When I woke to the ash gray morn
White was filling up the tops of trees
Groan and ugh and roll back face down
Send best wishes to my back and knees

I’ll stay here until the flowers break the ground
I’ll stay here until bird children take wing

Curse the shovels and the mismatched gloves
Curse the drudge of the muck and leaves
While my mug fogs the window panes
Watching snow drop just makes me seethe

I’ll just lie here with my dreams of Spring in my head in my bed
I’ll just lie here with my dreams of Spring in my head in my bed

=====

Written, performed, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio.
Mixed by Bradford Swanson.
Mastered by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie.

Released on Brave Tiger Records, January 17, 2024.

Bird Children

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

At the same time each day
The cold winds blow
And they hollow your bones
At the same time each day
The cold winds blow

And they empty your soul

At the same time each day
The train wheels roll
And they rattle your bones
At the same time each day
The train wheels roll

And they give you control

It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it
It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it

In the same way each year
You’re pushing stones
And they just roll back down
In the same way each year
You keep pushing those stones

And you’re starting again

It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it
It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it

Tempest

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

It’s just another one of the days 
That I don’t know what to do
It’s just a list of the ways 
That I will crack right through

If I can’t save me, there’s no hope for you
‘Cuz it seems like I’ll just punch, crumble, and crawl

Feels like I would rather just mess 
Around than start flowing past
While the feels are sticking around
I’m just gonna let them last

If I can’t brave me, there’s no hope for you
‘Cuz it seems like I’ll just punch, crumble, and crawl

And I see a future sense of grief
And I need a sleep, a peace, a new dream to believe
To get me through to tomorrow

It’s just another one of the days
That there’s a hole hanging round
It’s just a void in the ways
That we can help things stay sound

I know I can’t change me, won’t take a rest at all
Still it seems like I’ll just punch, crumble, and crawl

Trust yourself and trust in others
Believe that they care about what you do
Trust yourself and trust in others
Believe that they care about what you do
Trust yourself and trust in others
Believe that they care about what you do
Trust yourself and trust in others
Believe that they care about what you do

Punch, Crumble, And Crawl

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

I’ve been here before in another life
In another life
I’ve weathered the storm and I didn’t think twice
And I didn’t think twice

What could have brought it back?
I thought it had settled at last

When our choice breaks the door
We return to the source
How many times have we been around?

Once more can only help to get it right
To get it right
Keep changing the play to affect the score
To affect the score

When our choice breaks the door
We return to the source
How many time have we been around?

The timeline is slipping
The timeline is slipping
The timeline is slipping
The timeline is slipping

I’ve been here before
I’ve been here before
I’ve been here before
I’ve been through this door

And it didn’t end well

The Timeline Is Slipping

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

There’s no risk and no reward
When you’ve fallen on your sword
It’s no noble sacrifice
Just a lonely end of life

Just a little ain’t enough
It will still keep feeling rough

There’s no risk and reward
If there’s nothing you’re running toward
If you only run away
You ensure life stays the same

Just a little ain’t enough
It will still keep feeling rough

No Risk And No Reward

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

There’s nothing we can ever redo
There’s nothing we can run again
Once we’ve done it, it just stays done
The past has passed and we don’t remember when

Peace and love is a lucky concept
The first to drown as the tides shift
Once we’ve lost it, there’s no returns
The peace is gone and we don’t even miss it now

Burn your history down in flames
It does no good to grasp for its name
Burn your history down in flames
It does no good to grasp for its name

Two slides up and a hundred right back
Progress moves like a shackled snail
You don’t want it, let the people drop
The choice they made shows they were meant to fail

And when we see our face etched in stone
We’ll believe the past will be our own
Through all time
Through your time
For one time
For all time

There’s nothing we can ever redo
There’s nothing we can run again
Once we’ve done it, it just stays done
The past has passed and we don’t remember when

Burn your history down in flames
Burn your history down in flames
Burn your history down in flames
Burn your history down in flames

Burn Your History Down

Written, produced, and recorded by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger Studio, Medford, MA 
Production assistance by Bradford Swanson 
Drums recorded by Monte Arnstam at 1357 Recording Studio, Greenfield, MA
Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Easthampton, MA 
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works Mastering, Somerville, MA

—————

Joshua David Thayer: Electric bass, fretless bass, upright bass, acoustic guitars, classical guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, electric guitars, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, shakers, tambourines, maracas, glockenspiel, drum programming, string arrangements, voices

Jason Smith: Drums

—————

Dedicated to the memory of Walter David Thayer (1948–2023)

—————

Woke from a fever dream
Standing beside my own bed
I see an echo there
I see an echo in my head

Step from the edge again
Rattling inside my own veins
Never dreamed of blackened depths
Or pulling back on the reins

Carefully observed
Willfully ignored

There’s a lesson in your hands
If you let it propagate
I plan to watch it grow
And let it fill up my plates

Carefully ignored
Willfully observed

The only way to do no harm
Is to pay attention
The only way to do no harm
Is to pay attention

Woke from a fever dream
Standing beside my own bed
I see an echo there
I see an echo in my head

Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention 
(The world keeps telling me)
Do no harm, do no harm 
(That the truth doesn’t matter)
Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention 
(The world keeps showing me)
Do no harm, do no harm 
(That the truth doesn’t matter)
Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention 
(The world keeps telling me)
Do no harm, do no harm 
(That the truth doesn’t matter)
Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention 
(The world keeps showing me)
Do no harm, do no harm 
(That the truth doesn’t matter)

The Only Way To Do No Harm

All that’s left is a sliver
Cracked off from the whole
It’s enough for a shiver
To shrug off the cold

But the cold won’t let you go
It grips you like tar
It’s enough so that you know
You’ll never get far

There’s no sense in just asking
No need to stay mute
And yet contradictions
Pave the paths to rebuke

But then either direction
Is forward or back
To become a collection
Of choices to crack

Now I’m beginning to see the dark in all things
Now I’m beginning to see the dark in all things

If there are reasons to be here
Never say them out loud
The words are just choked fears
That never grew proud

Belief’s all but shattered
The roots are all parched
The walls have been battered
Before any could march

Now I’m beginning to see the dark in all things
Now I’m beginning to see the dark in all things

——

An outtake from the sessions that led to the album "It Will Still Keep Feeling Rough." I heard the slide part in my head, went and bought a slide at a local guitar store, came home, watched a video on how to play slide, and then recorded the part.

——

Written, performed, recorded, and mixed by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger, Medford, MA. 
Mastered by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Holyoke, MA.

Beginning To See The Dark

At the same time each day
The cold winds blow
And they hollow your bones
At the same time each day
The cold winds blow

And they empty your soul

At the same time each day
The train wheels roll
And they rattle your bones
At the same time each day
The train wheels roll

And they give you control

It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it
It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it

In the same way each year
You’re pushing stones
And they just roll back down
In the same way each year
You keep pushing those stones

And you’re starting again

It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it
It’s a feeling like a tempest
But you won’t let go
You’ve always got to own it 

——

An acoustic version of the lead track off the album "It Will Still Keep Feeling Rough.”

——

Written, performed, recorded, and mixed by Joshua David Thayer at Brave Tiger, Medford, MA. 
Mastered by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie, Holyoke, MA.

Released January 17, 2025.

Tempest (Acoustic)

Released November 14, 2025.

We Won't Relent is a jangly, angular, forward-driving song about nostalgia and friction and when those two things refuse to bend to each other. All momentum, all pulse: four on the floor, snare and hi-hat snapping, bass grooving hard underneath. 

We Won't Relent was recorded at home in Medford, MA. I played and sang everything except drums, which were handled by my dear pal Jason Smith and recorded at 1357 Recording Studio by Monte Arnstam. The song was mixed by Mark Alan Miller and mastered by Nick Zampiello.

The album this comes from — "So Little, Close to Nothing" — will be released on December 5, 2025.

Copyright © 2025, Joshua David Thayer, all rights reserved.

——

We haven’t roamed these streets in twenty years
We haven’t roamed these streets in twenty years
But it seems that you really want to throw it away
You think that it could be your cure for pain

We haven’t worn these jeans in twenty years
We haven’t built these dreams up past our fears
But it seems that you really want to throw it away
No way will this be your cure for pain

We won’t relent
We won’t break, no
And we won’t give an inch

Nothing lasts in this world for twenty years
Breaking down what you see and what you hear
Till you insist on throwing it all away

It’s ones and fours
It’s ones and threes
It’s ones and twos again  

We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch
We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch
Who has roamed
Who has roamed these streets
Who has roamed
Who has known these streets
Who has roamed
Who has roamed these streets
 
We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch
We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch
We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch
We won’t relent
And we won’t give an inch

——

Joshua David Thayer: Bass guitar, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, baritone guitar, tenor guitar, keyboards and synths, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals // Recorded at Brave Tiger by Joshua David Thayer

Jason Smith: Drums // Recorded at 1357 Recording Studio by Monte Arnstam

Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East

We Won't Relent

Rules of This Game

It Makes No Difference

Pick Up The Fight

Get Down

The Cave

Keep The Sun On My Back

Pulled and Pushed

Do You Want to Change Your Life?

Built up from a beat that was inspired by playing with a relative’s pocket-size sequencer while on vacation, this song explores the feelings of being under the microscope, critiqued and criticized, but feeling that those in that position might not be qualified for evaluating.

In the face of that, trying to stay strong and confident while being pulled and pushed between emotions, responses, and behaviors, but wanting to rebel, or to at least be left alone to do what we do with our own devices.

The album this comes from — "So Little, Close to Nothing" — will be released on December 5, 2025.

————

Lyrics: 

I’m pulled and pushed
From here to there
I’m poked and prodded

I’m in no rush
To see it through
I’m satisfied

Experiment
With no room for judgment
Experiment
Please don’t judge

Why should I care
If they approve?
They’re all sub-human

I can’t withstand
Malformed critique
Keep it to yourself

Experiment
With no room for judgment
Experiment
Please don’t judge

This is just a test of our resolve
This is just a test of our resolve
This is just a test of our resolve

Not a test
Not a test
Not a test
Not a test
Not a test
Not a test

Pulled and pushed and pulled and pushed and pulled
Pulled and pushed and pulled and pushed and pulled

————

Joshua David Thayer: Bass guitar, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, drum sequencing, percussion, vocals // Recorded at Brave Tiger by Joshua David Thayer

Jason Smith: Drums // Recorded at 1357 Recording Studio by Monte Arnstam

Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East

Buy it on Bandcamp

“Pick Up the Fight” is one of the most forceful and charged songs on So Little, Close to Nothing. Built on stomping rhythms and razor-edged guitars, the track channels the feeling of being kept small, beaten down, or dismissed by forces larger and more corrupt than you, who manipulate everything to their own advantage. The song moves from frustration to clarity, from exhaustion to resolve, recognizing that waiting for fairness is futile. Change only happens when you seize it.

Lyrically, it’s a blunt confrontation with systems of greed and power: being “kicked in the guts,” “dragged through the mud at night,” and realizing that “too much is enough.” The repeated call — time to pick up the fight — becomes both mantra and ignition point. Musically, it mirrors that arc: tense and grinding in the verses, then erupting into a cathartic, anthemic release in the choruses.

Where other songs on the album explore introspection, memory, or internal shifts, “Pick Up the Fight” is outward-looking and defiant. It’s the moment where acceptance turns into action — a reminder that resignation isn’t the only path forward, and that pushing back, even imperfectly, is its own form of survival.

The album this comes from — "So Little, Close to Nothing" — will be released on December 5, 2025.

——

Lyrics:

There should never be a demon man
Let to stretch his claws into the rules
Yet he slipped past us unaware
Played us like a trusted clutch of fools

Still he hobbles us with shattered spines
Rancid tongues that snatch up every crumb

We’ve been kicked in the guts
We’ve been dragged through the mud at night
Well too much is enough
Time to pick up the fight

There will always be a demon man
Shucking oysters onto golden thrones
The waste and greed are right there in plain view
As they spit us out and crush our homes

We’ve been kicked in the guts
We’ve been dragged through the mud at night
Well too much is enough
Time to pick up the fight

There should never be a demon man
Let to stretch his claws into the rules

We’ve been kicked in the guts
We’ve been dragged through the mud at night
Well too much is enough
Time to pick up the fight

We’ve been pulled by the wrists
We’ve been grasping for more fresh air 
Well enough is too much
Time to show them who cares

——

Joshua David Thayer: Bass guitar, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, baritone guitar, tenor guitar, keyboards and synths, percussion, vocals // Recorded at Brave Tiger by Joshua David Thayer

Jason Smith: Drums // Recorded at 1357 Recording Studio by Monte Arnstam

Mixed by Mark Alan Miller at Radio Valkyrie
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East

Joshua David Thayer has been a performing musician for 35 years, primarily as a bass player for bands including Love Minus Zero, Fancy Trash, Hadley Transfer Station, and Slumberland. He has also performed with artists such as Mark Mulcahy, TW Walsh, Dennis Crommett (Winterpills), Joshua Crane, and Treefort and shared stages with 4 Non Blondes, Juliana Hatfield, The Jayhawks, DeVotchKa, Jesse Malin, and many more.

Joshua David Thayer

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