Kuinka is an American folk-pop band based in Seattle.

The name Kuink… Read Full Bio ↴Kuinka is an American folk-pop band based in Seattle.

The name Kuinka comes from the Finnish for “how”; how does a band bristling with spirited creativity continue to evolve artistically and challenge themselves while staying true to their own roots? For Kuinka, the answer comes in the form of letting go: a joyful acquiescence to faith in their cumulative love of songwriting and shared experience, regardless of genre or instrumentation. Brothers Zach and Nathan Hamer, along with Miranda Zickler and Jillian Walker, came together in 2014 to form a unique breed of string band; one proudly defiant of preconceived notions of what fits under the label 'Americana'.

Their 2014 debut The Wild North, which propelled the band out of the woods and on to stages across the country, was followed by their 2016 breakout LP The Heartland. Both albums were recorded at the famed Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, WA (Fleet Foxes, Metric), and led to featured performances at dozens of festivals and several successful national headlining tours. Home from touring The Heartland, all four found themselves in the midst of major life changes both as people and as artists; moving out of the house they‘d shared for the previous two years to new cities and broadening the total palette from which they draw as musicians. After fleshing out new songs in rehearsal, the band headed to a studio near Portland, OR with the trusted ears of longtime producer Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers). The quartet was joined in the studio with their touring wizard of the woodwinds John Benefiel who handled clarinet and saxophone.
The songs on their forthcoming release Stay Up Late ring with the vibrancy of exploration and discovery. “We’ve spent our time as a band in pursuit of a unique sound that captures our energy and essence” says Zickler. “Once we came together and started work on the new singles, we knew it was time to redefine ourselves. We’d love for our music to be a soundtrack to adventure. The change represents finding your way, for both us and our listeners.”

Wet Cement
Kuinka Lyrics

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No one
Wants to call my cab home
And no one
Knows the number here
In the concrete, I read the words
Heaven wants to hold me down

Running up the street we lived on

Before it drowned
If we can keep a secret
Then we can drag the pieces around
It′s all luxury landmines and concrete
Clearing out the town
Heaven wants to hold me down

Honey, where's your sense of heartbreak?
I′m ready now to see the signs
Every wall here says the phrase

Heaven wants to hold me down
Heaven wants to hold me down

Overall Meaning

The song "Wet Cement" by Kuinka explores themes of displacement and isolation, as well as the feeling of being held down by a force beyond one's control. The lyrics speak of the singer's loneliness and their inability to find a way home or connect with others. The line "In the concrete, I read the words, Heaven wants to hold me down" suggests that the singer feels trapped and unable to escape their circumstances.

The second half of the song switches to a more hopeful tone, as the singer reminisces about happier times and finds solace in the idea of keeping secrets and piecing things back together. The line "Every wall here says the phrase, Heaven wants to hold me down" takes on a new meaning here, suggesting that the singer is beginning to find comfort in the familiar surroundings that once seemed so oppressive.

Line by Line Meaning

No one
Everyone is too busy for me

Wants to call my cab home
Nobody wants to help me get home

And no one
Also, nobody

Knows the number here
Nobody knows where I am

In the concrete, I read the words
I find meaning in the mundane and ordinary things around me

Heaven wants to hold me down
I feel stuck and trapped in my current situation

Running up the street we lived on
Remembering the past and how things used to be

Before it drowned
Before everything changed

If we can keep a secret
If we can trust each other

Then we can drag the pieces around
Then we can try to fix what's broken

It's all luxury landmines and concrete
We're all stuck in this modern, constructed world