Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2007, Mint Julep is the husband-and-wif… Read Full Bio ↴Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2007, Mint Julep is the husband-and-wife team of Hollie and Keith Kenniff. Subsequently relocating to Portland, Oregon, the duo cut a limited release album, Songs About Snow, in 2008 – effectively a trial run for further recording in their home studio, the fruit of which is a sublime follow-up, Save Your Season, released in 2011. The duo self-released Broken Devotion on Unseen in 2015. An ambient album, A Deep and Dreamless Sleep, is slated for release in late 2016.
Hallmarked by Hollie’s seductive, dreamy vocals and a succession of memorably soaring choruses, all of it etched with Keith’s vivid, glinting keyboards, towering guitars and miscellaneous instrumental hooks, Mint Julep make lustrous modern pop music that is wistful and mellifluous yet simultaneously powerful, even epic – equal parts shoegazing romanticism and cool, Kraftwerkian polish. Their songs seem instantly familiar, like old musical friends, a ’classicism’ offset by the freshness and luminosity they exude as they usher you on a breathless ride through the sunlit uplands of electronic indie-rock.
Mint Julep was designed as a conscious departure from Keith’s previous, ambient- orientated projects. “When Hollie and I set out to do something, I wanted to find some way to incorporate her vocals into a slightly different style, rather than just write similar material to my solo work and lay her vocals over top”, he says. “I had the need to write something that had some distorted guitars, loud drums and was a little bolder than what I had previously done. We messed around with a track one night (which became ‘Stay’) and it was a fun process, so we just kept writing more songs so we could do a project together.”
Soon a working pattern emerged, with Keith composing music around Hollie’s lyrics or making tracks which Hollie would then add to. “It just developed after a lot of trial and error, and after a while the material started to plateau and began to sound like an album…”
A Pennsylvannian by birth, Keith Kenniff is an honours graduate of Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music, best known as the brains behind dulcet ambient/electronic practitioners Helios and the fingers on the ivories of post-classical piano minimalists Goldmund (the latter’s music once described by no less an authority than Ryuichi Sakamoto as “…so, so, so beautiful…”). A succession of albums under those aliases has made Kenniff the darling of discerning critics and his music has also been widely used in film, television and advertising, not least on the soundtrack to Harmony Korine’s 2007 comedy-drama Mister Lonely and the trailer for the 2009 Academy Award-nominated Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes.
Originally from Ohio, singer Hollie Kenniff maintains dual US/Canadian citizenship, having spent part of her life in Ontario. Aside from Mint Julep, she has collaborated on several additional musical endeavors in tandem with husband Keith, including a children’s music project, Meadows, (inspired by the couple’s young son), whose debut longplayer was recently released, and an ambient diversion under their own names.

www.mintjulepmusic.com
Mint Julep on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mintjulepmusic
Twitter: http://twitter.com/_MintJulep

Other projects by Keith Kenniff: Helios and Goldmund.

Time Is Distance
Mint Julep Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Though I know it’s time to go
I won’t meet you in the car
So drive fast and go far
Collect the constellations

You say not to let you go
But I know what you need
Isn’t the same as holding you

I gave this everything

When I scream out
You’re silent
Silent

When you raise your voice
I fall apart
In pieces

You say that time is distance
That I have to take this chance
The endless night above us
Losing sight of our love

You’re so cruel when you’re losing
To mask the things that you are feeling
You broadcast your desperation
With all your cheap flirtations

When I scream out
You’re silent
Silent

When you raise your voice

I fall apart
In pieces

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Mint Julep’s “Time Is Distance” depict a relationship in turmoil, with one person struggling to let go while the other recognizes the need for distance to heal. The opening lines “Though I know it’s time to go / I won’t meet you in the car” suggest that the singer is aware that the relationship is over, but they are unable to face the reality of it. They are asking their partner to leave quickly, hoping to put some physical distance between them, which might eventually lead to emotional separation. The lines “Collect the constellations” suggest that the singer wants their partner to look for a new path in life, one that they can follow without each other.

As the song progresses, the contrast between the two characters becomes more apparent. The singer knows that it’s better to let go, but their partner is trying to hold on to something that is already gone. The lines “You say not to let you go / But I know what you need / Isn’t the same as holding you / I gave this everything” reveal the singer’s acknowledgment that their partner is still in love with them, but holding on to them will not solve the underlying issues in the relationship. However, the partner’s desperate attempts to hold on are highlighted through the lines “When you raise your voice / I fall apart / In pieces.”

The climax of the song comes in the verse “You say that time is distance / That I have to take this chance / The endless night above us / Losing sight of our love.” This verse suggests that the partner is aware that the relationship is beyond repair and that they must accept the distance between them. However, the lines “You’re so cruel when you’re losing / To mask the things that you are feeling / You broadcast your desperation / With all your cheap flirtations” suggest that they are struggling to come to terms with the situation and are acting out in a desperate attempt to keep the relationship alive.

Line by Line Meaning

Though I know it’s time to go
Even though I understand that we need to move on

I won’t meet you in the car
I won't physically go with you when you leave

So drive fast and go far
Move ahead quickly and put distance between us

Collect the constellations
Find things that are far away and unreachable

You say not to let you go
Even though you ask me not to let you leave

But I know what you need
I understand your true desires

Isn’t the same as holding you
It's not the same as physically being with you

I gave this everything
I put my all into this relationship

When I scream out
When I express my emotions strongly

You’re silent
You don't seem to respond or understand

When you raise your voice
When you become angry or loud