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
Bad Lover
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I waste my love(?), ohh-oh
Watchin' the world return, ohh-oh
To what I knew it is(?)
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
(unknown)
Where I lay after, ohh-oh
Perhaps to see you
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
Despite the photograph, you are not in love
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
Animals, driftin' afar
Animals, driftin' afar
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, ohh-oh
The lyrics to Small Black's song "Bad Lover" seem to touch on themes of longing, nostalgia, and the complexities of love. The opening lines, "And in the white building, I waste my love, Watchin' the world return to what I knew it is," suggest a sense of isolation and a feeling of being stuck in a place where one's love is not reciprocated or not valued. The singer feels disconnected from the world around them and longs for things to return to a familiar state.
The lines "Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet, Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love," can be interpreted as a call to let go of pretense and be honest about one's feelings. It urges the listener to put their emotions aside if they are not truly in love. This could imply that the singer has been hurt by someone who claimed to love them but did not truly feel it.
The chorus repeats the idea of laying down "wild hands" if one is not in love, emphasizing the importance of being genuine and sincere in relationships. The line "Despite the photograph, you are not in love" hints at the illusion of love portrayed through photographs or idealized images, suggesting that actions speak louder than images.
The closing lines, "Animals, driftin' afar, Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love," could depict the singer feeling like an outcast or a lost entity in a world where love seems elusive. The mention of animals drifting afar could signify a sense of longing and the search for a genuine connection.
Overall, "Bad Lover" portrays a yearning for authenticity and genuine love, highlighting the struggle of navigating relationships in a world where appearances can be deceiving.
Line by Line Meaning
And in the white building, ohh-oh
In a place symbolizing purity and emptiness, I find myself
I waste my love(?), ohh-oh
I expend my affection without reciprocation
Watchin' the world return, ohh-oh
Observing the world revert back to its original state
To what I knew it is(?)
To the familiar reality that I anticipated
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet
Avoid confrontation by retreating to the shadows near the hiding place
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
Lower your unrestrained actions if your feelings are not genuine
I'll run the streets I see, ohh-oh
I will traverse the paths that unfold before me
(unknown)
Interpretation not provided
Where I lay after, ohh-oh
Where I find myself resting afterwards
Perhaps to see you
Maybe in the hope of encountering you
Despite the photograph, you are not in love
Contrary to appearances captured in images, your emotions are not true
Animals, driftin' afar
Creatures, straying far away
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
Lower your unrestrained actions if your feelings are not genuine
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, ohh-oh
Lower your unrestrained actions if your feelings are not genuine, ohh-oh
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Joshua Hayden Kolenik, Ryan Frank Heyner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rodolfo Cruz
And in the white building, ohh-oh
I waste my love(?), ohh-oh
watchin' the world return, ohh-oh
to what I knew it is(?),
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
I'll run the streets I see, ohh-oh
(unknown)
Where I lay after, ohh-oh
Perhaps to see you,
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Despite the photograph, you are not in love,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Animals, driftin' afar
Animals, driftin' afar
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, ohh-oh
TRUSTmeIMaDOCTOR1
There is something to be said for beautiful creativity in both music and video, great job.
oribe peralta
these guys better have an album out soon before i lose interest and forget about them
Rodolfo Cruz
And in the white building, ohh-oh
I waste my love(?), ohh-oh
watchin' the world return, ohh-oh
to what I knew it is(?),
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
I'll run the streets I see, ohh-oh
(unknown)
Where I lay after, ohh-oh
Perhaps to see you,
Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Despite the photograph, you are not in love,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Animals, driftin' afar
Animals, driftin' afar
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love,
Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, ohh-oh
forphax
Uhm, how is it that I haven't heard these guys earlier. I suck. They are amazing.
Roopfert
all their albums are way different. and you cant just say a band is poop just because you don't listen to that genre. but idk anyways, lol... this video is effing amazing
Amanda Rodriguez
i love all their videos <3
Nate T
@zakkmiester you like it because it IS cool. The sounds coming from these guys are pretty phenomenal. People coming together to make music like this is very cool, very cool indeed and if you don't like that or at least recognize the fact that it's cool then that is very uncool.
Vea labea
And in the white building, ohh-oh I waste my love, ohh-oh watchin' the world return, ohh-oh to what I knew it is, Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet, Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, I'll run the streets I see, ohh-oh Where I lay after,ohh-oh Perhaps to see you, Jump to the side; of movin' bones close to the closet, Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love, Despite the photograph, you are not in love, Lay down your wild hands if you are not in love
ImTheManResponisble
I like it because it reminds me of Natalie Portman sitting under a waterfall waiting to make all my fantasies come true...
Fabian Kronsteiner
ok. definitely a must add to the "watch-when-high" list