The band is best known thanks to the single Stars from the album You'd Prefer An Astronaut, appearing in the tops of several magazines and on various radio stations at the time.
The band was mostly inactive (except for sporadic performances) until reuniting in 2015 for a series of short tours. On June 23, 2020, the band announced and released Inlet by surprise via the internet, their first album of new material in over twenty-two years. On July 1, 2021, it was announced via Instagram that the band's longtime drummer Bryan St. Pere had passed away at the age of 52, prompting the band to cease activities once again.
There are others named Hum:
2) Hum is a Russian artist named Dmitry Chistov who creates emotional "dronescapes" with a prolific output and quite active in the Russian underground scene under various names such as Maw, Sphogha, etc. He is closely related to Exit in Grey as they have a similar musical style and occasionally work together on collaborative CDs.
3) Hum is a Thai pop-soul group originally from Chiangmai, who released an eponymous album (Hum) before splitting up.
4) Hum is a diverse Russian experimental electronic project by Valentin Lanskoy. His albums to date are: Home Music, Aera and Komsomol Scouts Space, the last one released on CD by USC label.
The Inuit Promise
Hum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sideways
And though my mind slipped though between the sea with me
My brain stopped working from the cold
I sort of strayed from what we know
So I'll be like you and I'll do what's right
I'll win a love I don't deserve out on the ice tonight
The moon ain't comin' up
And I swear to God tonight it feels like snow
Glad we got your hands warm so my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
Feels right
So we ride whales and drag race time
And knock the fires from the traces of trilobite hives
You sleep like God inside her womb
And you see clearly too
The silicon wasteland they left inside my mind
Glad we got your hands warm
So my arms can feel like trust again
I can promise true waves when the summer comes
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Maybe catch a new wave
We've lost the road now
Inject the charms
And we care for all of ours, we stand in rows now
Transfer alarms
Just like the Inuit with the promise song
Come down and see
Your solvents frozen here on the petal rung
Is all we have to see
Enlarged inside as we espy
The warming sea.
Your breath diffused and never realized
Aside from where the panicked hide
And I
Just a subtle lift
Provider on the other side
The lyrics to Hum's song The Inuit Promise are highly abstract, utilizing imagery like stretched cellophane hair and riding whales to convey a sense of disorientation and displacement. The singer seems to be reaching out to a loved one, asking them to help guide them through a difficult time and teach them the "bluest song" they know. The song is infused with a sense of longing, as the singer promises "true waves" when the summer comes and describes the world as still fitting "the same form we engraved when it all began."
There is a strong undercurrent of environmentalism running throughout the song, with references to "the silicon wasteland they left inside my mind" and "the warming sea." The singer seems to be grappling with feelings of helplessness in the face of these larger forces and seeking solace in the love and guidance of the person they're addressing.
Overall, The Inuit Promise is a highly poetic and enigmatic song that invites multiple interpretations. At its core, however, it seems to be about the power of human connection to help us weather the storms of life and find meaning and hope even in the midst of chaos.
Line by Line Meaning
I took a worn out strand of your cellophane hair and stretched it sideways
I played with a piece of your hair to take my mind off things for a while
And though my mind slipped through between the sea with me, my brain stopped working from the cold
I lost myself in thought as I stared out at the sea, but the cold air made it hard to focus
I sort of strayed from what we know, so I'll be like you and I'll do what's right
I went off course for a while, but now I'll follow your example and do the right thing
I'll win a love I don't deserve out on the ice tonight, teach me the bluest song you know
I hope to find love tonight even though I don't deserve it. Can you teach me a sad song to match my mood?
The moon ain't coming up, and I swear to God tonight it feels like snow
The moon isn't visible tonight, and it feels like it might snow
Glad we got your hands warm so my arms can feel like trust again, I can promise true waves when the summer comes
I'm glad I could warm up your cold hands so that we can trust each other again. I promise we'll have good times this summer
The world still fits the same form we engraved when it all began
Despite everything that's changed, the world remains fundamentally the same as when it was created
Maybe catch a new wave, feels right, so we ride whales and drag race time
Perhaps we should try something new, like riding whales, because it feels right. We'll live in the moment and enjoy ourselves
And knock the fires from the traces of trilobite hives
We'll destroy the remnants of ancient trilobite habitats
You sleep like God inside her womb and you see clearly too, the silicon wasteland they left inside my mind
You sleep soundly like a god in your lover's embrace, and you can see the void in my mind that's left by technology
We've lost the road now, inject the charms, and we care for all of ours, we stand in rows now
We're lost and need some comfort. Let's take care of each other and stand together in a row
Transfer alarms, just like the Inuit with the promise song. Come down and see your solvents frozen here on the petal rung
We'll alert each other like the Inuit with their promise song. Take a look at your frozen solvents on the edge of the flower's petal
Is all we have to see enlarged inside as we espy, the warming sea. Your breath diffused and never realized aside from where the panicked hide
All we can focus on is the vast expanding sea we see before us. Your breath is visible and dispersed. We only notice it when we're afraid
And I just a subtle lift, provider on the other side
I'm just offering a small bit of help, like a supportive presence on the other end
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRYAN ST. PERE, JEFFERY DIMPSEY, MATT TALBOTT, TIM LASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind