"4/7/16
Merle haggard died yesterday. My son turned 8 month old and he turned 79 and died. It's the kind of coincidence I've been putting stock in these days, though I don't know exactly what it signifies. This collection of songs is built on that on some level: coincidental intersections of themes, of life and death, of milestones and mundaneness. When Justin e-mailed me "The Mire" on September 15, I had just finished writing "Born." I feel now as I did then, that the complement of the two, written states apart, is special. It was enough then to motivate me through what I'll only say was a tough time.  Aesthetics were revealed organically as we progressed, with rawness being of primary concern, reflecting perhaps our lives, or maybe our minds, which were preoccupied with unfiltered, unpredictable emotion, in my case at least. for my part, I hope I was able to strike enough of a balance, to rein it in enough, to honor my songwriting heroes, Merle Haggard especially. That craft, seemingly effortless, is something I'll always strive for. I'd like to think there are moments where I almost achieve it. But nevertheless, I think there's something intriguing, even alluring, about witnessing that process of striving."
-Dan

""If I could sum up my life to this point I think I’d say it’s a sheet a paper between a toddler and a pair of scissors. The remainder I can only suppose will be the long and difficult process of putting that sheet of paper back together with only a roll of scotch tape. This is the year I turned thirty, and I didn’t think that number would matter, but somehow it managed to become the big three zero, that so many people hear about when they are growing up. A sort of chemical reaction occurred when Dan and I exchanged “The Mire” and “Born” through email. The feeling of slipping and sliding through the universe's shit show was something I think Dan and I happened to experience at roughly the same time, this is a collection of songs that came out of it."
-Justin

O Lord, My Monster Bring