Anchored by vivid songwriting and eclectic instrumentation, The Acorn produce an original brand of experimental, popular folk music that effortlessly marries modern and traditional forms. Inspired by the natural beauty of the Outaouais region, and with his principle projects all on hiatus, Rolf Klausener started writing under the moniker The Acorn in the summer of 2002.
Initially an excuse to teach himself home-recording, these furtive experiments quickly started eating up the majority of his free time. These early musings would eventually become The Acorn’s first full-length release, The Pink Ghosts. A mellifluous, mostly-instrumental tribute to the Ottawa region, The Pink Ghosts was by released in July 2004 on Jon Bartlett’s proudly independent community-based label, Kelp Records. By this time, The Acorn had grown to include the talents of guitarist Jeff Debutte, visual artist and guitarist Howie Tsui and drummer Jeffrey Malecki.
In the fall of 2005, they released Blankets! , a more melodically focused effort showcasing the bands emerging synthesis of experimental folk and pop. Blankets! earned the band notable praise from CBC radio, independent media, and campus radio stations across the country. Inspired by the road and the communities they discovered beyond their sleepy capital city, The Acorn made every effort to travel the country, touring independently and as often as they could. Throughout 2005, they forged ties with a new, burgeoning independent Canadian music scene which grew to include Ohbijou, We’re Marching On, Snailhouse, Elliott Brood, Montreal’s People for Audio and many more.
A genealogical quest in late 2005 would prove to be the bands most challenging and sprawling project to date. Having lost his father to cancer at the age of 16, Rolf began conducting interviews with his Honduran-born Mother, Gloria Esperanza Montoya, to help form a more complete picture of his family. These interviews, both harrowing and awe-inspiring, would push Rolf to apply for several arts grants to produce a song-cycle based on them. In the spring of 2006, The Acorn was awarded an Ontario Arts Council grant and City of Ottawa music grant to produce Glory Hope Mountain. The immensity and scope of the project triggered an insurmountable bout of writers block, forcing Rolf to spend his time poring over his recorded interviews and researching Honduran native music and culture. Taking a break from the album, the band called up Montreal friend, pianist Keiko Devaux, and booked three days at Ottawa’s legendary Little Bullhorn Prods (Kathleen Edwards, Wooden Stars, Howe Gelb, etc.) to document some older material. It might have been the nausea-inducing heat, or the clock on the wall, but the band squeezed out three new songs as well, and walked out of the studio that weekend with a new six song EP titled Tin Fist.
Tin Fist was released on Toronto’s Paper Bag Records (Woodhands, Laura Barrett, Deadly Snakes, Tokyo Police Club, etc.) in late 2006 to glowing reviews. The band followed with their first headlining tour. With the unerring expertise of Little Bullhorn’s Jarrett Bartlett and a lot of borrowed equipment, The Acorn spent the first seven months of 2007 finishing Glory Hope Mountain in a rented house in Ottawa’s Centretown.
Not quite biography nor musical folk tale, Glory Hope Mountain, harbours the triumphs, discoveries, sorrow and life-affirming adventures of a life both remarkable and happily modest. Armed with drums, gut-strings, ukuleles, marimbas and the collective’s best songwriting to date, The Acorn created a stirring musical document. Since the release of Glory Hope Mountain, The Acorn have graced the cover of Canada’s National music magazine, Exclaim, garnered innumerable rave reviews across Canada, the United States, and abroad, both online and in print, and were nominated to the 2008 Polaris Award long list.
free EPs available at the band's web site: http://theacorn.ca
http://www.myspace.com/theacorn
Low Gravity
The Acorn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wilting in your levity.
Whitewashing avenues of our widening disparities.
We never made a sound just stared at one another.
The heavy clouds that crowd your head, and above,
Satellites that light the dead darkness of your vacuum.
Your body bleeds in infrared.
The shadow and the flame run from another.
The river calm and tame sits above the undercurrents.
Relish in the sound.
The weightless words the heart attracts.
I want it all; no, I want you back; the period a long ellipse.
You can lose the weight but it all comes back
The Acorn's song "Low Gravity" seems to be about a relationship that is falling apart. The line "Basking in low gravity, in a fog" creates an image of the two lovers being in a dream-like state, floating through space without direction or purpose. The weightlessness seems to create a sense of detachment, as if the two people are not grounded in reality and are unable to communicate effectively.
The line "Wilting in your levity" suggests that one person in the relationship is perhaps not taking things seriously enough, causing the other to feel neglected or unimportant. They are then "Whitewashing avenues of our widening disparities," trying to ignore the issues that are arising between them. The lack of communication is highlighted in the line "We never made a sound just stared at one another," indicating that there is a lot left unsaid between them.
The second verse focuses more on the internal struggles of one person in the relationship. "The heavy clouds that crowd your head" could refer to mental health issues or stress that they are dealing with. The "satellites that light the dead darkness of your vacuum" suggest that they feel isolated and alone in their struggles. "Your body bleeds in infrared" could be a metaphor for them feeling like they are giving off signals of distress or vulnerability that are going unnoticed.
The chorus brings us back to the relationship itself, with the singer "Relishing in the sound" of the weightless words that are being spoken. They want it all, and they want their partner back, but it seems as though there is an ellipsis, a pause or hesitation before they can make it happen. The final line "You can lose the weight but it all comes back" could be interpreted in a few different ways. Perhaps it means that the problems they are facing will not just go away on their own, but need to be actively addressed. Alternatively, it could be a reference to the ups and downs of a relationship, and how even if things seem good for a while, there will always be challenges to face.
Line by Line Meaning
Basking in low gravity, in a fog.
Enjoying a state of weightlessness, feeling detached and disoriented.
Wilting in your levity.
Feeling weakened and overwhelmed by your lightheartedness.
Whitewashing avenues of our widening disparities.
Pretending that everything is fine between us, despite our growing differences.
We never made a sound just stared at one another.
We were unable to communicate, just looking at each other silently.
The heavy clouds that crowd your head, and above,
Thoughts and emotions weighing heavily on your mind and in the atmosphere.
Satellites that light the dead darkness of your vacuum.
External influences that illuminate the emptiness and loneliness within you.
Your body bleeds in infrared.
Your pain and suffering are not visible to the naked eye, but they emanate as heat.
The shadow and the flame run from another.
Opposite forces, light and dark, avoid each other.
The river calm and tame sits above the undercurrents.
Surface appearances can be deceiving, as there may be hidden dangers and turmoil beneath.
Relish in the sound.
Take pleasure in the music and its effects.
The weightless words the heart attracts.
Emotional connections can be made with simple, unburdened expressions.
I want it all; no, I want you back; the period a long ellipse.
I desire a complete reconciliation with you, despite the uncertainty and ambiguity of our future together.
You can lose the weight but it all comes back
You can shed your burdens temporarily, but your problems will resurface eventually.
Contributed by Reagan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
matt cover
This song really grew on me. I love it.