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.”
Wounded Lions
Mothlite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A Home
Family
Frailty
Young and old
The ghost
Haunted
Wanting
Willing
Bleeding
Crying
Asleep
Look at them carrion
Up in the air
As the vultures stalk the ground
In despair
Let the skeletons
Guard the fortress
There’s nothing worth keeping
The treasure has long since gone
You should have told your children
That we are alone
When love rushes in at the speed of light
It’s less than a moment
Nature
Reversing
The passion
Passing as all things must
The lyrics of Mothlite's song Wounded Lions depict the concept of family, home and its inevitable frailty in time. The beginning fragment of the song talks about a house and how it becomes a home when it is filled with people, both young and old. Yet, in the end, when everything fades away with the passage of life, it turns into a house again, haunted by ghosts, wishing, wanting and willing. The second stanza, "Bleeding, crying, and asleep" indicates how we all are wounded, shedding tears, and unaware of the inevitable end that comes upon us.
The theme of the song continues with the depiction of carrion up in the sky, vultures stalking the ground in despair, and skeletons guarding the fortress. This symbolizes the end of life, where everything left behind is no longer of any consequence. The song then moves to regret and sorrow, by saying that parents should have told their children that we are alone, and when love rushes in at the speed of light, it's less than a moment.
Finally, the song's lyrics end with the idea of nature reversing, which is a metaphor for life's cyclical nature. The passion that we have passes, and everything eventually returns to the way it was. The song's overall message is that anything that we hold dear, including our family, is inherently temporary and not worth holding onto forever.
Line by Line Meaning
The house
The physical structure in which people reside
A Home
The emotional feeling of security and comfort associated with one's dwelling
Family
The individuals residing in the house, bound by blood or otherwise
Frailty
The vulnerability of human life and relationships
Young and old
People of various ages, representing the span of human life
The ghost
The presence of those who have passed away, lingering in memory
Haunted
The feeling of being pursued or troubled by the past
Wishing
The desire for something unattainable or lost
Wanting
The feeling of lacking or needing something
Willing
The readiness to act or accept what is necessary or inevitable
Bleeding
The physical or emotional pain caused by loss or injury
Crying
The expression of sorrow or grief
Asleep
The state of unconsciousness, either literal or figurative
Look at them carrion
Observing the remains or aftermath of something once vital or alive
Up in the air
Uncertain, unresolved or unsettled
As the vultures stalk the ground
The predators, scavengers or opportunists that strip away what is left
In despair
The feeling of loss, hopelessness or defeat
Let the skeletons
Acknowledging the remains of the past, the things that endures beyond life
Guard the fortress
Preserving or protecting what is left, whether tangible or intangible
There’s nothing worth keeping
The realization that some things cannot be salvaged or redeemed
The treasure has long since gone
The recognition that what was once valuable or cherished is now lost
You should have told your children
The responsibility of passing on wisdom, truth and love to future generations
That we are alone
The awareness that ultimately we are all alone in the journey of life
When love rushes in at the speed of light
The intensity, spontaneity and unpredictability of love
It’s less than a moment
The fleeting nature of love and life
Nature
The natural world, the cycle of birth, growth, decay and renewal
Reversing
The notion that everything is subject to change, flux and even reversal
The passion
The intensity, enthusiasm or dedication that animates life
Passing as all things must
The inevitability of change, loss and relinquishment
Contributed by Elena R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
amal
Love how springy and baroque the second part of this is
Reminds me of some of Wars of the Roses & Gnosis
Vangelis Petridis
THANK YOU!!
JENNY COOPER
japan were dolng this sort of thing in the 80s only better