Tamaryn’s first two full-lengths stood out in a crowd of shoegaze/ethereal revivalists as much for what they were (careful, gorgeous, thrilling tapestries of guitar-based textures) as what they weren’t (simplistic, trendy, disposable signposts made to be broken). With Cranekiss, Tamaryn emerges from her past in a way that’s inviting, warm-blooded, and shockingly direct. She’s made a big record, loaded with samples, synth triggers and processing that was missing from her previous efforts, the result of long nights grinding it out at the Brooklyn studio Gary’s Electric, where the record was born. The Waves and Tender New Signs focused on the sounds Tamaryn and her group could coax out of guitars, but with Cranekiss her sonic palette has exploded with maniacal abandon, pressed into service of a post-adolescent love letter to all the music that she and her collaborators hold dear, drawing influences from the feelings that fell out of her. Anyone familiar enough with those times should be able to draw their own comparisons, recognizing the modes of musical respect and adoration flashing past as the record spins. From there, though, Tamaryn has modeled these elements into simulacra, where despite the nods and glances to the past, play as a totally new sound.
Lyrically, this is Tamaryn’s most personal collection of songs to date, and Elbrecht has placed her voice front and center across the entire record, elevating her presence like never before. Cranekiss explores dark rock, dance pop, and glistening melancholy with a uniformly commanding presence across it all, in stormy, unsettled brushstrokes that apply pressure behind Tamaryn’s words.
Cranekiss represents a long journey, and a new phase in Tamaryn’s music unfolding before you, a blood-red kaleidoscope of desire and late night abandon, a bold step forward.
www.tamarynmusic.com
Return to Surrender
Tamaryn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Passed through your hands
I'll follow you there
Where the dust meets the land
She's standing here with her colors on
Imagine her hair
Untied and long
And you were there
With her hand in hand
You let go running through the falling sand
Here we are again
A longtime surrender to the end
I asked her here
What's not mine?
She's not empty at all
she's crystalline
I'n silver hues
It fades again
She won't always be there to hold me and
Here we are again
A longtime surrender to the end
Death is sudden
Not certain death
Sure we die again
Death is sudden
Not certain
Death sure we try again
The opening lines of Tamaryn's song Return to Surrender create an imagery of a desert, which is a recurring symbol throughout the song. The disheartening desert made the persona feel desperate, and she wants to follow her lover wherever he goes, even if it means traversing the dusty land. The second stanza paints a different picture of her lover, someone she admires and dreams of being with. The love interest is described as a vivid and radiant person with long untied hair. This part can suggest how the persona sees her lover as a freeing spirit that she wishes to embrace.
In the chorus, Tamaryn implies the idea of returning to the same place again with her lover, "here we are again, a longtime surrender to the end." It suggests that for the persona, the end is imminent and inevitable. However, the persona has become okay with surrendering herself to the circumstances, to the point where she's asking her lover, "what's not mine?"
The last part of the song leaves the listener with a haunting ending as Tamaryn sings about the certainty of death, but not the time of death, implying that death is inevitable yet unpredictable. The last line ("Death sure we try again") can signify that although the person will die, her or his spirit will live again.
Line by Line Meaning
A desert of sand
The setting of the scene is in a desert.
Passed through your hands
The sand in the desert was once held by someone else.
I'll follow you there
The singer is willing to follow the person who held the sand previously.
Where the dust meets the land
They are meeting in a place where sand and ground meet.
She's standing here with her colors on
There is a woman present with colorful clothing.
Imagine her hair
The singer is prompting the listener to imagine the woman's hair.
Untied and long
The woman's hair is not tied up and is lengthy.
And you were there
The person who held the sand previously was present.
With her hand in hand
The person who held the sand previously is holding hands with the woman with long hair and colorful clothing.
You let go running through the falling sand
The person who held the sand let go of the woman's hand and ran through the sand.
Here we are again
A longtime surrender to the end
This situation has happened before and it is a continuous surrender to the end.
I asked her here
What's not mine?
The singer is questioning the woman about something that is not hers.
She's not empty at all
she's crystalline
I'n silver hues
It fades again
She won't always be there to hold me
The woman is not empty, but rather filled with crystal-like qualities in the color of silver. However, this quality cannot be relied upon forever.
And
Here we are again
A longtime surrender to the end
Death is sudden
Not certain death
Sure we die again
Death is sudden
Not certain
Death sure we try again
A repetition of the previous understanding: this situation keeps happening and will continue to happen, and despite the uncertainty of death, we will continue to die and try again.
Contributed by Dominic E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Herbstwind
another lovely one from this band.
Christopher Williams
Great artist, great cycling music. 415 represent. Thanks for posting!
AbstractMan23
what are the other songs on this EP? links? thanks!
spystyle
You should be more specific, that's a bold claim.
Laissez faire
Nico meets King Rex
Velindro
i almost fell for this girl when she bartended at the dark room in the lower east side manhattan. soft eyes and a brash temperment that could seduce any casanova. so enveloped in becoming an epic star, she could never see me as more than a common patron. sad. nice tunes though
Noka
Woww
Wayne Gragam
half the songs ar recreations of old goth club bands frome late 80s early 90s and she change the name and dousnt give credit for cover
AUroRA BoReAliS
is it just inspiration or cover?
Kenneth Aquino
Sounds a bit like Zombie but doesn't matter.