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.
Tempe
His Name Is Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Last goes to the human heart
In a sing song you once said
In a box below your bed
They are gone as I will be
Forced into a memory
Meet you by the water
Promise not to drown you
Dreamed of you for hours
Will we feel this way tomorrow
Meet you by the water
You look those things now look for me
You look those things
In a scene so new once said
Now look for me
In a box below your bed
You look those things
They are gone as I will be
Now look for me
Forced into a memory
World turns for reasons
You are drawn to me
Our days begin as hours
But soon set into the cycles
First points pledge creation part
Last goes to the human heart
First points pledge creation part
Last goes to the human heart
The lyrics of His Name Is Alive's song Tempe describe a longing for connection and an awareness of the fleeting nature of existence. The first stanza speaks to the cyclical nature of life, with the first points of creation eventually leading to the last moments of our lives. The second stanza expresses a desire to connect with someone, to meet by the water and promise not to drown each other. The repetition of "dreamed of you for hours" adds to the sense of longing and the uncertainty of whether this connection will last beyond the present moment.
The third stanza shifts to a more existential tone, with the lyrics "world turns for reasons, you are drawn to me." This line suggests a belief in fate or destiny, that the singer and the person they are singing to are drawn together by some greater force. The final lines of the song echo the first, with the pledge of creation leading to the human heart.
Line by Line Meaning
First points pledge creation part
The start of something new is always exciting and full of potential
Last goes to the human heart
But ultimately, the end result depends on the emotions and desires of those involved
In a sing song you once said
You used to speak in a way that was cheerful and melodious
In a box below your bed
But now those words are hidden away and forgotten
They are gone as I will be
Just as those words disappeared, so too will the artist eventually fade away
Forced into a memory
Their only hope of living on is through the memories of others
Meet you by the water
The water represents a meeting place, perhaps symbolizing the flow of life and change
Promise not to drown you
The artist promises to protect the other person, to not let them drown or be overwhelmed
Dreamed of you for hours
The other person is constantly on the artist's mind and they cannot stop thinking about them
Will we feel this way tomorrow
But they wonder if this intense feeling will last, or if it is just a passing phase
You look those things now look for me
The singer challenges the other person to search for the same things that they themselves are seeking
They are gone as I will be
But the artist acknowledges that they may not find what they are looking for, and that they too will eventually fade away
In a scene so new once said
The singer remembers saying something in a particular setting, but that memory is hazy and unclear
Now look for me
They ask the other person to search for them in the present moment, to bring them back into focus
In a box below your bed
But the singer recognizes that they may already be forgotten or discarded
You look those things
The artist urges the other person to keep searching and striving for what they want
They are gone as I will be
But once again, the artist recognizes the inevitability of their own eventual disappearance
Now look for me
Still, they cling to the hope that they may be remembered or rediscovered
Forced into a memory
For better or for worse, they will become a part of someone else's recollection of the past
World turns for reasons
The world is constantly moving and changing, for reasons that are beyond our control
You are drawn to me
But amidst all of that chaos, the other person feels drawn to the artist
Our days begin as hours
Time feels slow and long at the start of the day, but it quickly speeds up and slips away
But soon set into the cycles
And so the cycle of life continues, with ups and downs, beginnings and endings
First points pledge creation part
Once again, the song returns to the idea of the beginning being full of potential and promise
Last goes to the human heart
But ultimately, everything comes back to our emotions and desires, the things that drive us forward and give our lives meaning
Lyrics © WARREN M. DEFEVER D/B/A PERFORATE MY HEART MUSIC
Written by: WARREN DEFEVER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind