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.
How Ghosts Affect Relationships
His Name Is Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a strange place
They had nailed the boards
Over your face
You are underground
You are under boards
I bid to you anonymously
She never had to sleep again
I don't like this at all
I coudn't seem to speak
Cut...bleeding...and sad
When you dream of things you don't understand
You can't live here
You can't live here
The lyrics of How Ghosts Affect Relationships by His Name Is Alive has a haunting and melancholic quality. The beginning line "I dreamed that one had died in a strange place" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer dreams of someone they know who has died and has been buried underground with boards nailed over their face. The sense of being trapped and alone permeates the lyrics, with the repeated lines "You are underground, you are under boards."
The singer then bids farewell to the deceased anonymously, perhaps indicating a sense of shame or guilt. The next lines suggest that the singer is haunted by their dreams, unable to sleep and unable to understand what is happening. The line "You can't live here" could be interpreted as the singer realizing that they cannot continue to exist in this dream-like state, or that they cannot continue to live with the weight of their guilt.
Overall, the song delves into themes of death, guilt, and the supernatural. The dream-like imagery and repetition of certain phrases add to the eerie feeling of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I dreamed that one had died
The singer had a dream that someone they knew had passed away.
In a strange place
The dream took place in an unusual and unfamiliar setting.
They had nailed the boards
The deceased person's remains were covered with wooden boards.
Over your face
The boards were placed in such a way that they covered the face of the deceased.
You are underground
The body was buried in a grave under the ground.
You are under boards
The covered and buried body is also under the wooden boards.
I bid to you anonymously
The singer gives a message to the deceased person, without revealing their identity.
She never had to sleep again
The deceased person is forever at rest and does not need sleep.
Dreams kept awake she could never allow
The artist believes that the deceased person would not allow their dreams to be interrupted, even in death.
I don't like this at all
The artist expresses their discomfort and unease with the situation in the dream.
I coudn't seem to speak
The dreamer feels unable to communicate effectively in the situation.
Cut...bleeding...and sad
The image of being cut, bleeding, and sad could represent the emotions felt in the dream or the state of the deceased's body.
When you dream of things you don't understand
The singer acknowledges the confusion that can accompany dreaming about things outside of one's understanding.
You can't live here
The singer acknowledges the finality of death and the impossibility of coexisting with the dead in the same physical space.
You can't live here
The singer acknowledges the finality of death and the impossibility of coexisting with the dead in the same physical space.
Contributed by Bailey Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.