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
Boys Life
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You seem remorse
Comes love
Lost of wonder
To see it go
I don't bother anymore
A sacred soul
Hell I've made my one
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Wandered off to wait
I see the past
The undiscovered feelings likely lost
Floating in on birds
Can't stand it, it's true
But if you want to visit you
I will come
It's in your mind
Somewhere you can go
It's in your mind
Yet to you alone
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Picturing you
...
The lyrics to Small Black's song Boys Life touch on themes of love, loss, regret, and reminiscing. The opening line, "In light of love you seem remorse," suggests that the singer may be reflecting on a relationship that has ended, or perhaps a missed opportunity for love. The subsequent lines, "Comes love, lost of wonder, to see it go," reinforce this idea of loss and the fleeting nature of love. The repeated line "Pictures of you, picturing you" emphasizes the nostalgia and longing that the singer feels for this past love or relationship.
The second verse continues with this theme of reminiscing and regret, with lines like "Wandered off to wait, I see the past," suggesting that the singer may be looking back on their life with a sense of melancholy. The reference to "undiscovered feelings likely lost" hints at the idea that there may have been missed opportunities for happiness or fulfillment. The final lines of the verse, "Can't stand it, it's true, but if you want to visit you, I will come," suggest that the singer is willing to revisit these memories, even if they are painful.
The chorus repeats the lines "Pictures of you, picturing you," with a slightly different inflection each time. This repetition emphasizes the theme of nostalgia and longing that runs throughout the song, and the slight variations in inflection hint at the complex and conflicting emotions that the singer is experiencing.
Overall, Boys Life is a poignant and introspective song that explores themes of love, loss, and regret. The repeated line "Pictures of you, picturing you" is a powerful and evocative image that captures the longing and nostalgia that the singer feels for a past love or relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
In light of love
Considering the presence of love
You seem remorse
You appear to be repentant
Comes love
Love arises
Lost of wonder
A sense of amazement is now gone
To see it go
Witnessing its disappearance
I don't bother anymore
I no longer make an effort
A sacred soul
A holy spirit
Hell I've made my one
I have created my own hell
Pictures of you
Images of you
Picturing you
Imagining you
Wandered off to wait
Left to wait aimlessly
I see the past
I recall earlier times
The undiscovered feelings likely lost
The emotions which were not yet found are probably gone
Floating in on birds
Arriving on birds that glide in the wind
Can't stand it, it's true
I hate it, it's true
But if you want to visit you
Yet if you want to visit yourself
I will come
I will join you
It's in your mind
It is a part of your thoughts
Somewhere you can go
A place you can access
Yet to you alone
Only you can reach it
Pictures of you
Images of you
Picturing you
Imagining you
Pictures of you
Images of you
Picturing you
Imagining you
Writer(s): Juan Pieczanski, Ryan Heyner, Jeffrey Curtin, Joshua Kolenik
Contributed by Mackenzie M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mcbtex
In the life of love
You seem remorse
Comes love
Loss of wonder
To see it go
I don't bother anymore
A sacred soul
Hell I've made my own
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Wandered off to wait
I see you’ve passed
And the undiscovered feelings likely lost
Floating in eyes on bird
Can't stand it, it's true
But if you want to visit you I will come
Extend your mind
Somewhere you can go
Extend your mind
Yet to you alone
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of yo
@pimpinjt123
MCB TEX Wandered off to wade
That sea of past
The undiscovered leading likely lost
Floating in ozone park
Can't stay there
It's true
But if you want
To visit you are welcome
Least in your mind
Somewhere you can go
Least in your mind
Yet to yellow
@fplima6609
In light of love,
You seem remorse
Comes love
Lost of wonder
To see it go
I don't bother anymore
A sacred soul
Hell I've made my one
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Wandered off to wait
I see the past
The undiscovered feelings likely lost
Floating in on birds
Can't stand it, it's true
But if you want to visit you
I will come
It's in your mine
Somewhere you can go
It's in your mind
Yet to you alone
(x4)
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Picturing you
Pictures of you
@senhordestroy1
LYRIC | LETRA
In light of luck
Which seems remote
Comes the loss of wonder
To see it go, I don't bother anymore
That secret's sold!
Hell I've made my own
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Wandered off to wade
A sea of pasts
The undiscovered leanings likely lost
Floating in Ozone Park
Can't stay there, it's true
But if you want to visit
You are welcome to
Least in your mind
Somewhere you can go
Least in your mind
Yet to yellow
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Pictures of youth
Picturing you
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
@doomerlife2770
Driving at night in Watch Dogs 2 with this song playing is pure magic
@otffolks6726
Francisco Gutierrez hell yeah
@Im0rtalT3chniqe
I love games like this. Saints Row, GTA, WD, driving at night to the best songs
@otffolks6726
Im0rtalT3chniqe agree
@Im0rtalT3chniqe
I left out sleeping dogs
@silkk3372005
Francisco Gutierrez I live in Atlanta and driving at night with this song is majestic
@Feltox18
this song is too good to be this underrated
@HU_Soldi3r
Walking around Watch Dogs 2 at night with this song on..... Just amazing.
@otffolks6726
Brandon HU Florence ikr
@kyouyahhibari6693
Brandon HU Florence yea right