The first taste of new material arrives June 25 in the form of four-song EP Compass (released worldwide on Avow Records / INgrooves Fontana). From the eerie, synth-driven obsession of “Lady Black” to the upbeat, Beatles-esque musing of “Space and Time,” these songs propel Boyd into exciting, untraveled terrain. Rounded out by the evocative “Come Together” and “Where All the Songs Come From,” Compass is representative of his innate restlessness. For an artist like Boyd, the thrill and confusion of the quest to create will always trump the tangible, material rewards bestowed for his efforts.
While Boyd’s inviting, empathetic voice is familiar to millions, Sons of the Sea (self-titled album due this fall) infuses it in challenging new contexts. Produced by the renowned Brendan O’Brien (Incubus, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine), the album luxuriates in innovative sonic backdrops, allowing what they coined as “oddball pop” to flourish. Leadoff track “Jet Black Crow” flaunts what Boyd calls a “stomping playfulness” that befits his dreamlike musing on infatuation’s ups and downs. And he is just as compelling in the record’s many departures, playing lothario in the seductive “Come Together,” contemplating his unique creative process in the piano-driven “Avalanche,” or paying tribute to Emily Dickinson’s perspective on an artist’s responsibility via “Untethered”—“tell us the truth, but tell it to us gently, lest we all go blind.”
Boyd and O’Brien joined forces when Incubus went on hiatus following 2011’s If Not Now, When? “After much toiling and overthinking about how I was to go about starting a new music project, I decided that the best way forward was to let go completely!” Boyd enthuses. “Stop thinking about where, when, what, who and how, and simply…GO!”
That ability to overcome doubt and give voice to complex thoughts applies to his visual art as well. Boyd’s third art book, So the Echo, will also emerge this fall, following up acclaimed predecessors White Fluffy Clouds (2003) and From the Murks of the Sultry Abyss (2007). A compendium of unobstructed watercolor, ink pieces and photographic spreads, So the Echo “offers some of my most vulnerable observations yet, unedited and out on a limb. After all, the echo towards a life of expressivity is only as loud as the call!”
“There is no end in creativity,” Boyd concludes. “Hence, to strive towards an end result is a fool’s errand. Set goals, make music and paint pictures, but know that the crux of your happiness balances delicately on the wings of the act of creativity itself. Not at the finish line.”
Space and Time
Sons of the Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I read the words you wrote
Like a rope around my neck
If I ran I'd lose your vote
Maybe I should hit the deck
Do I dare to cross your moat
And salvage this old shipwreck?
Well the dead are speaking here
Through the things they've left behind
In a letter inked in tears
And emotions stamped and signed
The messages aren't always clear
But diamonds inside you'll find
Spending half the time
Holding onto "what is mine"
But there's enough space and time
To go around, what goes around
Comes around
It's coming around, it's coming around
Love's a cup that's always full
But with you I'm not so sure
A relentless push and pull
While we look for what's still pure
Maybe we'll find a time capsule
And welcome it to the future
Spending half the time
Holding onto "what is mine"
But there's enough space and time
To go around, what goes around
Comes around
It's coming around, it's coming around
(Oooh)
Now I need your antidote
Only you can write that cheque
Do you dare to cross this moat
And salvage this old shipwreck
Spending half the time
Holding onto "what is mine"
But there's enough space and time
To go around, what goes around
Comes around
It's coming around, it's coming around
It's coming around
"Sons of the Sea's song Space and Time" is a song about a relationship that has hit turbulent times, and the singers are trying to make sense of their feelings and decide whether it is worth pursuing. The lyrics suggest that the person who wrote "the words" has created a situation where the other person feels confined and trapped like a "rope around their neck." The singer is unsure if they should pursue the relationship or not, hence the phrase "Do I dare to cross your moat and salvage this old shipwreck?" suggesting that the singer feels like a castaway, washed up on the shore of a tumultuous relationship.
The song also highlights that people often hold on to what they think belongs to them or what they are entitled to, instead of embracing the present freely without fear of loss. The lyrics proclaim, "Spending half the time holding onto 'what is mine' but there's enough space and time to go around," reflecting the idea that things will always come around, and there will always be enough to share. Towards the end of the song, the singer suggests that they need an "antidote" to the relationship's problems, and only the person who wrote "the words" can provide that. The final line suggests that the singer is still hopeful that the relationship can be salvaged, "It’s coming around, it’s coming around."
Line by Line Meaning
Well I read the words you wrote
I am reading into your words and they seem to be negatively impacting me
Like a rope around my neck
Your words feel suffocating and are creating tension for me
If I ran I'd lose your vote
If I try to avoid this or ignore it, I feel like I would jeopardize our relationship
Maybe I should hit the deck
I'm considering just distancing myself as a way of surviving this
Do I dare to cross your moat
Am I willing to take the risk of trying to bridge the divide between us?
And salvage this old shipwreck?
Can I work to restore this relationship despite the challenges we're facing?
Well the dead are speaking here
There's a sense of history or weight to what's happening here
Through the things they've left behind
We can look to the past for guidance on how to handle this
In a letter inked in tears
There's a lot of emotion tied up in previous attempts to navigate similar situations
And emotions stamped and signed
The things we feel are very real and firmly in place
The messages aren't always clear
It's hard to know what to take away from these past experiences
But diamonds inside you'll find
There are valuable insights to be gained if we look closely enough
Spending half the time
I feel like I spend a lot of time
Holding onto "what is mine"
Trying to protect my own interests or cling to what I see as rightfully mine
But there's enough space and time
It's possible for all parties to get what they need and make this work
To go around, what goes around
If we all work together and treat each other well
Comes around
Positive outcomes are possible
It's coming around, it's coming around
I believe things will work out for the best in the end
Love's a cup that's always full
Love is a constant presence but my feelings about it can fluctuate
But with you I'm not so sure
In this particular situation, I'm unsure of how to navigate our connection
A relentless push and pull
It feels like we're constantly grappling with each other
While we look for what's still pure
We're both trying to find a way to honor the good parts of our relationship
Maybe we'll find a time capsule
Perhaps there's some unexplored aspect of ourselves and our history that could help us move forward
And welcome it to the future
If we can integrate those parts of ourselves moving forward, we can have a better future
Now I need your antidote
I'm looking to you for healing or a way to move past this
Only you can write that cheque
You have the power to help us move forward here
And salvage this old shipwreck
I believe we can still save this relationship
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anginicity
I’m in love with this song. Oh my God, this is sublime. ✨💖✨💫
Mandi Marie
WoW. Again clearly understanding why it was the Right choice for me not to hear the past decade or so of Incubus/Brandon because you guys just have a way with your music of bringing up emotionally charged memories. I couldn't have been able to handle those memories being resurfaced at the times these songs that came out the past half a decade or so. Idk why I wrote all that out. Maybe someone else can relate?
I'm just eternally grateful to have come back around to being able to Fully enjoy your artistic talents!!! ✨💫✨
G3lato
Maybe a lil
G3lato
Jen Marie do you feel this
Juan Carlos Franco
Thank you Brandon for this, for this and all. Your art can surely put a smile on anyone's face. It is what the world needs.. please never stop! Amazing song!
Laura Chuter
This is my new morning song, it's full of so much happy. Loving your work as always Mr Boyd. Keep on doing what you do, you do it so well.
Anginicity
I listened to it a second time and I am just blown away. Where has this been hiding?… ❤️🔥✨🤯 ✨💫
Katherine Prieto
Como no admirar el talento de este hombre POR DIOS! Love U Boyd
Lulu.m.n
Each new song of this EP keeps making me prouder and prouder of you Brandon!!! that's an amazing one,! the lyric is tipically yours... so enlighted... gosh you always leave me breathless and give me pure fresh air to llve anew at the same time... again :Thank you!!!! <3 ♥☀
Andres Rojas Anton
This is what pop wish it could be. Music with good lyrics.