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- Page 2D LISTEN TO THE ALBUM →
- Page 3FIRE Written by Alessia Cara, Jonathan Levine & Jake Torrey Lyrics by Alessia Cara
- Page 5GO OUTSIDE! When I can't even go
- Page 7FIRE Pick me up and take me home
- LINER NOTESGO OUTSIDE I wrote this one while in LA for writing trip. I was jamming with Buddy Ross and thinking about how it was rainy and gloomy and how if the session ended earlier in the evening I would have no one to hang out with after so I'd probably just spend another night in my room eating bad food and wasting away. Lonely in LA is a weirder, sadder kind of lonely for some reason. Everyone is cooler than you and has more to do than you, it seems. So that's where this one stemmed from. It's about the realization that you've sheltered yourself to the point of complete withdrawal and kind of kicking yourself for it. Seclusion is fine for a while until you realize you have no one or nowhere to turn to and that's when you have to start letting some light in. I thought this would be a good place to start the record as a nod to the last song on my last album "apartment song" which is literally about finding comfort in seclusion. Now it's time to go outside girly! we're onto new things.
- DEAD MANThis is sort of the prequel to left alone in a sense. It's about the period of emotional turmoil you experience when you can feel a relationship falling apart in front of you. Not yet removed, still in the quicksand. There's no worse feeling than grasping at straws desperately trying to keep something from failing, especially when it feels like you're the only one. we've all done it in some way! It sucks. Mike elizondo showed me the bones of the track and it immediately made me think of this sort of macabre, witchy, campy world. That's how I thought of dead man as the title and then pulled from that. SUBSIDE
- RUN RUNI'm poking fun at myself a little bit in this one. it's the first song I wrote for the album and it's always been one of my favourites. I was thinking about developing feelings for someone really cool and sweet and wondering if my mental state at the time was going to ruin it or not, so I figured maybe I'll just tell them to run from me so that if they do, it'll be because I told them to, not because they wanted to. you can't fire me because I quit. DRIVE
- GET TO YOUThis one's about when everything about a relationship or person reads well on paper but you can't connect with them no matter how much you want to. It's supposed to work but it doesn't and you don't know why. You're supposed to really see them, but you don't. They're supposed to really see you, but they don't. Maybe you feel a bit of guilt around that, maybe just frustration. It sucks to dig and dig and dig and not be able to reach what you're looking for. I wrote it for a friend but I think deep down it was sort of for me too. (ISN'T IT) OBVIOUS
- GREEN INTERLUDEThird garden reference! this one was so fun to make. Me and Jack Rochon made this one in his studio after going through a box of random percussion instruments and playing them randomly into a mic. he compiled all the best sounds and made the track out of that as a base, it's definitely the turning point of the album in a more sonic sense (it brightens after this point) and also a thematic sense. The letting in of light I was talking about on track one begins in this song and continues for the rest of the album. I love that you can feel the shift. going from "how do I let in the light?" To "You light me up inside". NIGHTTIME THING
- FEELS RIGHTMy underrated child! always loved this song too. It's about the philosophy that contextualizing and analyzing in some cases can overcomplicate situations and since this thing is going so great, maybe let's not jinx it with too much examination. I'm a big overthinker and I've rarely allowed myself to just ride things out without attempting to predict or prepare for outcomes, especially with relationships. It's a defence mechanism to avoid surprises, ultimately it's really none of our business how this ends or what this is. let's just enjoy it. CLEARLY
- CLEARLYThe last song on the album and in my opinion the thesis statement of the whole project. I wanted the arc of this album to be tension into levity. dissonance vs acceptance. 'Go outside' is so emotionally tethered and sonically sharp, and clearly is so free and open. I wanted it to fulfill the promise of track one and let in the light by the last song and 'clearly' encapsulates that. I remember seeing someone I was mad at for a while for the first time in a long time and everything I expected to feel went out the window. What I actually felt was this unspoken sense of understanding between us that everything is okay. I finally saw them and I think they saw me. it inspired this song about forgiveness of others, forgiveness of yourself, of situations, of outcomes. It's about releasing anger and allowing time to show you the objective truth about life: everyone is a little bit the good guy and a little bit the bad guy. Things need to fall apart so that things more suited for us can fall into place. Not everything is personal. Things happen and that's okay. I wouldn't change anything about the way my life has gone because it has brought me to a life I'm proud of. I've earned this sense of self through pain and I've found this joy through loss. And once we understand that on a deep level, all we can really feel about heartbreak is gratitude. I wanted to end the album on an open, free, untethered outro. Hopefully leaving room for some reflection or at the very least a little exhale.
- Love & Hyperbole (1LP+Signed Insert)ENTER HERE for your chance to Win an autographed "Love & Hyperbole❞ vinyl
- LOVE & HYPERBOLE01. GO OUTSIDE! 02. LEFT ALONE
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FEELS RIGHT
My underrated child! always loved this song too. It's about the philosophy that contextualizing and analyzing in some cases can overcomplicate situations and since this thing is going so great, maybe let's not jinx it with too much examination. I'm a big overthinker and I've rarely allowed myself to just ride things out without attempting to predict or prepare for outcomes, especially with relationships. It's a defence mechanism to avoid surprises, ultimately it's really none of our business how this ends or what this is. let's just enjoy it.
CLEARLY
Another one of my favourites I've ever written. Me, Jon Levine & Jake Torrey put a mic in the middle of the room and jammed for over an hour until the song was written. It's one of those that felt like it existed already and we just dug it up again. it kind of wrote itself. I wanted to encapsulate the rare feeling of jumping into something with no inhibitions or fears, in large part because someone makes you feel safe enough to do that, but also because you've allowed yourself the space and time to learn how to be okay regardless. it comes with growing into yourself and accepting things for what they've been, what they are, and what they might be. I felt really at peace for the first time in a while and in a way I felt like I'd earned that. It's also just a plain and simple love letter. It's a privilege to write about love and experience it from a happy place, so it was nice. The vocals from that day we wrote it are the same ones you hear on the record. We didn't want to mess with the alchemy of it because it felt perfect as it was.
SLOW MOTION
This one was so fun! took on many forms as well but I'm so happy with where it ended up. I love how rich and groovy and soulful it is. re-recorded my vocals a few times to get the right pocket (Im annoying). I was really playing into the 'hyperbole' aspect of the album with the lyrics here. It's this idea that love can make you feel like the universe is slowing down just so you and that person can have more time together. Because they're the only thing that matters and the only thing you see ever. it's that sappy thing where your feet aren't touching the ground and you hear angels singing everywhere and everything is blurred but them. I wanted to capture that all or nothing aspect of being in love. That initial intensity of it. I got everyone who was part of making this record in the booth with me and had them sing background vocals. Hear the real life angels sing!