single #1 from my upcoming album, 'patterns', out june 18th.

official music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5X1u5dSbc8

lyrics:
in the time before we fused
it was hard to not unspool
but i didn’t want the truth
i just wanted something nice
i could abuse

when you saw the spark in me
i burned down your tulip tree
& i tried to help you see
all the wreckage i could leave

but you closed your eyes & shook
& pretended not to look
now the days blur into months
& i can’t promise fairytale
eternal love

The Spark

the spark - single

the spark

the 3rd & last single i'm releasing from my upcoming album, 'patterns', out june 18th.

lyrics:
take me to the park
didn’t want to but it’s nice to get
out of my room
in bed before dark
fall asleep before the stars even
have time to bloom

quiet simple start in the morning light
through the flower curtains
coffee burning time
get a little lost in the labyrinthine
little world of every life
but yours or mine

& we wonder why
but don’t stop
wasting time

watch the petals fall
violent gusts of wind unpredicted
in today’s weather
feel the rhythm stop
now there’s nothing we can do
to help keep it going

notice your soft heart turn to molten rock
trying hard to pump but can’t 
break through the mould
fighting through the long narrow corridor
reaching desperately for something
warm to hold

we watch the sunrise
& wish for
one more try

Patterns

wasting time - single

wasting time

there she goes (the la's cover)

for your precious love (otis redding)

space age love song (a flock of seagulls)

chelsea hotel no 2 (leonard cohen)

single #1 off my upcoming album, 'comatose', out april 14.

comatose

nothing new

track #2 off my album, 'comatose'.

lyrics:
dying tree
you're much like me
got nothing left to try
to be before you leave
the starry sky caught my
attention for a while
then blew in the ceiling of smoke
from the forest fire

did the time, still misaligned
day-by-day repeating
it all line-by-line
paid the toll, still hard to know
which direction if any to go
guess i'll just head home

comatose
in stranger's clothes
well flipping through these pages
always was a chore
the fire in these eyes
is fading with the night
hopefully some memories
live on after we die

comatose - single

the 4th & final single off my upcoming album, 'comatose', out april 14.

lyrics
you're overseas
i'm on my knees trying hard not
to suffocate myself again

a couple months
couldn't vanish soon enough
& i can't promise all that much

leave me be
can't you see i'm busy
killing myself slowly once again

i need some time
to reteach myself the lines
& the purpose of it all

darlin' please
keep me company, i'm back
to my old self once again

take my hand
tell me everything's alright
even if it's not alright

once again - single

once again

losing light

hate (to see you this way)

(insomnia)

all the same

lyrics:
i'll think i found solace in dreaming
then remind myself one day i'll wake
never could see so well in the evening
'if you stare long enough
then your eyes will adjust'
so i'm told, i hope they're right
wish i was sold on the divine

then come the times i feel so alive
catch myself & rewind
just keep it at bay
i see the face of the void
every night around 8
so let's hit the town
& have a few rounds
at least until we just about blackout
well, what do you say?

thought about telling you
what i was thinking
but if i did you'd surely run off
best stick to the script, keep it easy
just remember your lines
& i'll remember mine
could you show how you get past?
you be the mould, i'll be the cast

i'd kill to rewind, oh it's been some time
since i last felt alive
i must be insane; i still see the face
of the void, now it's whispering things
so let's skip this town, i gotta get out
this time it'll stop following me around
well, what do you say?

head on fire

blackout

lyrics:
thought of moving up the hill
but remembered i just have
this 5 dollar bill
so i'll just kick this can until
the years die out & i regret
the overkill

lost the fight with winter
it's not the life i pictured
forgot to hide
so i'll wait here while the
demons flood inside

heard the news of your decay
called your mother
couldn't think of what to say
well i could just break down & pray
but thought it better
just to get out of this place

so push me through the filter
i'll fit into the picture
forgot to move
leaving me stuck in a position
i didn't choose

overkill

lyrics:
can't help but notice it
the more you echo
the less you find
you want to know
waiting for someone to
tell you where to go
the stars are burning out
the moon is laying low

when there's no melody
left inside your head
you just hum along
to whatever's on next
& the confused harmony
between the blue & red
always gets you down
no matter how much you pretend

nail it into your head
you could be better
forgot the bottle
on the shelf
think of the wonders it
just might have offered
the last time didn't help
you couldn't even tell

when there's no memory
feeding you regret
you could make the most
of what time you might have left
but the current remedy
is ripping you to shreds
never calms you down
not even when you rest

echo

lyrics:
crawl out of the gutter
in your suit, broken tooth
head on fire
find your way to the tunnel
out of sight, no more light
to expire

so out of touch
with the ones you once loved
broke, on the run
only cure leaves you numb
& really just makes you
hunger for more

call out for your mother
she's been gone for so long
still you try
hide under the covers
close your eyes, you're alive
one more night

spent all your years
running far from your fears
having conversations
with a lost space station
oh you try, but it's time
to go home

hunger

lyrics:
playing the part
you never thought you'd get this far
wild at heart
you knew he was trouble from the start

leaf through the signs
it wasn't hard to see the light
he hid inside
you wish that he could find but

night cruisin'
hundred twenty, cut the lights
think with your shut eyes
if there's a collision
what can you do
that's life

you don't wanna fight
you can't even lift an arm tonight
when you saw the knife
you knew it was just a matter of time

before he'd try
not a word could save the guy
scream all you'd like
he's in the devil's sights now

pull over
on the shoulder, hit the lights
& wipe your red eyes
it's getting late
there's always tomorrow
it's time

collision

track 07 from 'wasted space', available march 01, 2017.
https://the-smallest-one.bandcamp.com/album/wasted-space

wasted space

wasted space (we're not that big)

a song that didn't make it onto the 'to make it through the day' EP.

wrapped in chains

to make it through the day

lost

crumble

touch

shaky hands

lyrics:
i saw a ghost tonight. 
it looked me in the eye— 
i wanted to look back, 
but lost my sight. 

it took my hand, & i 
slowly realized 
it was you, 
& i lost my spine. 

if i never saw your face, 
i would never know this pain. 
& this bear won’t stop watching me, 
through my window, while i try to sleep. 

i got a call today— 
she said she was okay; 
i listened, without 
a word to say. 

she gave her heart away; 
i kept mine in its place. 
do i not care? 
or am i just afraid? 

is this indifference gonna replace 
the kid i used to be? 
falling forward, with no end in sight— 
is it too late to still pretend? 

i hope it’s not too late 
to still pretend.

racing from the silence

i saw a ghost tonight

a song my good friend dylan & i wrote together.

lyrics:
let’s catch the red line
we can daydream
on the train ride home

dancing lights, dreams of you & i
riverside, just hold my eyes
racing down to the edge of time
thinking back on times we had

& while the buildings fall
(wandering eyes throw me in the sun)
we’ll watch the sun
& moon take turns
(moonlit eyes, just throw me in)

stay ‘til the morning
we can count the ceiling stars
above my bed

dancing lights, feel the sun & moon
riverside, just hold my eyes
racing down to the edge of time
thinking back on all we had

keep the curtains drawn
let’s watch the sun
& moon take turns

wandering eyes throw me in the sun
moonlit eyes, just throw me in

sun & moon - single

sun & moon (w/ Dylan Stack)

lyrics:
hold me to the light
switch it off, see if i shine
or lose me to the night
oh, i’ll be fine

sitting, side by side
i know our tongues get tied
tell the same story twice
i’ll act surprised

is it too late to sail
to when the rumble strips were whales
caught under the ground
& singing out

you’re lost to me
& not just me
your memory
is withering

photograph - EP

rumble strips

co-written by my wonderful friend (& one of my favourite poets) matt sutton. 

turn me upside down 
& shake my dreams out 
of my pockets 
i don’t need them now 
i’ve got a desk with 
my name on it 
this pile of paper grows 
i’ve never looked at a page 
but i don’t get rid of them 
just in case 

give my body to the city 
where i was born 
leave it out for 
all the citizens 
when they’re bored 
to look at, & make 
what they want 
of the life i had 
no, i probably didn’t have

the life i had - single

the life i had

where i used to live

without you

you looked nice

single #1 from my upcoming album, 'afterglow', out March 9.

lyrics:
your body creaks
like your childhood home
you stretch your limbs
to ease your bones
your muscles tear
your hair falls out
your memories have nothing
to do with you
cover your eyes to prepare
for when the light burns out

it’s strange to see
a ghost alive
so long before
the body’s died
tie your ankle to an anchor
cut yourself loose once again
you still can’t bear the end
cover your eyes to prepare
for when the light burns out

dust collects on
the casket of today
chasing the tail
of this afterglow

afterglow - single

afterglow

single #2 from my upcoming album, 'afterglow', out March 9.

a song encompassing the fragmented, dying dream of the unnamed subject, & the out-of-body observance of those surrounding the person in the moments just after his or her own death.

lyrics:
your mom & dad
your sister & your brother
& all your friends
who stuck around & faded

now as you dream
your last dream
all you see
pictures of
everyone
who made you laugh
& loved you to death

float above
the hospital bed body
hold the hands
of everyone who lost you

& all the tears
in their eyes
will disappear
over time
but you won’t fade
though you’re gone
you’ll carry on
& on

carry on - single

carry on

single #3 from my upcoming album 'afterglow', releasing March 9.

lyrics:
said to me you couldn’t sleep
asked if i’d help make you tea
you said you were
afraid of the dark
i didn’t buy it
but i felt your spark

just say the words
& i’ll be by your side
go ahead if you’d like
i’ll be close behind

& you tell me there’s a battle
between your body & soul
you got tipped off of your
balance beam, been trying
to get back home

conversation in your bed
opened up the window
& the thunder sounded
like an earthquake
it rumbled you to sleep
i laid awake

& you tell me there’s a battle
between your body & soul
you got tipped off of your
balance beam, been trying
to get back home

don’t you cry
bright blue eyes
hold you through the cold night
please don’t feel like
you should have to apologize

balance beam

lyrics:
you found his note
taped to the mirror
you could hardly read it
through the tears
& the heartache
the confusion
the denial
that he's gone

think back on all
the times you had
how you always thought
of him as your dad
the mistakes
& the acceptance
& the fires
that kept you warm

he always called you special
reminders always helped
but now that he's underground
it’s all up to yourself
to feel better
to feel loved

reminders

having a couple of versions that didn't make it onto the album (b-sides 5 & 6), i thought it would be fun to record a few more alternate versions of the songs on afterglow. the first 4 tracks, all recorded late February / early March, much more stripped down than the album versions, are closer to how they sound when i play them live / solo.

anyway, i hope you enjoy these versions, in these strange times. i'm excited to share what i'm currently working on sometime later this year.

stay safe everyone <3

Afterglow (B-Sides)

someday (ver. 2)

1st single from my EP, ‘fragments’.

lyrics:
fashioned your ghost
with my breath
the winter air
the perfect punishment
tried to tell you my regrets
were poisoning my head
but before i could, you left

sought some refuge
in my bed
where your pillow
lay beneath my head
& although it didn’t
hold your scent
i don’t know
it just helped
to keep me warm

found a letter in the drawer
i couldn’t tell if it
was even yours
spent a minute
on each word
& did my best
to get every
cadence right

& it hasn’t sunk in yet
kept all my receipts
in case you want
to take me back
but for now
i’ll keep my head
to the ground
& i’ll count each second
i’m awake

the smallest one

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