I have a new album of music out. It’s a 5-track EP called Gray.

THE DESCRIPTION

The genres range from faux alt metal to funk rock to piano pop to moody synth rock to orchestral ballad. There are defined melodies and lyrics even (check Bandcamp or your media player’s lyrics tab), but I didn’t have time to record them, so you’ll have to sing them to yourself where you think they fit! Production time on the album has been going on for many months, as usual, but it felt finished to me, so the Internet now has it.

THE DETAILS, IF DESIRED

The subject matter is a mix of personal reflection and abstract stream-of-consciousness. No idea where they really come from, except my own head and its influences and inspirations.

For those who want a little more detail, though, I tried:

  1. Totes Plents Parks – a phrase uttered by my wife, probably due to something parking-related. Sometimes we just all need some space, and there’s no better way to convey that than with loud rock music and a weird title.
  2. One Bark and a Couple Murfs – inspired by the family dog. She barks, as lots of dogs do, but she also “murfs”, which is kind of a closed-mouth balance between barking and growling. We sometimes joke that she gets a “case of the murfs” if they become frequent. Some upbeat funk rock seemed to exemplify her in these moments.
  3. Polygonal People – this phrase came up in an online chat with some friends, but its actual origin is now lost on me. My best guess is that we were talking about video games, and 3D modeling of people. In real life, we’re not made up of polygons…but we could be.
  4. Ruse – just a cool word that goes with a track that has a unique sound and vibe. I used a new Native Instruments synth to get the main rhythm part, somewhere between an organ and a distorted guitar moving to and fro.
  5. Humble Obscurity – originally the album was going to be called this, but it felt a little too shoegazer-ish, since I often feel like as a musician that I live in obscurity, but must remain humble about it, because my life is pretty good even if I never became a hotshot rock star or film composer or whatever. The big, emotional orchestral sound is something I’ve tried to emulate for many years without entirely being successful, but I keep trying.