Mothlite is Daniel O’Sullivan (born 1 December 1980), a multi-instrumenta… Read Full Bio ↴Mothlite is Daniel O’Sullivan (born 1 December 1980), a multi-instrumentalist/composer from Manchester. He is best known for playing in experimental art-rock bands such as Grumbling Fur, Æthenor, Miasma & The Carousel Of Headless Horses, Miracle, Guapo and Ulver. Mothlite is his solo project, although he is assisted by a loose collective of musicians.

Mothlite's second album ‘Dark Age’ is the 2012 follow-up to 2008’s ‘The Flax Of Reverie’ (Southern Records). Having spent a lot of time recently working as a collaborator in his many other projects, O’Sullivan felt it was time to return to Mothlite to work on something unequivocally personal:

“All the other things are collaborations and there’s a communal interest, but with Mothlite the content is quite personal and to do with me. It’s quite easy to neglect, particularly when you’re in a bit of a shit storm as I was the past couple of years.”

"This is prevalent in the lyrical content, which denotes a catharsis throughout a period of hysteria and emotional turmoil". He describes ‘Dark Age’ as “Dark megalomania, contradictions and paradoxes, and general bleakness”, yet rarely does such subject matter get delivered with the soaring pop aplomb as on the album’s twelve tracks, flitting from sparkle and rumble of ‘The Blood’ to the epic washes of ‘The Underneath’ and beyond.

Dark Age has allowed O’Sullivan to break free from the confines of genre, taking influence from the likes of Tears For Fears and Kate Bush from his parents’ record collection through the industrial and gothic textures of D.A.F., The Cure, Coil and Dead Can Dance to the hardcore punk of his own personal roots. Indeed, O’Sullivan’s use of contradiction within the style of the record is a very deliberate choice: “If it was too bleak, with melancholy overriding the whole thing, then I’d counteract it with a huge chorus or huge hook” O'Sullivan's chief collaborator in Mothlite is Norwegian producer Knut Jonas Sellevold (Elektrofant, King Knut). Arranger, composer and beat-maker of the highest order.

Now Dark Age is done, O’Sullivan is ready to move onto new things. “To be honest, I’m really glad that it’s over,” he says. “I felt like I couldn’t move until I got that out there.” As well as plans for a new Mothlite record, this forward surge includes exploring “ideas and schemes” as to how ‘Dark Age’ will transfer to the road. “Now that the drama has played out and everyone can see what it is, I can almost do a theatrical version of the scenes within. I don’t want to look as though I’m crying down the microphone night after night if we go on tour. I’d rather have a show.”

Something in the Sky
Mothlite Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The murdering words
Words like forever
Violent and tender
They bind us together

Something in the sky
Looking down on you
At your every move

There’s no use in crying

Something in the sky
Looking down on you
Something in the sky
Aligning

Innocence idifferent
We drop to our knees
Such a treason
Such a need

Dreaming
The end of

Dreaming
Of the end

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mothlite's song "Something in the Sky" are haunting and thought-provoking. The first stanza talks of "murdering words" and how they bind people together, despite being both violent and tender. This juxtaposition shows how powerful words can be, and how they can be used to control or manipulate others. The lines "something in the sky/looking down on you/at your every move/there's no use in crying" seem to suggest a sense of powerlessness, as if someone is being watched and judged constantly. The repetition of "something in the sky" adds to this feeling of unease, as if there is an unknown force looming over the singer.

The second stanza continues this theme of powerlessness with the line "innocence indifferent/we drop to our knees/such a treason/such a need." Here, the singer seems to be commenting on how innocence can be a liability in a world where power is everything. The idea of dropping to one's knees suggests submission or surrender. The last two lines - "dreaming/the end of/dreaming/of the end" - are cryptic but seem to suggest that the singer is hoping for an end to their powerlessness or a way out of their current situation.

Line by Line Meaning

The murdering words
Words that kill and destroy

Words like forever
Words that promise everlasting commitment

Violent and tender
Words that are both aggressive and loving

They bind us together
Words that create a bond between two individuals

Something in the sky
An unidentifiable object in the atmosphere

Looking down on you
Monitoring and observing your actions

At your every move
Watching and recording all your activities

There’s no use in crying
There is no point in shedding tears over this situation

Something in the sky
A foreign presence in the air

Aligning
Adjusting its position in relation to something else

Innocence indifferent
Lack of concern for purity or virtue