Four vans destroyed and sold for scrap metal. Five guitar amps crackled, hissed, and went silent, exhaling a final puff of smoke. An irreplacable vintage keyboard face down at the bottom of a flight of stairs, 13 keys cracked and lifted, never to make a sound again.
A string of misfortune seemed to follow the five young men comprising Michigan's Mason Proper (named for an obscure phrase relating to Freemasonry) last year as they toured in support of their 2007 debut album, There is a Moth in Your Chest. Each time they packed up their belongings to head to another town, they would search their bags and equipment for arcane symbols, unexplained objects, anything that might prove to be evidence of the curse of unluckiness they seemed to be living under. "It was a ritual we took up half-jokingly," singer and primary songwriter Jonathan Visger said, "but the second part of the joke was always that if we ever found anything, it would certainly explain a lot."
The band powered on through the mishaps and continued to play as many of the shows as they could make it to, despite sending van after van to the junkyard. The early shows were energetic and bubbling with enthusiasm, but as the band encountered more and more trouble they became progressively wilder and more dangerously frenetic, coping by learning to take a sick delight in watching the chaos around them. They were in the grip of mental instability. During this time period, keyboardist Matt Thomson would often disappear for hours at a time without telling anyone where he was going. He even missed the beginning of several shows, including a well-documented incident at Denver, Colorado's Monolith Festival, where he disappeared into the mountains. Around this time a wild-eyed and bruised Jonathan was quoted as saying, "I'm disappointed if I don't shed a little blood by the end of a show," when asked about his wild and self-destructive performances.
The band's most fervent supporters are a group known as "The New Destroyers," named after an unreleased song the band retired from their live set after noticing that things would mysteriously break whenever they played it. Some of the New Destroyers cracked the coded messages woven into the artwork of Moth, and through it discovered the secret website the band had created, allowing anonymous communication with the band via the same code.
Shortly after they began using it, several unsettling coded messages came in threateningly alluding to private matters in the band's lives. Shaken by the amount of information the person seemed to have, Mason Proper temporarily shut down the site, but not before one last message came in; it decoded as: KEEP GOING CURSESTELLO.
Convinced that this was a reference to the Elvis Costello-like glasses Jonathan wore through this time period, bassist Zac Fineberg and guitarist Brian Konicek refused to do any further touring with what they now suspected was the cursed item. Jonathan refused to destroy them, saying they had sentimental value and that he would just lock them away instead, but drummer Garrett Jones, the most superstitious of them all, stole them in the night and burned them in Zac's fire pit.
After the allegedly cursed glasses were gone, the band decided to turn over a new leaf and look to the future, hopefully leaving their dark past behind them. They met with producer Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead), and with him selected 10 songs from a pool of 30 they had to choose from, aiming to make a very cohesive album, with a tone that reflected the band's collective state of mind as accurately as possible. They rented a small, empty house for a month and recorded the album, and Jonathan met up with Chris again at Carriage House Studios to mix what would become Olly Oxen Free (on the same console the Pixies' "Doolittle" was mixed on).
While some of the songs on Olly Oxen Free do update the dense, electronically-enhanced rock sound the band wielded recklessly on it's debut (which are sure to please longtime fans), it is the times when the band veers off into entirely new territory that are the most intriguing. On "Point A to Point B," nearly all the band's trademark noisiness is gone, while Jonathan sings "In past lives I was wealthy, so probably unhappy. Oh, I'm so glad I died," over a bouncy beat, and a sparse bed of bass and guitar ambience, before opening up to a beautifully simple chorus of, "I swore to myself last time was the last time." The band chose to close the record with "Safe for the Time Being," a song that had surprised the band by becoming an instant live favorite in the months before. A post-apocalyptic slow burner that stays sparse with only a heartbeat kick drum, thin guitar, and the most dynamic vocal melody the band has ever penned, until it explodes at the end in a grand wall of fuzz.
Olly Oxen Free will be out September 23rd on New York's Dovecote Records.
written by Lewis Muzynski, band friend and historian.
Related links:
Mason Proper (official site)
Mason Proper on Myspace
Dovecote Records
Point A to Point B
Mason Proper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i'll breathe when i am able
for now i'll hold it in
with all of my
disembodied and
unassociated sounds of departure
for the night
i had emptied out the till
heard the tires squeal
but you won't right?
i swore to myself
last time was the last time
in past lives i was wealthy
so probably unhappy
oh i'm so glad i died
i travel from point a, to point b, to point c
trying to lose more points along the way
to get lower
i travel from point a, to point b, to point c
trying to fall from grace along the way
to get lower and lower and lower
The first verse opens with a sense of detachment and repression symbolised by the wooden table, which is 'dark-stained', implying negative connotations. The singer wants to breathe but cannot, instead suppressing their emotions unnaturally. They are surrounded by 'disembodied and unassociated sounds of departure', further highlighting their separation from the outside world. This line suggests they are aware of the chaos that usually comes with leaving or departing, but to them, it is distant and unfamiliar. The second half of the verse shifts into a more present and visceral moment as the singer recounts a recent experience. They have just emptied out the till and heard the tires squeal, implying they have done something wrong or dangerous. The repetition of 'you won't, right?' suggests the singer has a guilty conscience and fears being found out. This context provides more meaning for the opening verse, as the repression hinted at before could stem from the singer's repressed feelings of guilt and shame.
The chorus juxtaposes the first verse, where the singer seems to be stuck and stagnant, and instead presents them as being in constant motion. They travel from point A to point B to point C, searching for something that will make them feel better. However, they are not seeking conventional ways of feeling better. They want to lose points, and to fall from grace. This line implies that they want to descend further into a dark place, or perhaps they wish to hit rock bottom. This verse heightens the sense of melancholy as the singer seems to be seeking self-destruction rather than healing, and their quest for it seems never-ending.
Line by Line Meaning
dark stained wooden table
The beginning of the song sets the scene with a description of a dark, stained wooden table.
i'll breathe when i am able
The singer is holding their breath, perhaps due to anticipation or anxiety, and will only breathe when they are able to relax.
for now i'll hold it in
The singer is choosing to suppress any intense emotions or reactions they may be feeling at the moment.
with all of my disembodied and unassociated sounds of departure
The artist is surrounded by random and disconnected noises associated with leaving or departing from a place.
for the night
The scene is set at nighttime.
and finally breathing pitch black until
The singer is breathing in and out, surrounded by pitch black darkness.
i had emptied out the till
The singer has reached a point where they have nothing left, perhaps financially or emotionally.
heard the tires squeal
The artist hears the sound of tires screeching, perhaps in response to a car accelerating or braking suddenly.
but you won't right?
The artist is asking a hypothetical question to someone else, wondering if they will also reach the same desperate point or make the same mistakes.
i swore to myself
The artist made a promise to themselves.
last time was the last time
The singer is determined not to repeat a certain behavior or make a certain mistake again.
in past lives i was wealthy
The artist is musing on past lives where they were wealthy, but that wealth did not bring them happiness.
so probably unhappy
The singer assumes that they were not happy despite being wealthy in their past lives.
oh i'm so glad i died
The singer expresses relief or a sense of freedom that they are no longer living those past lives.
i travel from point a, to point b, to point c
The singer is describing their journey through life or through a particular experience, moving from one stage to another.
trying to lose more points along the way
The artist is trying to unburden themselves or shed some of the negative aspects/experiences they have encountered.
to get lower
The artist desires to go lower or sink lower, perhaps to hit rock bottom before they can start anew.
trying to fall from grace along the way
The singer is also trying to lose some of their moral or social standing in order to reach that point of rock bottom.
to get lower and lower and lower
The desire to sink lower is repeated multiple times, emphasizing its importance to the singer.
Contributed by Christian T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lost and Akimbo
Mason Proper has been one of my biggest musical influences and I think its sad that they were ahead of their time. If they'd come out now they would've blown up
Alison McClure
yay mason proper! amazing performance. awesome job jon and crew! these videos are great. -alison
Daniel Villanueva
This puts me in that summer spirit <3
portablewalrus
ho damn this is good. i love the impact!
Julian Green
Absofacto/ Mason Proer + Cannabis = a euphoric chill.
dresden wier
come to grand haven please,
Ivan Merort
@theyearofthefox blood red shoes!!!
Up Dog
Glad he quit and is doing absofacto now
GalaxyDragon360
I think dissolve and Jonathan's new music is great, but yeah I do miss a bunch of his old music
Up Dog
I mean I swear. As soon as dissolve and done with love came out. They lost me