[[b]Note: This artist has 2 Lastfm pages: Cause & Effect and Cause and Effe… Read Full Bio ↴[[b]Note: This artist has 2 Lastfm pages: Cause & Effect and Cause and Effect -- Both spellings ARE Correct] (Discography below)

Cause & Effect is an electronic fusion of cleverly crafted pop arrangements against a backdrop of layered synth textures and acoustic rhythmic flourishes. Intelligent, thought provoking lyrics and pleading melodies embedded in lush sonic soundscapes that are sure to captivate the senses of even the most discriminating listener. Cause & Effect’s Rob Rowe (co-founder) and Keith Milo return with their fifth studio album, “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT.”

After developing and perfecting their own brand of electronic pop for nearly two decades, “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT” marks a new level of maturity songwriting, and new way of thinking about how music is released and sold. Breaking with tradition, “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT” has been designed as a three-part series to be released as individual EP’s over the course of 2010 and 2011, rather than a conventional ten to twelve-song album release.

“We wanted to try a new way of putting out our music this time around,” says Milo. “There are no rules anymore. The digital age has turned the entire industry on its head and it’s made us all rethink things. Are we artificially constructing an album by releasing it in “parts,” or is the 12 song album as we’ve come to know it just an ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT?

Led off by the deeply contagious first single “HAPPY?” where Milo’s sleek electronic bed of synth driven melodies lay the foundation for Rowe’s silky smooth vocals and sardonic lyrical content. “Everybody’s happy dreaming of the future,” Rowe croons seductively in a tale about finding a sense of purpose and meaning in the mundane mediocrity of corporate life. And while “HAPPY” bridges the gap sonically between previous C+E albums, it also sets the tone for the rest of the EP’s emotionally charged tracks which range in style from the electro-acoustic lover’s ballad “View of the Sea,” to the nostalgic teenage New Romantic anthem “This Is who I Am,” to the dark and brooding closer “Sleep,” which tells a deeply honest and emotional tale of love lost.

. . . . . (HAPPY?- DIRTY 8VA Remix can be downloaded for FREE at Cause and Effect’s Official Website.)

“There’s a bit of everything we love in there,” says Rowe. “We’ve never easily fit into a specific genre and that gives us the freedom to always blur the lines while being true to our roots. We can put a song like ‘HAPPY?’ right next to a song like ‘View of the Sea’ and it still feels cohesive. It still sounds like C+E.”

Cause & Effect was originally formed in Sacramento, California in 1988 by Robert Rowe and Sean Rowley. Their debut album, Another Minute, stormed onto the music scene in the early 1990’s scoring two top ten dance-pop singles and a Billboard top 20 singles hit with “You Think You Know Her.” After the tragic loss of friend, writing partner and co-founding member Sean Rowley in late 1992, singer Rowe took a step back to re-evaluate the band’s direction and the hopes he had for the future.

“Performing the tribute to Sean at the KROQ Acoustic Christmas Show in LA was a turning point,” explains Rowe, “The overwhelming support from the fans and audience made me realize that giving up just wasn’t an option.”

Determined to pick up the pieces and move forward, Rowe called upon Keith Milo, an Orange County-based electronic musician and friend to finish the remaining leg of the tour with himself and drummer Rich Shepherd (the Adored).

Although that initial tour was plagued with equipment malfunctions, thefts and travel mishaps, it was to become the start of a new beginning for C+E. Upon returning home, Rowe and Milo quickly went to work writing new material and redefining the sound of Cause and Effect.

“Coming in to Cause and Effect after Sean’s death was a scary thing to do,” says Milo, “there was so much uncertainty. Sean was a genius with melody, he was irreplaceable. I think there was solace in the fact that we became a very different band at that point and we all felt that we were doing the right thing by continuing on.”

Six months later, the three found themselves in London recording the band’s critically acclaimed sophomore album “Trip” with producer Martyn Phillips (best known for his work with Beloved, Erasure, and Jesus Jones).

A seamless integration of Rowe’s evocative vocals and economical guitar, Milo’s melodic soundscapes and Shepherd’s inventive percussion, “Trip” was an “affirmation of life and hope.” The aptly named album documents the band’s journey towards self-discovery that they made in the London flat they shared, in the studio, and in underground dance clubs they frequented between recording sessions. In addition to receiving overwhelming critical praise, the album spawned the thundering cross-over club hit, “It’s Over Now,” which respectively climbed to the #7 spot on Billboard’s modern rock charts and was C+E’s fourth release to make it onto the Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.

Despite the success of the “Trip” album, Cause and Effect’s label Zoo Entertainment was in severe financial turmoil as a result of growing too quickly. After parent company BMG MUSIC pulled funding and distribution, the indie-run label soon folded. Rather than look for another major label contract, the band built their first Web site, formed the label, Liquefaction Records, and decided to embrace the digital DIY world brought about by the explosion of the Internet.

A year later saw the release of “INNERMOST STATION," the band’s third album. Nine extraordinary, introspective tracks including the epic single “World is Ours,” which instantly became a favorite amongst many of their adoring fans and college radio programmers alike. Soon after the recording of “INNERMOST STATION” was completed, drummer Richard Shepherd amicably left the band to pursue personal interests.

Meeting up at Milo’s LA studio for “THE SUNRISE EP” sessions marked the second major musical turning point for C+E. Sonically inspired by the laid back loungy grooves of the underground, “THE SUNRISE EP’s” lead single “Into the Light” went on to become the band’s fifth single to chart in the Billboard Club charts reaching the #20 spot in Summer 2004. The EP also featured the acoustic-driven “Stay,” which has become a fan favorite. C+E toured throughout 2004 in support of “THE SUNRISE EP” playing in 23 cities across the US and South America.

2010, today’s Cause and Effect are brimming with a renewed vigor and a surging confidence. In addition to the newly released “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT PART ONE,” the duo is hard at work on the follow-up releases, “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT PART TWO” is slated for release 26 July, 2011; and “ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT PART THREE” is to be released at a later date, with shows beginning soon after. The first track from AC2, Happiness Is Alien from was released on July 8th, 2011.

Cause and Effect is: ROB ROWE and KEITH MILO

DISCOGRAPHY: )
• Cause & Effect - CD Album (1990; Nastymix Records / Liquefaction Records)
• What Do You See - CD Single (1990, Re-Release 1992; Nastymix Records / Exile Records / Sedona Recording Company / Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• You Think You Know Her - CD Single (1990, Re-Release 1991; Nastymix Records / Exile Records / Sedona Recording Company / Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• Another Minute - Album (1991; Sedona Recording Company / Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• Another Minute (Single) - CD Single (1992; Sedona Recording Company / Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• South Paw: Zoo's Left Wing '93 - Compilation [C+E’s “hollow”] (1993; Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music)
• It's Over Now - CD Single (1994; Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• Alone - Label Promo Only (1994; Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• Inside Out - Label Promo Only (1994; Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• TRIP - Album (1994; Zoo Entertainment / BMG Music / Liquefaction Records)
• Innermost Station - Album (1997, Re-Release 1999; Liquefaction Records / Jarrett Records)
• World Is Ours - Digital Single (1999; Liquefaction Records)
• World Is Ours V2 - Digital Single (1999; Liquefaction Records)
• The Sunrise EP (2003; Liquefaction Records)
• Into The Light Remixes - EP (2004; Liquefaction Records)
• Cause & Effect - Album Digital (Re-Release 2010; Liquefaction Records)
• Happy? (Dirty 8VA Mix) FREE Single - Digital Single (2010; Liquefaction Records)
• Artificial Construct Part One - EP (April 2010; Liquefaction Records)
• Artificial Construct Part Two - EP (July 2011; Liquefaction Records)
• Artificial Construct Part Three - EP (tbd 2011; Liquefaction Records)
• Artificial Construct - Album (tbd 2011; Liquefaction Records)

Digital Albums are available for purchase at Cause and Effect’s Official Website.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES:
http://www.causeandeffect.com
http://causeandeffect.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/CauseAndEffectMusic
http://www.twitter.com/_causeandeffect
http://www.youtube.com/causeandeffectmusic
http://www.myspace.com/causeandeffectmusic
http://www.reverbnation.com/causeandeffectmusic
http://soundcloud.com/causeandeffectmusic
http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/Cause+and+Effect
http://www.last.fm/music/Cause%2B%2526%2BEffect

Nothing Comes To Mind
Cause & Effect Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

To melodize your thoughts
To compromise your peace of mind
Open up your heart
You couldn't have the power to be unkind

You're searching for some truth
The hurting is unbearable
There's nothing you can do

Just wade through the waters of the terrible

When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind
When I try to solve it
Nothing comes to mind

Every day I sit and wait
Is this love or only hate
When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind

You're holding back the tears
You thought you were invincible
There's nothing you can fear
Just wade through the waters of the terrible

When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind
When I try to solve it
Nothing comes to mind

Every day I sit and wait
Is this love or only hate
When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind

Faith in me is getting hard to keep
Faith in you is getting hard to find
Can't you see that I am losing sleep
While you run throught the riches

That you always find
When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind
Every day I sit and wait

Is this love or only hate

When I think about it
Nothing comes to mind

Overall Meaning

The song "Nothing Comes to Mind" by Cause & Effect is a melancholic tune that explores ideas of emotional turmoil and confusion in a relationship. The opening lines suggest the notion of conformity and mental vulnerability, where the person is compromising their peace of mind to melodize their thoughts. However, the chorus indicates that the subject's thought processes, particularly surrounding the relationship, are muddled or blocked, leading to confusion and an inability to make sense of their feelings. The phrase 'nothing comes to mind’ is repeated several times to emphasize acceptance of the uncertainty, which further highlights the helplessness and hopelessness that may result from such emotional numbness.

As the song progresses, the lyrics suggest a sense of emotional indecisiveness and the internal strife of not being able to determine whether the feelings experienced are those of love or hate. The verse "faith in me is getting hard to keep, faith in you is getting hard to find" seemingly indicates doubts about themselves, their partner or the relationship. It shows the individuals' minds are clouded with questions and anxieties, ultimately leading to uncertainty or confusion. Although there is a hint of resolution in the final verse, it is overshadowed by the recurring theme that nothing can be done to improve the situation.

Line by Line Meaning

To melodize your thoughts
To turn your innermost feelings into a musical composition

To compromise your peace of mind
To disrupt your mental state and cause unrest within yourself

Open up your heart
Be honest and vulnerable with yourself and others

You couldn't have the power to be unkind
You have the ability to be compassionate and understanding towards others

You're searching for some truth
Trying to find answers to life's questions

The hurting is unbearable
Experiencing pain that is difficult to handle

There's nothing you can do
Feeling powerless and unable to change the situation

Just wade through the waters of the terrible
Enduring and pushing through hard times

When I think about it
Reflecting on a particular issue

Nothing comes to mind
Unable to come up with a solution or answer

Every day I sit and wait
Passing time while waiting for something to happen