign split the screen up
A continuation of the previous interruption.
Contributed by Samantha L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@OfficialRainbowBones
In between the thinking and the saying
Threw away what i can't believe
Tell me how you lose this feeling
All moods have been dealt and played
Tell me how you lose this feeling
All hands have been cut and waved
I have always been your vegetable
And you my Swedenborg
I would drop myself through black holes
To end up at your door
There's no one else to get hung about
And there's nothing else makes you twist
You set yourself up
The lightning bolt hit
You watched yourself change
And no one's left to blame
The helicopter's spotlight shaking
Hungry orson on the make
The less you put yourself in
The less you feel so fake
Suddenly i'm alright
And it's time for you to go
You set yourself up
The lightning bolt hit
You let yourself change
Now…
@carlossouza5507
Todo esse ódio me contagia
Eu nsei se é bom
Mas nn é ruim
Eu quero tirar isso tudo de mim
Vamos lá você consegue
Eles fazem você sofrer todos os dias
Eles não ligam
Só desligam
Vocês precisar perdê-lo?
Um dia na noite
Escura devastada
Com todos agoniados
Mas você vai superar
É sorrir sua vida não vai acabar aqui
Corra corra corra
Eles vão te ultrapassar
Você não precisa deles
Só de você cuspa
@soumya9734
fear the walking dead-shazam-here...
@monaleesha4300
have no fear, "zig zag the great is here" IS here
@treesurgeon2441
I'm only anywhere because of a television show.
@lucy4666
I've loved this band ever since I found about Failure back in 2015. Best time ever spent
@M1M1M1nty
I used to listen to these songs during the dust storms in central texas that would make it black and red outside
@lizerkeanu
Fear the walking dead ... cool song
@patriotschannel1336
Yep that’s what brought me here!
@Tazzim8
"hes going to be okay"
@dylanmoldovan5088
“yes he is Alicia, thank you”
@michaelschriner9889
I guess this song was on some subsidiary of the walking dead... glad to say that I've been loving this song, album, and band for years now. Looking forward to the new album!