It’s a feeling that comes through not only in the gauziness of the production, but also in the vulnerability of the songs themselves. Sagar began writing Helium shortly after completing Fresh Air, and in the middle of what he calls a “binge” reading of Haruki Murakami. It’s not hard to picture the narrator of these songs as a distinctly Murakamian character: He moves through time by himself, bemused by and insulated from a world he doesn’t quite seem to have been made for. Everyone Sagar encounters here — including himself — seems to be a step removed from present reality, whether by technology (“Anything At All”), solitude (“Just Like My”), or sweet fantasy (“Like Mariah”). The record is stitched together by a series of instrumental interludes, synthesizer explorations whose haziness adds to the suspicion that this is all an uncanny dream.
Which isn’t to say that Sagar is unmoored in his own world. In fact, much of Helium is the result of what he calls “a much clearer mental state” than the one he’d experienced shortly following Fresh Air’s completion. “I had a better idea of the sound that was working for this record and what it was turning into as I was writing the songs,” he says. That’s owing in part to the album’s genesis. Where his previous three records were recorded directly to one-inch tape in a local studio, Helium was recorded and mixed by Sagar alone in his apartment in Montreal’s Little Italy neighborhood between April and June of this year. Freed of the rigid editing process he’d endured before, he was able to lose himself in pursuit of tone and texture. “I didn’t have to book time, compete for good hours, wait on availability. I did a lot of it at home in the middle of the night,” he says. “It made me get more obsessive about details.”
A budding interest in ambient and experimental music — particularly Visible Cloaks, DJ Rashad, and Jlin — pushed him to tinker with the micro-sounds that surround the songs here. It’s a process he found creatively invigorating; even the tinkling boom-bap of Young Thug informs “All Night Long.” It’s a far cry from the chorus-laden guitars of his earlier work. “Ever since I started introducing synthesizers into my music, I’ve gotten more interested in texture,” he says. “I’d hit a creative dead end [with guitars], so synths took over.” The warm chords of a Roland Juno 60 form the album’s base, and gave him a clean palette with which to work. “No tape hiss, no humming power outlets and shitty mixing boards,” as he puts it. “Everything just came out nice and pure.”
Still, for all the growth it demonstrates and the ways it luxuriates in its discoveries, Helium is at its core a record that isn’t beholden to any particular set of sounds, textures, or instruments to get its point across. In that sense, it feels closer to the bone, at once assured of its vision and remarkably vulnerable. It’s perhaps our purest view yet of Homeshake’s home country.
Brothers
Homeshake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling ill
Roll up
One more noose
I'm all gone now
Just like you
[?] we got away
[?] okay, okay
[?] we got away
[?] okay, okay
Settlers
We moved out
I'll see you 'round
Drinking
In a [?]
I'll be [?]
You'll be dark
We'll go far
[?] we got away
[?] okay, okay
[?] we got away
[?] okay, okay
The song "Brothers" by Homeshake is a melancholic introspective piece that contemplates loneliness and the enduring bond between siblings. The song starts with the question "Why so still?", possibly asking why there is no communication between the siblings. The next lines "Feeling empty, Feeling ill, Roll up, One more noose, I'm all gone now, Just like you" portrays the artist's feelings of being lost and disconnected from his brother. The words "Roll up, One more noose" can be interpreted as a metaphor for the feeling of suffocation that the artist is experiencing.
The chorus "Why so few?" could be questioning why there are so few memories between the two of them, or it could be interpreted as "Why so little love?" This could be expanded on by the lines "Settlers, We moved out, I'll see you round, Drinking in a[?] I'll be [?], You'll be dark, We'll go far." The word “settlers” represent them growing up and moving out from their family home. The artist seems to see his brother around, but only at a distance, he tries to deal with the pain of not being close to his sibling by drinking, and the words "You'll be dark, We'll go far" indicates that he knows their lives diverged and they will never be as close as they used to be.
Line by Line Meaning
Brothers
A contemplation about a strained relationship
Why so still?
Questioning why there is no communication between him and his brother
Feeling empty
Feeling a void that is hard to fill
Feeling ill
Being upset and unhappy with the situation
Roll up
Prepare oneself for what's ahead
One more noose
Feeling choked up about the past and present
I'm all gone now
Having entirely lost hope
Just like you
Realizing that his brother is going through the same struggle
Why so few?
Wondering why there are only very few people to rely on during tough times
[?] we got away
Reminiscing about how they managed to get out of their past problems
[?] okay, okay
Feeling a sense of relief and acceptance
Settlers
A reference to their family legacy
We moved out
Moving away from their old life
I'll see you 'round
Hoping to meet again someday
Drinking
Resorting to alcohol to cope
In a [?]
Drinking somewhere peaceful and quiet
I'll be [?]
Trying to make positive changes in his life
You'll be dark
Implying that his brother is in a dark place
We'll go far
Believing that they can overcome their problems and find success in the future
Contributed by Keira E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@brayangarcia6466
Verse 1]
Brothers
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling ill
Roll up
One more noose
I'm all gone now
Just like you
Why so few?
[Chorus]
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
[Verse 2]
Settlers
We moved out
Throwed up heavy
I'll see you 'round
Drinking
In a bar
I'll be dango
You'll be dark
We'll go far
@chrisnitti
Brothers
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling Ill
Roll up
One more noose
I'm all gone now
Just like you
Why so few?
Wizard I know, it got away
Wizard you'll be okay, okay
Wizard I know, it got away
Wizard you'll be okay, okay
Settlers
We moved out
Road of heavy
I'll see you 'round
Drinking
In a bar
I'll be dead girl
You be dark
We'll go far
Wizard I know, it got away
Wizard you'll be okay, okay
Wizard I know, it got away
Wizard you'll be okay, okay
@22blue3
This is just from my ear but I think it's
Brothers
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling ill
Roll up
One more noose
I’m all gone now
Just like you
Why so few?
Wizard, I know, it got away
Wizard, you’ll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, it got away
Wizard, you’ll be okay, okay
Settler
We moved down
Float up heavy
I’ll see you ‘round
Drinking
In a bar
I’ll be dead, girl
You be dark
We’ll go far
Wizard, I know, it got away
Wizard, you’ll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, it got away
Wizard, you’ll be okay, okay
@daisy200012lol
[Verse 1]
Brothers
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling ill
Roll up
One more noose
I'm all gone now
Just like you
Why so few?
[Chorus]
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
[Verse 2]
Settlers
We moved out
Throwed up heavy
I'll see you 'round
Drinking
In a bar
I'll be dango
You'll be dark
We'll go far
[Chorus]
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
@TheNativesamurai
I feel a really strong influence from Tonnetta's Pressure Zone in this song
@starfcy
first thing i thought of when hearing this was mac, i didnt knew he was an ex guitarrist of the crew
@edgarmendygambardella5195
excelente,
@tangerinesarebetterthanora7060
Feelin empty. Feelin Ill.
@TheaYsabelle_design_music
his voice reminds me of a calmer version of interpol..
@danielhernandez5258
who would dislike this ?!??!
@brayangarcia6466
Verse 1]
Brothers
Why so still?
Feeling empty
Feeling ill
Roll up
One more noose
I'm all gone now
Just like you
Why so few?
[Chorus]
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
Wizard, I know, we got away
Wizard, you'll be okay, okay
[Verse 2]
Settlers
We moved out
Throwed up heavy
I'll see you 'round
Drinking
In a bar
I'll be dango
You'll be dark
We'll go far
@helenpearce4810
Is it “I’m all gone now?” I always heard “I’m a god now just like you” which I like better lol
@jchunter21
@@helenpearce4810Peter has no ego
@xbeeslebossx
who's got the chords