“The music we like to put together is dark, but so is the subject matter, so the medium has to be as well,” O’ Brother’s lead singer/guitarist Tanner Merritt spells out the capturing of the Georgia band’s first five written songs.
To break the cimmerian shade of an album based around sleep and its emboss to the natural world a dynamic had to be created, a wall of density given breathe and firm grip around melodies unable to wander. The expected sprawl of soft, then loud, then back to soft was sacrificed projecting a new luminance where the strength was in the tiny twisting light that exhales from the EP as a whole.
The band sought to keep their on stage essence by laying the album down live, forgoing the studio temptation to fill each space. Recorded by Brad Fisher with assistance from Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull the best takes were chosen for keys and effects to be added in later creating the soundscapes tucked beneath each song.
Since the 2009 release the band has shared stages with Thrice, Circa Survive, Manchester Orchestra, Biffy Clyro. Ready to record again the band is in a new dawn; where the sun is rising and a new eclectic output is being embraced.
“I think we are enjoying the writing of our full length more than we did with the EP,” Martens explains the bands next step. “It is more of a shared experience with this one because everyone is writing. The music is coming out better than ever and we are really happy to be coming into our sound.”
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The Great Release
O'Brother Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I wont be ignored
My lungs expire, the waters getting deeper
And I cant hold in my breath
So hear me now, this distance is quite simply
Too much to take in at once
My lungs expire the waters getting deeper
And I can't hold in my breath
With malice on your breath
Your trembling hands speak of severed ties
In language that not even God could divide
So lay your weary burdened head upon my side
Sleep will bring you close to God,
It will bring you close
Swallow them down it burns like fire
Your words are the devils machine
Keep your breath your leaking lies
Wait now on approaching sleep
The death of day, the great release
Where words cannot breed like disease
From lepers' rotting hands and feet
Swallow them down it burns like fire
Your words are the devils machine
Keep your breath you're leaking lies
Like the cracks in the teeth of the beast
Swallow them down it burns like fire
Your words are the devils machine
So watch closer now as I slip and I swallow my tongue
The Great Release by O'Brother is a song that explores the theme of communication breakdowns, particularly in relationships. The opening lines, "A slip of the tongue, these words fall like an avalanche, and I won't be ignored," suggest that something has been said that cannot be taken back, and that it has caused a rift between two people. The idea of drowning also comes up repeatedly, with lines like "My lungs expire, the water's getting deeper, and I can't hold in my breath." This could represent the feeling of being overwhelmed by emotion and struggling to keep one's head above water.
The second verse describes someone with "malice on their breath" speaking in a way that even God cannot understand. This suggests that the rift between the two people has deepened and become more personal. However, the chorus offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting that sleep can bring peace and bring someone closer to God. The verses that follow reinforce this idea of rest and release, with the lines "The death of day, the great release, where words cannot breed like disease, from lepers' rotting hands and feet." Again, there is a sense of entropy and decay at work, suggesting that sometimes the only way to move forward is to let go completely.
Line by Line Meaning
A slip of tongue, these words fall like an avalanche
I made a mistake and my words are out of control, like an avalanche that keeps growing and can't be stopped
And I wont be ignored
I want to be heard and I won't be ignored
My lungs expire, the waters getting deeper
I'm running out of air and the situation is getting worse
And I cant hold in my breath
I can't hold my breath any longer
So hear me now, this distance is quite simply
I need you to listen to me, and this distance between us is too much to bear
Too much to take in at once
The situation is overwhelming and too much to handle all at once
With malice on your breath
You are speaking with ill intention
Your trembling hands speak of severed ties
Your shaking hands show that our relationship is broken
In language that not even God could divide
The way you're talking is so extreme that even God couldn't understand
So lay your weary burdened head upon my side
Let me comfort you and help you carry your heavy burden
Sleep will bring you close to God,
When you sleep, you will feel closer to God
It will bring you close
Sleep has the power to bring you closer to your faith
Swallow them down it burns like fire
It's difficult to deal with negative feelings or difficult situations, like swallowing something hot that burns
Your words are the devils machine
Your words are causing harm or pain like a tool used by the devil himself
Keep your breath your leaking lies
You're not being truthful and your lies are easily detectable
Wait now on approaching sleep
Wait for the calming effect of sleep to come
The death of day, the great release
The end of the day and the release of stress
Where words cannot breed like disease
A place where unpleasant feelings and harmful words can't take root
From lepers' rotting hands and feet
A reference to disease-ridden and unclean hands or feet
Like the cracks in the teeth of the beast
A metaphor to describe something that is damaged, broken, or ugly
So watch closer now as I slip and I swallow my tongue
Pay attention to me as I struggle and try to communicate
Contributed by Abigail D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Yup
on Oblivion
Reference to the need of Christ