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.
Chowder
Homeshake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breaking after seeing little dogs
We'll close the windows tonight
It's too cold for cold you to go outisde
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
Sitting there just staring at the trees
Trolling for a little love that??
We'll lock the door behind tonight
And leave a light on for your eyes
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
She's my chowder, and I lover her so much
The lyrics to Homeshake's song "Chowder" are open to interpretation, but it seems to be about love and companionship. The first two lines suggest a feeling of despair or sadness - hands are hanging, lying in a box, breaking after seeing little dogs (which could be a metaphor for feeling defeated or powerless in the face of something small and vulnerable). The next two lines seem to be about seeking comfort and protection - they'll close the windows to keep out the cold and keep the singer's loved one safe inside. The repetition of "She's my chowder, and I love her so much" throughout the song reinforces the idea that the singer is deeply devoted to someone, perhaps comparing them to a warm and filling soup that brings comfort on a cold day.
The second verse continues the theme of seeking love and shelter. The singer is sitting and staring at the trees, perhaps looking for signs of growth or change. The line "Trolling for a little love that??" is a bit unclear, but could suggest that the search for love is not always fruitful or easy. Again, there is a focus on locking the door and keeping the loved one safe inside, while leaving a light on to guide them home. Overall, the song seems to be a love letter to someone who brings comfort and protection to the singer's life, and who they cherish deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
Hands are hanging lying in a box
My hands are hanging idle and useless, like they're just lying in a box.
Breaking after seeing little dogs
I'm feeling shattered after seeing some small and innocent dogs.
We'll close the windows tonight
It's getting chilly outside so we'll close the windows to keep the cold air out.
It's too cold for cold you to go outside
It's so chilly outside that you shouldn't go out if you're feeling cold already.
She's my chowder, and I love her so much
She's my girlfriend, my favorite dish that I adore so deeply.
Sitting there just staring at the trees
I'm just sitting here, staring at the trees, lost in thought.
Trolling for a little love that??
I'm searching for some affection or love, but I'm not sure where to find it.
We'll lock the door behind tonight
We'll lock the door when we come inside tonight.
And leave a light on for your eyes
I'll leave a light on for you, so you can see your way in the dark.
Writer(s): Peter Sagar
Contributed by Oliver R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.