"It's like being intimate with total strangers." That is how Rachel Stolte of Great Northern describes the feeling of performing live and creating a connection with her audience. The sentiment could be duly applied to the band's latest release, Remind Me Where the Light Is, on which Stolte and co-writer Solon Bixler pour so much of themselves into their highly personal lyrics and wistful melodies.
On their sophomore album, Bixler and Stolte are not afraid to delve into darkness. Taking that risk helped them find beauty in sadness, the uplifting elements in the devastating. "We took a lot more risks by entering uncomfortable territory that wasn't touched on the last record," Bixler says. "We dug deeper into the unpleasant, which helped us to find the beauty."
Experiencing the negative to find the positive is something Bixler and Stolte are familiar with. "Both of us had been heading in unfulfilling directions creatively," Bixler says of their situations prior to coming together. “When we started Great Northern, we finally felt like we were starting something that truly expressed what was in our hearts and minds."
Their first release, Trading Twilight for Daylight (2007), embodied surprisingly catchy hooks, lush keys and breathy vocals. The album made multiple Top 10 lists in magazines (Filter, Under the Radar) and on radio (Nic Harcourt, KCRW in LA; Aaron Axelson of Live 105 in San Francisco). The praise didn’t stop there as NME gave it a “Must Download Now” rating and iTunes dubbed the band “the next big thing.” FM Radio giants like KROQ and cutting edge stations like and Indie 103 added the band to their regular playlists.
Extensive touring behind the album led Great Northern to share the stage with acts like Spoon, Cold War Kids, Silversun Pickups, Fiery Furnaces, Ladytron, The Gutter Twins, and Soulsavers.
Their sophomore release, Remind Me Where the Light Is is the work of a more seasoned group, one that has been on the road for months, missed home, seen the world, and returned not entirely prepared to sit still.
"When we started writing songs for [this album]," Stolte says, "we had just come off a year and a half of touring and didn't really know what was next. So we bought some recording equipment, set up a studio in our house [in LA], and just started writing. Almost immediately it was like the emotional flood gates opened. We would listen to stuff and be like 'Wow! So that's how we've been feeling about that.
"It became very clear to both of us that we were going to do things a little differently this time, and in many ways we were outgrowing something. An old part of ourselves had died."
That passing is shown literally (the use of piano is drastically reduced on Remind Me Where the Light Is) as well as lyrically and melodically, where melancholy becomes determination, and atmospherics are replaced with driving rhythms.
"Story," for example, which started as a much slower piano demo, became a guitar-driven up-tempo rock song with no piano, thanks to the advice of production team Michael Patterson (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beck, P-Diddy, Ladytron) and Nic Jodoin. The song opens with a lively, driving beat, and Rachel's simultaneously unapologetic and forceful vocals slinging near-vicious lines such as "Tell me your secrets / tell me your story / how 'bout one you can't hide behind." Bixler joins for call-and-response with his hushed vocals pleading "what do you want? What do you see?," and Stolte responding "I should have left it all alone."
On "Houses," the aggressive, thrashing drumbeat gives the melody a visceral quality; the darker side of things is something Stolte says is symbolic to the story of the record. "It's a song about walking through life and choosing to see the truth no matter how painful," Stolte says, "rather than staying in the same place or hiding from it." With over fuzzed and speeding electric guitar, Rachel takes the lead with her warm and commanding vocals, slinging captivating lyrics like "up ahead I see it / I can't find it but I feel alive" and "All this time when I talk it's not real."
"With our music, we try to paint pictures to go along with the words that tell the story," Bixler says, and "Driveway" exemplifies that desire, as the lyrics create a vivid image of one desperate to be the object of another’s affection. It's a more melancholy offering, with muted, poignant keys and Bixler's pleading vocals. "Remember when you wake up / don't forget to turn out the light / 'cause I'm looking out my window for you every night," he sings as a lone piano builds to a fuller mournful melody with nostalgic, almost theatrical strings.
"We are content to be learning as we go," Bixler says, "trying to overcome the fear of changing ourselves, constantly redefining ourselves as artists, and never creating the same thing twice. We hope the people who hear our music will relate to this next chapter or our lives."
Given the ease with which Bixler and Stolte foster an immediate intimacy with their audience, listeners new and old are certain to not only relate but to join in on the journey from the darkness, back to the light.
Solon Bixler – vocals/guitar
Rachel Stolte – vocals/keyboard
Releases:
-Remind Me Where The Light Is is now on iTunes! see it here!
-Gooseberries Book out now!
media links:
Myspace
Purevolume
Virb
Mountain
Great Northern Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into the sea
Into the graveyard
Into the leaves
We don't need our bodies
We don't need our minds
We don't need discoveries
When we wake up to see
That we're lost souls in need
And we're hollering defeat
Into the rapist
Into the heart
Into the killer
Into finish into start
We can't keep on dreaming
For how much we need
We can't keep on speaking
The words never leave
When we wake up to see
That we're lost souls in need
And we're hollering defeat
Without our minds we'll build a trust
To carry all that sound into the dust
We want the ancient, we can't hold a key
We are collapsing onto our knees
When we wake up to see
That we're lost souls in need
And we're hollering defeat
We're lost souls in need
The lyrics to Great Northern’s song “Mountain” are dark and melancholy, yet poetic and thought-provoking. The first stanza mentions three different locations: mountain, sea, and graveyard, followed by the metaphorical “leaves”. The second stanza makes clear that the singer does not value physical or intellectual discoveries; they are not needed, and can be left behind in the mines. The third and fourth stanzas contain dark allusions to rapists, killers, and defeat. The singer laments that they cannot keep dreaming or speaking, as the words never leave. The final stanza suggests that the singer is seeking something ancient and sacred, but they cannot find it. They are lost souls in need.
One interpretation of the song is that it is about a person who has lost their way in life and is searching for meaning. They have explored various physical and intellectual pursuits, but feel unfulfilled. The metaphor of “Into the mountain / Into the sea / Into the graveyard / Into the leaves” suggests a search for something beyond the material world, perhaps a spiritual or mystical experience. The references to rape and murder could symbolize the darkness within the singer’s own mind, and their struggle to overcome it. The final stanza suggests that the singer is seeking a way to connect with something ancient and sacred, but is unable to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
Into the mountain
Venturing into a place of great challenge and difficulty
Into the sea
Going to a place vast and unrestricted
Into the graveyard
Entering a realm of finality and closure
Into the leaves
Entering a realm of impermanence and constant change
We don't need our bodies
The physical self is not important
We don't need our minds
The intellectual self is not important
We don't need discoveries
The pursuit of knowledge is not important
Just leave them in the mines
Letting go of attachment to material possessions
When we wake up to see
Realization of the self
That we're lost souls in need
Awareness of a deep longing and emptiness
And we're hollering defeat
The struggle to overcome this feeling
Into the rapist
Confronting the worst of human nature
Into the heart
Exploring the deepest emotions and passions
Into the killer
Confronting the destructive parts of human nature
Into finish into start
Moving through cycles of life and death
We can't keep on dreaming
Dreams will not bring fulfillment
For how much we need
Despite how much we desire something
We can't keep on speaking
Words will not bring true understanding
The words never leave
What is truly important cannot be expressed in words
Without our minds we'll build a trust
Trusting our instincts when the intellect is not enough
To carry all that sound into the dust
Letting go of things that are not essential
We want the ancient, we can't hold a key
The desire for knowledge of the past, but we cannot access it
We are collapsing onto our knees
The overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and defeat
We're lost souls in need
The deeply felt emptiness and longing for fulfillment
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: RACHEL ELEANORE STOLTE, SOLON BEN BIXLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dan Singletary
Wow! Amazing views from the Great Northern Mountain.
Thanks for sharing this hike/climb.
When we go to GNP we stay below that area at Glacier Wilderness on Hwy 2 and sometimes do the Stanton Lake hike.
Always wondered what it was like up there, now i know. Incredible.
I'll be there again in September and have a backcountry trip planned for Belly River area of GNP.
David Stevenson
Hey Dan! Thanks brother, I appreciate it! Yes, it’s an amazing area for great views and mountaineering! Best of luck to you if you decide to hike it! Stay safe up there! Enjoy the mountain goats!
akhalteke15
What a diva! 😄🐐
David Stevenson
Yeah, Patty the goat was a little too clingy for my liking! 😂
Patricia LAMB
Thank you!
David Stevenson
Oh, it was definitely my pleasure!
Elizabeth Rogers
Is there class 4 climbing involved at all??
David Stevenson
Hey Elizabeth! The only spot that might be a class 4 is a small section about 1/4 mile from the summit. It’s a pretty steep section on loose scree, but it’s not the worst. If you generally have good mountain sense and good footing, you’ll be fine! Best of luck! Stay safe up there!