Composed from a place of deep turmoil, lead singer Lucas Silveira began work on the Cliks' second album following the highly successful tours behind sophomore release Snakehouse. The band's incendiary live shows became the calling card by which they were known, and in short order, musical heroes Ian Astbury of the Cult and Cyndi Lauper hand-picked the band for their respective tours. Late-night bookers were listening too, and soon the Cliks found themselves on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, not to mention a very special performance Lucas did with Cyndi Lauper on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The band picked up momentum and fans when Logo awarded them the NewNowNext Artist On the Brink Award which ultimately led to an appearance on teenybopper mecca TRL to discuss their plans for the future.
Though critically lauded and publicly adored, Silveira returned road weary and emotionally shattered. Having spent 400 days on the road touring behind Snakehouse, Silveira was eager to return home, but home wasn't the reprieve he'd hoped it would be. "The album is based around defeat, lies, deception, loss of trust in others and yourself," explains Silveira. "I wrote the album coming from a really lonely place." Indeed, the album plumbs difficult depths in the form of relationships and identity politics, as did the band's Warner Music debut, Snakehouse, but here, there is a redemptive quality absent from the band's previous output. The price of that, however, is eternal vigilance. "Dirty King is more about having risen out of the ashes, being on your feet, but constantly having to dodge people trying to knock you down," says Silveira.
With their rise out of the ashes comes new sonic territory for the band. Their most adventurous album to date finds the band teamed with producer-engineer Sylvia Massy (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool) at her Weed, California based Radio Star Studios. "She's my kind of producer," says drummer Morgan Doctor. "She doesn't come from a singer-songwriter background, but an engineering background, so she's more about creating sound and texture in the studio." Massy's studio -- filled with enough amps, effects and instruments to make it a veritable playground for musicians – served as the band's bedrock to create the full range of the album's sounds and correlating emotions, from the jagged rock of its denials to the soulful balladry of its admissions.
The album's namesake, and perhaps the clearest distillation of Silveira's emotional state during the writing of the album, is "Dirty King." Based on the gulf between how Silveira felt and how he was perceived, the song slides in on a surf guitar riff as Silveira alternates between a vamp and growl, teasing out the chorus in a voice that manages to sound menacing and seductive at once. Elsewhere, the band changes gears on the mournful "Not Your Boy" and "Emily," the catchiest evidence of the band's expanding sound. "'Emily' is definitely a big leap for the Cliks as a band, but for myself as a songwriter, I have lots of songs like this under my belt. I just never introduced them to the band because I didn't feel like it was ‘Cliks' material," says Silveira of the waltzing, string-laden track that's more dulcet than biting. The song's inclusion is a testament to the direction of Massy, who encouraged Silveira to continue writing after he'd played her an early version. The song also demonstrates Massy's analog approach, and the adventurousness of the band. Where most producers would have downloaded the sound of glass breaking to use on the track, the band and producer headed out onto the streets of Weed to procure their own found noise. "We were out late at night on the main street of Weed, breaking a huge piece of glass and recording it live," says Doctor.
Dirty King also sees the band writing together, as well as playing. After bassist Jen Benton wrote the bassline for "Career Suicide" while on tour, she began playing it at soundcheck. Doctor suggested she continue developing it, and ultimately all three would collaborate to write it. "On tour Lucas and I came up with the pre-chorus together, [and] we put together the chorus and the bridge, which was written to a very rhythmically defined beat Morgan came up with," says Benton. "It was a great experience for [us]."
Despite themselves, the Cliks couldn't help but make a record that made order out of tumult and sense out of turbulence. With pop hooks lacing the rock spines The Cliks are known for, the songs inhabit the specificity of the circumstances under which they were written, all the while appealing to broader audience ."
1000 Violins
The Cliks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All fading out as you fade in
And when you're ready to give in
I hear a thousand violins
It's gonna be hard to win my love
It's gonna be hard to win my love
And just when you thought you'd had enough
It's like a million ringing bells
That come and break the magic spell
And when you think you're doing well
I hear a million ringing bells
It's gonna be hard to win my love
It's gonna be hard to win my love
And just when you thought you'd had enough
It's gonna be hard to win my love
Can we get a little bit closer?
Can we take a little more time?
Darling get a little bit closer
I promise that I will make you mine
It's gonna be hard to win my love
It's gonna be hard to win my love
And just when you thought you'd had enough
It's gonna be hard to win my love
It's like a thousand violins!
It's like a thousand violins!
It's like a thousand violins!
It's like a thousand violins!
The song "1000 Violins" by The Cliks is about the difficulty of winning over someone's love. The lyrics use powerful imagery to convey the challenge of trying to capture someone's heart, comparing it to the sound of a thousand violins fading out as the person fades in. The chorus repeats the line "It's gonna be hard to win my love" to emphasize the struggle the singer is facing. The second verse brings in the metaphor of a million ringing bells that come and break the magic spell, adding to the difficulty of winning the love they desire.
The bridge of the song acknowledges a desire to get closer to the person, but also recognizes that it won't be an easy task. The song ends with a repetition of the line "It's like a thousand violins," emphasizing the feeling of being overwhelmed by the challenge of winning over this person.
Line by Line Meaning
It's like a thousand violins
The feeling of fluttery, romantic anticipation is similar to hearing the emotional swell of a thousand violins.
All fading out as you fade in
As your presence becomes more apparent, the previous distractions or noise fade away in a moment of clarity.
And when you're ready to give in
Just as you're considering surrendering to love, the overwhelming sensation of a thousand violins swells to encourage you.
I hear a thousand violins
That inner voice or feeling urging you forward can be likened to the emotional resonance of one thousand violins playing in harmony.
It's gonna be hard to win my love
Love is not going to come easily or without effort, which is a fact the singer is warning their potential partner about.
And just when you thought you'd had enough
When it feels like you're at your limit, something else will arise to challenge you.
It's like a million ringing bells
The moment of clarity that comes with the fading away of distractions and a thousand violins can be broken by a sudden rush of emotions, represented by a million bells ringing in your head.
That come and break the magic spell
The sudden reality check provided by the ringing bells shatters the romantic delusion one can sometimes fall into.
And when you think you're doing well
Just as you've managed to ground yourself in reality and start to progress, something happens to knock you back down again.
I hear a million ringing bells
That inner voice or feeling that can warn you of impending obstacles can be a similar sensation to hearing a million bells ringing in your head.
Can we get a little bit closer?
The singer is asking their partner to move closer to them, both metaphorically and literally.
Can we take a little more time?
The singer is asking their partner for patience and understanding while they work through their emotional barriers.
Darling get a little bit closer
The singer is again urging their partner to draw closer to them in every sense.
I promise that I will make you mine
The singer is expressing a heartfelt promise to work through their issues and create a stronger emotional bond with their partner.
Contributed by Joseph H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.