Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist,… Read Full Bio ↴Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California.

Break Mirrors is Mills’ debut solo album and the latest step in a remarkable musical career that has seen everyone from Kid Rock to Cass McCombs solicit his services as a guitarist. Mills’ trip began with Simon Dawes, the young L.A. rock outfit he formed with his childhood pal Taylor Goldsmith. They made an album, Carnivore, and eventually shared stages with some of the biggest bands in America, cranking out a fresh yet classic sound the Los Angeles Times called “exhilarating.”

After his collaboration with Goldsmith ran its course, Mills moved into the next phase of his career, as sideman to the stars. He moved quickly, too: In only a few short years Mills has become one of the most in-demand session guitarists in all of Los Angeles, touring with Cass McCombs, Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses and Julian Casablancas and recording with Weezer, Kid Rock, Jakob Dylan , Andrew Bird, and Jesca Hoop, among others.

“When it comes to playing guitar for other people,” he says, “...a lot of my dreams have already come true.”

Now Mills is taking center stage with a set of tunes that reflect that extraordinary wealth of experience. Recorded in casual bursts between other gigs over the course of much of 2009, Break Mirrors strikes a perfect balance between talent and tastefulness: You won’t miss Mills’ impressive playing—check out the fuzzy slide guitar solo on “Hiroshima,” for starters—but what sticks with you is his songwriting, which hits a bittersweet coming-of-age note.

In “It’ll All Work Out” he analyzes his parents’ marriage and comes to some surprising conclusions, and “History of My Life” ponders the best way to celebrate one’s privileges. (“It’s about a humility that comes with the transition into adulthood,” Mills says with typical thoughtfulness.) Elsewhere, “Cheers” documents a painful breakup, while “Hey Lover” celebrates the healthy relationship Mills is in right now.

“I wrote that song while I was on a tour and showed it to her when I got back home,” he says. “And then we actually ended up singing it together on this record.” With a laugh Mills describes the track as “my first song of having someone after one too many songs of longing.”

“Hey Lover” may only be rivaled by the album's artwork, for which Mills sought the help of acclaimed artist Sage Vaughn; together, the two collaborated in creating a collage that represents each song.

The music on Break Mirrors comes out of a long tradition of mellow Southern California rock. Yet, perhaps thanks to Mills’ work for other artists, the songs also reveal traces of something entirely different.

There’s also a sly sense of humor in much of the material that Mills credits to his time with Ben Bridwell and Ryan Monroe (Band of Horses). “There's a humor in some people's music that is not kitschy,” he explains. “And in some of those cases it ends up uncovering a certain kind of despair.”

The result is a record that feels as expansive as it does intimate, as forward-looking as it is nostalgic. Blake Mills is much more than the session guy, the band member, or the solo artist. Break Mirrors is the proof.

Curable Disease
Blake Mills Lyrics

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Go on and taste your dreams
Leave me with the bill
and miss me half as much as you say you will
You can make me believe you'd need me still
Love may be a curable disease
Those dreams, they are like pills

They may dangle you like a worm out on a line,

or make you the household name just like they have advertised
Does it concern you now, does it even cross your mind?
That "love" could be a misquotation
Your dreams, they are not mine

And in the light of day, what have you got?
Are you for sale or are you bought?
Is there a best "if used by" date written on the top?
I don't believe that it's wrong to have heard love and dared the cost
but love can be a misquotation and lines can be crossed

If you can taste your dreams and leave me with the bill
and miss me half as much as you say you will
You can make me believe that you need me still
Your dreams have been a false I.D. that made you look like someone else

and the writing on the wall looked just like water on the windowsill
It said love can be a curable disease

Overall Meaning

The opening line of Blake Mills' song Curable Disease invites the listener to go ahead and pursue their dreams while leaving him with the debts and regrets. The singer is resigned to the fact that the woman he loves is going to chase her dreams, with or without him. The chorus then introduces the central metaphor of the song. Love is presented as a curable disease, something that can be fixed or treated if it becomes too much of a burden. The singer believes that love is not as permanent as people make it out to be and that one can get over it with ease.

The second verse then takes a cynical view of the impact of dreams on one's life. Mills suggests that dreams can be like addictive pills that lure you with promises of fame and fortune; the result being that you become a household name or bait on someone's fishing line. The focus shifts back to love in the third verse, where Mills questions whether the concept of love has been misunderstood or misquoted altogether. The singer lamented that they have fallen out of love because the person they thought they fell in love with was actually a misrepresentation of who they truly are. This profound revelation leads them to question what "love" actually is and whether it has a "best if used by" date.

Overall, with Curable Disease, Blake Mills seems to suggest that true love is an elusive concept and most people wouldn't recognize it if it hit them in the face. Love, like a disease, can be cured, and the people who claim otherwise are misunderstanding what love is genuinely about.

Line by Line Meaning

Go on and taste your dreams
Try to achieve your aspirations without me

Leave me with the bill
Let me take responsibility for our past and move on

and miss me half as much as you say you will
Regret less than what you promised you would

You can make me believe you'd need me still
Pretend that you still love me just to comfort me

Love may be a curable disease
Love can be healed and let go just like a sickness

Those dreams, they are like pills
Hopes and ambitions can control and manipulate you

They may dangle you like a worm out on a line,
Your aspirations can become a tool of manipulation and control

or make you the household name just like they have advertised
Success can also play out like an advertisement

Does it concern you now, does it even cross your mind?
Are you aware of the influence your aspirations have on you and your relationships?

That "love" could be a misquotation
The concept of love can often be misunderstood and misrepresented

Your dreams, they are not mine
We have different aspirations and goals

And in the light of day, what have you got?
When you look at yourself honestly, what are you really left with?

Are you for sale or are you bought?
Are you willing to compromise your morals for success?

Is there a best "if used by" date written on the top?
Is there a deadline for when you need to achieve your dreams?

I don't believe that it's wrong to have heard love and dared the cost
It's okay to take risks and experience heartbreak in love

but love can be a misquotation and lines can be crossed
Love can often be confused with other emotions and can lead to complications in relationships.

If you can taste your dreams and leave me with the bill
If you can achieve your aspirations without me taking the responsibility for our past

Your dreams have been a false I.D. that made you look like someone else
Your aspirations have been masking your true identity

and the writing on the wall looked just like water on the windowsill
The warning signs were present but was ignored and overlooked

It said love can be a curable disease
The message conveyed to move on and heal from love just like a sickness

Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC

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