Following an EP on Ambivalent Records in summer 2003, So Many Dynamos released its debut full-length, When I Explode (mixed by the Dismemberment Plan's Jason Caddell), in 2004 on Skrocki Records. Flashlights, which expanded the band's sound with a four-piece horn section and 30-member choir, arrived in September 2006. After extensive touring, writing, and recording, the band released "The Loud Wars" on Vagrant Records in June 2009 (recorded by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla). In August of that same year, founding guitarist Ryan Wasoba announced his departure from the band; making him the second Ryan to quit So Many Dynamos (Ryan Ballew quit shortly after the release of When I Explode). He was replaced by former Target Market front man and St. Louis heavyhitter Nathan Bernaix.
The band currently plays songs in peoples vans.
Heat/Humidity
So Many Dynamos Lyrics
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Tell me to step into the kitchen
Slowly open the second drawer on the right
Search through it and grab the biggest knife I can find
It's not the heat it's the humidity, humidity
And I'm not sure what's gotten into me, into me
Tells me that we should go for a ride
In hindsight this whole thing seems so bizarre
God, you make a lot of noise in the trunk of my car
It's been nice knowing you
Now make your last wishes now
It's been nice knowing you
Now sleep with the fishes now, sleep with the fishes now
It's not the heat it's the humidity, humidity
And I'm not sure what's gotten into me, into me
Get what you get when you
interpret these lyrics in conjunction with the title "Heat/Humidity," it seems clear that the song is about the disorienting effects of hot, humid weather on the mind and body. The first verse describes a person being directed by their own brain to fetch a knife from the kitchen, presumably for some unknown, disturbing purpose. The second verse continues in this vein, with the singer hearing voices that urge them to take a car ride with a mysterious, noisy passenger in the trunk.
The chorus acknowledges that it's not simply the heat or the humidity that's causing these strange impulses and hallucinations, but rather a combination of the two. The final line of the chorus, "Get what you get when you," is left unfinished, perhaps implying that the singer is too overwhelmed by the heat and humidity to speak or think coherently.
Overall, the lyrics to "Heat/Humidity" suggest a feeling of disorientation, confusion, and even danger in the midst of oppressive weather conditions. The knife and the car ride could be interpreted as symbols of violence or desperation, while the repeated assertion that "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" suggests that the true cause of these impulses is something more intangible and insidious.
Contributed by Arianna N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.