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
Shook Loves
Small Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I
Now I don't have a clue
Do know I loved you
Now I
Now I don't have a clue
Below me, cars go by in storms
I looked out from the roof above
At a maze
A lonely night to walk
All the way there
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Fine rain I felt fall
'Til it
'Til it soaked through my boots
The wild boys
All should know
I got nothing of use
Looked in the window wide
Could only see one light
Steam from the kettle rose
The bread was burned
I just walked home
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Shook shook
By the loss of love
I woke to find
Nobody here
Who left the light on?
Waiting up, waiting up
I woke to find
Nobody here
Who left the light on?
Waiting up, waiting up
The lyrics of Small Black's song "Shook Loves" describe the aftermath of a breakup. The opening lines, "Do know I loved you, now I don't have a clue," reflect the confusion and uncertainty that often accompany the end of a relationship. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the loss of love and is searching for meaning and comfort elsewhere, as evidenced by the line, "I'll find it another one." However, the world around him is indifferent to his pain, as he observes cars passing by "in storms," and he is left feeling alone.
The singer then goes to a rooftop to clear his head and survey the city below him. However, this only serves to amplify his loneliness, as he describes the scene as a "maze" and a "lonely night to walk all the way there." The repetition of "shook, shook" throughout the song adds to the sense of disorientation and vulnerability that the singer is experiencing in the wake of the breakup.
Later in the song, the singer tries to distract himself by visiting a friend's apartment, but this only serves to remind him of his own failings and the impermanence of love. The burned bread and the solitary steam rising from the kettle are symbolic of the disappointment and disillusionment that the singer is feeling.
Overall, "Shook Loves" is a poignant portrayal of the aftermath of a breakup, capturing the sense of aimlessness and pain that often accompany the end of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Do know I loved you
I want you to know that I did once love you
Now I
But now
Now I don't have a clue
I have no idea what to do or feel anymore
I'll find it another one
I'll try to find someone else
Below me, cars go by in storms
I'm watching the cars drive through the rain from my window
I looked out from the roof above
I stood on the roof and looked at the view
At a maze
It was like looking at a confusing maze
A lonely night to walk
It was a sad and lonely night to walk around
All the way there
To wherever I was going
Shook shook
I was shaken up
By the loss of love
Because I lost the love I once had
Fine rain I felt fall
I could feel the light rain falling
'Til it
Until it soaked me completely
Soaked through my boots
My boots were completely soaked
The wild boys
The reckless and crazy ones
All should know
They should understand
I got nothing of use
I don't have anything of value to offer them
Looked in the window wide
I looked through the window
Could only see one light
I could only see one source of light
Steam from the kettle rose
The steam was rising from the kettle
The bread was burned
The bread was burnt
I just walked home
I went back home without doing anything else
I woke to find
When I woke up, I realized
Nobody here
There was nobody here
Who left the light on?
I wondered who left the light on
Waiting up, waiting up
I stayed up waiting for someone, but they never came
Contributed by Nathaniel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@vickyruiz3860
Do know I loved you
Now I
Now I don't have a clue
Do know I loved you
Now I
Now I don't have a clue
I'll find it another one
Below me, cars go by in storms
I looked out from the roof above
At a maze
A lonely night to walk
All the way there
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Fine rain I felt fall
'Til it
'Til it soaked through my boots
The wild boys
All should know
I got nothing of use
Looked in the window wide
Could only see one light
Steam from the kettle rose
The bread was burned
I just walked home
Shook shook
By the loss of love
Shook shook
By the loss of love
I woke to find
Nobody here
Who left the light on?
Waiting up, waiting up
I woke to find
Nobody here
Who left the light on?
Waiting up, waiting up
@avratzz
Just came across this unique group love when this sort of thing happens.
@orisztyglic976
David Dean Burkhart
You make my days better with your art.
Thank you very much
@sleepparty5275
I keep coming back to this one! At the end when the old man waves goodbye brings a tear to my eye. Masterful work David!
@dreamwalker3737
on repeat every spring for almost 6 years in a row
@THECHRISAL3X
I hope you didn’t skip this year!
@Djoodibooti
This song means so much to me.
@rosscobosco
movie looks similar to "to the stars by hard ways" . great stuff man you're a wealth of nostalgia. thank you
@marrrweee
wow
i love this band from way back when. and now i've found you again.
thanks, ddb
@danieljordan6306
One of your best yet please keep doing what you do!
@jacksonjason776
cant disagree with you on that one