Ranging from chillwave to sophisticated electro-pop, Small Black fuses long… Read Full Bio ↴Ranging from chillwave to sophisticated electro-pop, Small Black fuses longing, noise, and melody into lushly wistful songs. On their 2009 self-titled EP and 2010 debut album, New Chain, their lo-fi hybrid of shoegaze and synth pop helped put chillwave on the map and fit into the larger indie tradition of artists couching their heartbreak in homespun sounds. In the 2010s and beyond, they polished their style, and emphasized their '80s sophisti-pop influences on 2013's Limits of Desire, but as poised as their music grew, albums such as 2021's Cheap Dreams kept the emotional pull of their songwriting at the forefront.

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

Proper Spirit
Small Black Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Each night I go out
And forget
Monk's orders
And head straight to her!

Through the thick
And lovely smoke
Full of guts

But so shy

Tell me what you want
She says
Tell me what you want now

Let it go Let it go Let it die
Let it go Let it go Let it die

You haven't shown
You haven't shown
The proper spirit!
The proper spirit!

She takes me out
To the heart of it
Lost in the swell of the street

It can hit all the notes
We agree
But the city itself
Needs to breathe

Let it go Let it go Let it die
Let it go Let it go Let it die

You haven't shown
You haven't shown
The proper spirit!
The proper spirit!
The proper spirit!

Let it go Let it go Let it die
Let it go Let it go Let it die

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Small Black's "Proper Spirit" tell a story of the singer's infatuation with someone and their inability to follow the strict rules of a monastic lifestyle. Each night they venture out into the city, ignoring the strict regulations of their monastic orders, all to see the object of their desires. The singer and the object of their heart's desire share moments together - getting lost in the city's streets - but what started off as a simple pleasure-filled experience, quickly turns into something else entirely. The singer finds themselves unable to fully connect with their lover, as they both are unable to show "the proper spirit."

The "thick and lovely smoke" that the singer and their lover encounter is likely a reference to some kind of sensual pleasure they share, perhaps from drinking or smoking. However, despite these indulgences, they are not living up to their monastic principles. The repetition of "let it go, let it die" suggests a certain resignation and a realization that their relationship cannot work out, especially since they have not demonstrated the "proper spirit."

The lyric "the proper spirit" is repeated several times throughout the song, and it carries the weight of the entire track. In this context, it could be interpreted in different ways, such as an allusion to religious piety. Alternatively, it could be referencing a general lack of sincerity or authenticity in their respective lifestyles. Either way, it appears as something that seems to prevent these lovers from truly connecting.

Line by Line Meaning

Each night I go out
Every night, I leave my house

And forget
I lose myself in the moment

Monk's orders
I disregard my responsibilities and obligations

And head straight to her!
I prioritize being with my lover

Through the thick
Amidst the density

And lovely smoke
Of the appealing smoke

Full of guts
Bold and daring

But so shy
Yet still reserved

Tell me what you want
My partner requests for me to express my desires

She says
My partner communicates to me

Tell me what you want now
My partner asks for me to be specific with my wants