The group recorded its first release for the label, Livonia, in Defever's home studio. The album features Oliver's shivery vocals along with tape loops, samples, and guitar blasts, for a noise-damaged, ethereal collection of songs about ghosts, reincarnation, and dreams. By 1992's Home Is in Your Head, the band's lineup and scope expanded. New singers Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott, and guitarist Jymn Auge added depth and breadth to the band's original lineup. An epic 23 songs long, Home Is in Your Head ranges from folky ballads to electrifying guitar maelstroms and tape collages. That year also saw the release of The Dirt Eaters EP, named for Defever's other, more rock-oriented group, of which Elliot was also a member. In 1993, His Name Is Alive released two albums: King of Sweet, a limited-edition release that mixed tape effects, samples, demos, and unreleased songs, and Mouth by Mouth, which added more pop structure into the group's inherently experimental and dreamy sound, resulting in its most accessible and diverse album to that date. A new drummer, Trey Many, took over Lang's duties.
As Defever's reputation as an innovative producer spread, he lent his skills to bands like Grenadine, a side project of Tsunami's Jenny Toomey and Unrest's Mark Robinson, other 4AD acts like Liquorice (which featured Toomey, Dan Littleton from Ida, and His Name Is Alive's Many) and Tarnation, and other Detroit-area bands like Godzuki and Outrageous Cherry. Defever also worked on other projects, including the folky ESP Summer (with former Pale Saint Ian Masters) and the electronic Robot World and Control Panel, and founded the Time Stereo art collective with a childhood friend, artist/musician Davin Brainard. Some of Time Stereo's projects included films, coloring books, and cassette-only releases from bands like Princess Dragon Mom, the Crash, Godzuki, New Grape, and Noise Camp.
Defever's diverse interests influenced His Name Is Alive's next release, 1996's Stars on ESP. Very little of the group's original ethereal sound remained, augmented instead with touches of dub, folk, gospel, and early- to mid-'60s pop like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. At the time of the album's release, Defever claimed that he was so fascinated by the group's "Good Vibrations" that he listened to it for months at a time. The following year's Nice Day EP reached to garage rock and '60s R&B for its inspiration, and featured some of the gospel singers from Stars on ESP, including Lovetta Pippen, whose singing also gave His Name Is Alive's 1998 LP, Fort Lake, an earthy sensuality. Fort Lake also marked the first time the band worked with another producer, recording engineer Steve King. King, another Livonia native, had also worked with Funkadelic and Aretha Franklin, and his touch meshes nicely with the funk, soul, and classic rock allusions His Name Is Alive makes on the album. In preparation for recording Fort Lake -- named after a waterlogged Civil War fort in Michigan -- the group played monthly shows at the Gold Dollar, a tiny Detroit club. At this time, Pippen, bassist Chad Gilchrist, and additional drummer Scott Goldstein debuted as part of the new lineup.
In 1999, His Name Is Alive released a U.S. compilation of tracks from their first five albums called Always Stay Sweet; at the time, those albums were only available as British imports. Like the rest of the band's work, the compilation highlights their mercurial, unique nature. Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth appeared two years later. Released in 2002, the darkly soulful Last Night ended up being the group's final album for 4AD, but His Name Is Alive found other outlets for their music, and were actually busier than ever. Time Stereo released several CDs, such as 2004's ten-disc Cloud Box set, Leaf Club, Brown Rice, and The Detroit River, as well as many MP3-only works, including the Summer Bird and Something_Nothing EPs and a remastered version of King of Sweet. UFO Catcher was released in 2005 on CD by the German label En/Of and on vinyl by Time Stereo, while Ypsilanti Records issued the full-length Summer Bird that spring. Late in 2005, His Name Is Alive released the Raindrops Rainbow EP via iTunes as a teaser for Detrola, their debut for Reincarnate, also the home of fellow former 4AD artist Lisa Germano and Sing-Sing, the project of former Lush member Emma Anderson.
After I Leave U
His Name Is Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maybe again after I leave u
Maybe again after I leave u
Go back to your devil
Get back with your devil
Lord, do you like to watch me dance
Does it make you smile
We hope for better times somehow
Maybe again when I leave u
It gets so heavy sometimes
Maybe again after I leave u
It gets so hard to choose
I took you apart so many times
Pick your battles and power lines
Go down to your batteries
Sun slides down in a straight line
Maybe again after i leave u
Noticers all around you
Saw you go down like a sunset
Stretched across the sky
The lyrics to His Name Is Alive's song "After I Leave U" are open to interpretation, but one possible meaning is that the singer is leaving someone who has a dark side ("devil"), possibly due to their own struggles with heaviness and difficult choices. The idea of dancing for the Lord could suggest a search for spiritual fulfillment or guidance. The line "pick your battles and power lines" could be a metaphor for choosing which conflicts and sources of energy to engage with, while "sun slides down in a straight line" could suggest a sense of resignation or inevitability.
The repetition of "maybe again after I leave u" could imply that this is not the first time the singer has left and returned, or that they are considering the possibility of doing so. The line "noticers all around you" could suggest a feeling of being observed or judged, while "saw you go down like a sunset / stretched across the sky" could be a metaphor for a dramatic, emotional downfall.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe again after I leave u
Perhaps we will reconcile after I depart
Maybe again after I leave u
The idea of getting back together isn't impossible
Go back to your devil
Return to your wicked ways
Get back with your devil
Reconcile with your wicked ways
Lord, do you like to watch me dance
Do you take pleasure in observing my movements?
Does it make you smile
Is it amusing or gratifying?
We need more than a blessing now
We require help beyond divine intervention
We hope for better times somehow
We desire positive outcomes despite current adversity
Maybe again when I leave u
Possibly we can reconcile upon my departure once more
It gets so heavy sometimes
It can be overwhelming at times
Maybe again after I leave u
The thought of us reconciling is complicated
It gets so hard to choose
It becomes challenging to make a decision
I took you apart so many times
I scrutinized and analyzed you repeatedly
Pick your battles and power lines
Choose your conflicts and battles wisely
Go down to your batteries
Descend to the source that powers you
Sun slides down in a straight line
The sunset descends in a uniform manner
Maybe again after I leave u
Another chance after I depart is conceivable
Noticers all around you
Observers surround you
Saw you go down like a sunset
Witnessed your decline similar to the sunset
Stretched across the sky
Extended across the horizon
Contributed by Ryan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
elephant bass communication
Why people disappear
Maybe she couldn't live like this
Maybe she couldn't live at all
Will you ever with me this is she
So she made him not want her
How can I say more than that?
Whatever brings us together
Maybe I know as much as I ever will
We've been forever
Should we tell her
We are not alone
We speak a single voice
What sort of where is this are we
So we're complicated so what...>
-Warren Defever
Adriana DRuiz
My most loved album ever..
elephant bass communication
Why people disappear
Maybe she couldn't live like this
Maybe she couldn't live at all
Will you ever with me this is she
So she made him not want her
How can I say more than that?
Whatever brings us together
Maybe I know as much as I ever will
We've been forever
Should we tell her
We are not alone
We speak a single voice
What sort of where is this are we
So we're complicated so what...>
-Warren Defever
Disco Brasco
Love it. Greetings from Turin - Italy
Adriana DRuiz
Should we tell her we are not alone we speak a single voice
Luke Rogers
You commented in 2012 and then in 2015 - awesome. Glad you're still listening. I think HNIA could be my favourite band ever.
Luke Rogers
So haunting.
Aikea Guinea
yes... home is in your head is a treasure.. so is Livonia
Skeeter McGoo
'early works' and "love can't buy happiness' before those are highly recommended if not familiar 🔥
Aikea Guinea
@Skeeter McGoo thanks... yes I now have those. Ultra cult ! And there is this 4cd release with old recordings, was out last year
Skeeter McGoo
@Aikea Guinea wow ,didn't know that . got those tapes Way back in 90s thinking they were bootlegs . just heard Breeders new cover 'the dirt eaters' ..blown away. thanks for heads up . Merry Christmas !