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
No Stranger
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me why you asked my name
Tell me how you've come to be
In this place
Tell the story how you want to
Make up all the details
Tell me what feels good
You're no stranger
You're no stranger
To me
Take me for another body
Come out of the wilderness
Maybe just a window
You could've passed
Take me through your barricades
Push me through your city walls
Take me, I can be
Whoever you want
You're no stranger
You're no stranger
To me
No stranger
You're no stranger
To me
Nothing here is set in stone
Nothing here is set in stone
Nothing here is set in stone
You don't even know
Where I come from
Could I be someone
That you can trust?
Nothing here is set in stone
You don't even know
Where I come from
Could I be someone
That you can trust?
No stranger (no no no)
No stranger
To me (no no no)
Don't even know
Don't even know
Don't even know
Don't even know
Don't even know
In Small Black's song "No Stranger," the lyrics focus on the idea of how we perceive strangers and how we can form connections with them. The opening lines "Tell me where you thought you saw me / Tell me why you asked my name / Tell me how you've come to be / In this place" set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is asking someone they have just met to share their story and offer insight on how they ended up in this place. The following lines imply that the storyteller can make up details and exaggerate parts of their story if it makes them feel good about themselves. The singer subtly suggests that the importance of the story is not the factual details, but rather the connection formed between two strangers.
As the song progresses, the idea of connection deepens. The singer expresses willingness to take on different identities and to be whoever the storyteller wants them to be. It implies that people are perfect strangers to each other but can still form deep connections built on a shared interest or experience. The chorus, repeated twice, emphasizes this point: "You're no stranger / To me". The lyrics attempt to convey that despite being strangers, there is a connection between two people that can transcend time and background.
In the final stanza, the singer suggests that nothing is set in stone, and we don't know the backgrounds of the people we meet. However, we should still look at strangers with a sense of trust, as they might turn out to be someone who you can connect with. The song, therefore, has a message of openness and trust for strangers, as they are not necessarily strangers, but rather people with whom we haven't yet formed deep connections.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me where you thought you saw me
Explain to me the location where you believe you saw me.
Tell me why you asked my name
Describe the primary reason behind inquiring about my name.
Tell me how you've come to be in this place
Let me know how you arrived at this particular location.
Tell the story how you want to
Share your version of the narrative as you choose.
Make up all the details
Feel free to fabricate any missing particulars.
Tell me what feels good
Provide the version that makes you feel satisfied.
I don't care
I am indifferent to the details or the truth of the story.
You're no stranger
I am familiar with you and do not perceive you as a foreign presence.
Take me for another body
Mistake me for someone else.
Come out of the wilderness
Emerge from a remote and uncivilized area.
Maybe just a window
Perhaps only a fleeting moment of attentiveness.
You could've passed
You may have already moved beyond me without further notice.
Take me through your barricades
Escort me through the obstacles you've erected.
Push me through your city walls
Force me past the structural boundaries.
Take me, I can be whoever you want
Accept me as someone other than myself, for your sake.
Nothing here is set in stone
Nothing in this situation is predetermined or absolute.
You don't even know where I come from
Your knowledge of my origin is limited or nonexistent.
Could I be someone that you can trust?
Is it possible that I am a trustworthy individual?
No stranger (no no no)
I do not deem you a stranger to my existence.
No stranger
You are not unfamiliar to me.
To me (no no no)
In my perspective, you are known to me.
Don't even know
I am unaware or uncertain of something.
Don't even know
I am uninformed or unsure about a matter.
Don't even know
I lack any knowledge or understanding in a particular subject.
Don't even know
I am completely ignorant of an aspect.
Don't even know
I am without comprehension on this topic.
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
@MichaelREFLECTS
This song is enormously underrated
@Daniel_9_verse_9
yep
@MiguelGarcia-hx1jm
Agree
@trinidadflores4687
It’s crazy that one moment, one look between two strangers can start a spark that can light up an entire lifetime of friendship, fun, and Love ❤️
@vincenoir123
2023 still a jam, seriously slept on track.
@ThiagoCampacci-mh7gv
This band give to me this "free spirit" of living. This is what I like the most from them.
@MarinRayado
I agree
@MiguelGarcia-hx1jm
Same
@jor.9868
Absolutely love this song. Makes you think about how short life is and if you see someone you like go for it. Life is too short.
@felipetorri5355
Esta clase de canciones son demasiado agradables escucharlas en momento de tranquilidad incluso hasta con la pareja.