Small Black started with a name and worked backwards: a housemate of singer/multi-instrumentalist Josh Kolenik came up with the moniker on a cold Portland, Oregon night. The name stuck when he returned to Long Island, New York and began collaborating with Ryan Heyner, an area musician and former member of the hardcore band Silent Majority who shared friends with Kolenik. The pair holed up in the attic of the beach house and surfboard shop Kolenik's uncle owned to record songs with vintage keyboards and samplers, spending late 2008 and early 2009 recording as Uncle Matt made surfboards underneath them.
Though Kolenik had played in several bands before Small Black, the mix of shoegaze and synth pop he and Heyner hit upon felt special, and the group's lineup was complete once bassist/guitarist Juan Pieczanski and Jeff Curtin from Kolenik's previous band, Slowlands, joined to bolster production and fill out their live act. Small Black released their self-titled five-song EP on their own CassClub label in October 2009, and released the U.K. single "Despicable Dogs" as well as a video for that song featuring Uncle Matt soon after. Following their performances at that year’s CMJ Music Marathon, Small Black signed to Jagjaguwar Records, which reissued the band’s debut EP with two bonus tracks in 2010. That year, they also released a split single with the like-minded Washed Out, with whom they also toured. New Chain, the band's first full-length, boasted a slightly more polished sound that reflected their consistent touring as well as their interest in hip-hop and arrived in October 2010. In late 2011, the band offered the Moon Killer mixtape as a free download from their website. The collection of new material was built on samples ranging from Pere Ubu to Nicki Minaj and featured multiple drop-ins from Das Racist MC Heems as well as remixes from Star Slinger and Phonetag.
After spending much of 2012 on the road, Small Black returned with May 2013's Limits of Desire, a more sophisticated-sounding set influenced by Talk Talk and the Blue Nile. They covered the latter band's classic "Downtown Lights" on the following year's Real People EP, which had a more dancefloor-oriented style and featured vocals from Frankie Rose. Small Black's passion for sophisti-pop grew on October 2015's Best Blues. Recorded by the band in their Brooklyn home studio and mixed by Nicholas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room Studio, the album included contributions from trumpeter Darby Cicci of the Antlers and vocalist Kaede Ford. Soon after Best Blues' release, Kolenik's Uncle Matt passed away, and the memory of him inspired many of the songs on Small Black's fourth album. Arriving on 100% Electronica in April 2021, the reflective Cheap Dreams found the band returning from their hiatus with an extra dose of goth to their synth pop reveries. In 2023, Small Black looked back with a pair of archival releases. They commemorated the tenth anniversary of Limits of Desire with a deluxe edition of the album, and also issued a deluxe version of their debut EP that included previously unreleased songs from their early beach house sessions.
Biography by Heather Phares for ALLMUSIC
Back At Belle's
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything was strange
Wasn't sure I'd see
You again
With the act I pulled
Back at Belle's again
Least for the evening
Way I was thinking
Til you came back
You came back
Then we'll lay around in
Some madhouse
Laughing at the world outside
And I'll ask you what
What made you
Change your mind?
What made you change
Your mind?
Who says I changed it?
You came back
You came back
For me
What made you change
Your mind?
Who says I changed it?
Maybe, I'm just thinking about it
The lyrics of Small Black's song "Back At Belle's" convey a sense of uncertainty and confusion in the singer's emotions. The song seems to depict a situation where the singer visits a place called Belle's, which is portrayed as unfamiliar and strange. The mention of not being sure if they would see someone again suggests a possible estrangement or separation between the singer and this person.
The lyrics continue with the reference to an "act" the singer pulled back at Belle's, hinting at some sort of behavior or action that may have affected their relationship. However, they express a hope or expectation that the person they are addressing will return. This anticipation is reinforced by the repetition of "You came back" throughout the song.
The second part of the lyrics introduces a dialogue between the singer and the person who has returned. The singer suggests a plan to "lay around in some madhouse," implying a desire for escapism and a retreat from the "world outside." The singer then raises the question of what made the person change their mind, possibly indicating a desire to understand the reasons behind their return.
The song leaves some ambiguity by introducing the line "Who says I changed it?" It's unclear whether this line is spoken by the person who returned or by the singer, leaving room for interpretation regarding who was responsible for the change in the relationship dynamics. The closing line, "Maybe, I'm just thinking about it," reflects the singer's contemplative state, suggesting that they are still trying to make sense of the situation and their own feelings.
Overall, "Back At Belle's" portrays a complex mix of emotions, capturing the uncertainties and longing within a relationship that has experienced some form of turbulence.
Line by Line Meaning
When I came here
Upon my arrival to this place
Everything was strange
All aspects felt unfamiliar
Wasn't sure I'd see
Doubtful of encountering
You again
Your presence once more
With the act I pulled
Through the performance I enacted
Back at Belle's again
Returning to Belle's once more
Least for the evening
At least for this particular evening
Way I was thinking
The manner in which I was contemplating
It wouldn't be long
It wouldn't take much time
Til you came back
Until you returned
You came back
You indeed came back
Then we'll lay around in
Subsequently, we shall recline within
Some madhouse
A place of chaos or madness
Laughing at the world outside
Finding amusement in the external world
And I'll ask you what
I will inquire from you
What made you
What was the reason that caused you to
Change your mind?
Alter your perspective?
What made you change
What influenced you to modify
Your mind?
Your state of thinking?
Who says I changed it?
Who claims that I am the one who altered it?
You came back
You indeed came back
You came back
You indeed came back
For me
On account of me
What made you change
What influenced you to modify
Your mind?
Your state of thinking?
Who says I changed it?
Who claims that I am the one who altered it?
Maybe, I'm just thinking about it
Perhaps, I am merely contemplating the idea
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Jeffrey Urso Curtin, Joshua Hayden Kolenik, Juan Pieczanski, Ryan Frank Heyner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Junebug
this song makes my soul vibrate
CITIZEN JOAN
This song still hasn’t left my soul after all these years just like the thoughts of him
CITIZEN JOAN
Such an Amazing Feel
Carlos Lozano
Just what I need for a saturday night! <3
JACQUELINE JENTZ
When I came here
everything was strange
Wasn't sure I'd see
you again
with the act I pulledBack at Belle's again
least for the evening
Way I was thinking
It wouldn't be long
til you came back
you came backthen we'll lay around in
some madhouse
laughing at the world outside
and I'll ask you whatWhat made you
change your mind?
what made you change
your mind?Who says I changed it?You came back
You came back
for mewhat made you change
your mind?Who says I changed it?
Maybe, I'm just thinking about it
Aaron Osborne
gold
John Durbin
My god, get out of my head.....
Raffy Rillo
nice
Mud Vayne
SOMAFM brought me here-