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
Checkpoints
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the place that we
Left off
Pan as you walk through
The room
Cut away to
A permanent address
Paradise may be far off
Checkpoints on the map between
I was hardly here
I was hardly gone
I was hardly here
I was hardly gone
Wanted to flee the scene
Through the fence
Through the present
In the course of the work
You missed
Light invading the void
Psychic only in joy
Crazy enough to leave
The edges tempted me
Checkpoints on the map
Checkpoints on the map between
I was hardly here
I was hardly gone
I was hardly here
I was fairly gone
In Small Black's song "Checkpoints," the lyrics convey a sense of disconnection and longing for escape. The opening line, "None of this can resume," suggests an interruption or break in a relationship or situation. The phrase "from the place that we left off" implies that there was a previous connection or bond that has been severed.
As the song progresses, the lyrics describe a desire to transcend the current circumstances, symbolized by the checkpoints on the map. These checkpoints represent obstacles or barriers that prevent the singer from reaching their desired destination, which is metaphorically termed as paradise. The line "Paradise may be far off" conveys a sense of distance and inaccessibility, further emphasizing the frustration and longing for escape.
The repetition of the line "I was hardly here, I was hardly gone" suggests a sense of transience or being caught in between states, neither fully present nor absent. The singer feels a strong urge to flee and escape the scene, possibly from a stagnating or unfulfilling situation. The image of "light invading the void" may refer to moments of happiness or joy that break through the monotony or emptiness experienced in their current circumstances.
Overall, "Checkpoints" explores themes of disconnection, longing, and the desire for escape, as the singer navigates through obstacles and seeks a more fulfilling existence.
Line by Line Meaning
None of this can resume
The situation cannot return to normal or continue as it was before.
From the place that we
Starting from where we were before.
Left off
Stopped or paused at.
Pan as you walk through
Observe or capture various moments as you walk through.
The room
The current environment or setting.
Cut away to
Transition to or focus on.
A permanent address
A stable or lasting place to call home.
Paradise may be far off
The ideal or perfect state of being is distant or unreachable.
Checkpoints on the map
Obstacles or points of verification on the journey.
Checkpoints on the map between
Obstacles or challenges that exist in the spaces between destinations.
I was hardly here
I was barely present or engaged in the situation.
I was hardly gone
I was scarcely absent or away from the situation.
Wanted to flee the scene
Desire to escape or leave the current situation.
Through the fence
Passing or overcoming barriers or restrictions.
Through the present
Navigating through the current moment or time.
In the course of the work
During the process or progress of the task at hand.
You missed
You failed to notice or experience something.
Light invading the void
Brightness or illumination entering the emptiness or absence of something.
Psychic only in joy
Intuitive or perceptive only when experiencing happiness.
Crazy enough to leave
Bold or daring enough to depart or abandon.
The edges tempted me
The boundaries or limits enticed or tempted me.
I was fairly gone
I was considerably absent or removed from the situation.
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