Track By Track - Quotes & Single Art
Nowhere No One Knows Where To Find You
“These lyrics started after a friend of mine told me someone in his family had just fallen into a coma. I was trying to imagine what an inconceivable frame of mind it would be, to be in a coma. In a hospital bed, but completely lost from the world in your own mind. Thinking about this reminded me of times in my life, under insane touring conditions, jumping from plane to plane, culture to culture. Not really knowing where I am, not knowing if I could reach out and touch another human being.”
Moonflower
“I was painting a lot when writing this song, thinking about things like landscape, subject and figures and I wanted to try to incorporate some of those ideas into songwriting. I saw a moonflower in my mind’s eye, blooming alone on a calm black lake, and thought, “what does that mean?”. Am I a moonflower, living outside of societal norms?”
Woman
“Woman lyrically points out the sometimes-invisible strengths that women bring to the world. Secret-ish powers that, if womankind were to abandon earth tomorrow, would surely leave behind utter and abject chaos.”
Hard Season
“Hard Season is snapshot from the coldest part of winter (-40C windchill) when running into a friend you last saw at a summer music festival. You struggle to align this memory bounding with smiles and relief, with the tense, cold person in front of you now. Winter changes people.”
Sketchy Symbology
“Finally taking a break after 7 years of heavy touring left me feeling disconnected from a sense of home, from the earth, and even my own beliefs. To then sit and stare at an 80 year old tree a wonder what it would be like to never move an inch in my whole life.”
Paisley Pattern
“Last winter, when this song was being born, it snowed terrifically. We couldn't leave the house for a while. And frankly, I was perfectly happy to keep it cozy for as long as need be. Emergency coziness procedures ought to be kept sharp in a place like rural Manitoba.”
Gone Gone
“Gone Gone is a song about writing songs. One of the main ideas is that you, yourself are the person that stifles your own creativity. When you put pen to page, is your hand actually going to write down what you are thinking or are you going to edit yourself and not be able to write down any words at all.”
That’ll Do
“The dark side of Slow Spirit, That’ll Do, is an instrumental track made entirely by Eric. It was included along with Ca Suffit as a way to isolate the two creative forces that come together to form Slow Spirit. Here we remember sometimes you gotta make music just for fun.”
States Of Disintegration
“It was spring, and I felt like the outside world was mirroring so perfectly how I felt at the time. I was facing a potential big career shift and thinking about what it would mean to do something so drastic. Water was running off the roof, like the house was crying. Melting all around. Violent change everywhere.”
Ça Suffit
“It’s a song about having enough and feeling satisfied generally. From the perspective of being on tour and not knowing anybody, not knowing the language being spoken around you, and not knowing where you’re sleeping that night. But everything is perfectly fine. You’re in a happy place.”
To Be Together
“It was a really hung over day. We had some friends stay the night and the conversation continued over breakfast. The lyrics are really a tribute to that intimate space of friendship where you can talk about what you really believe. Political thoughts, religious, spiritual , whatever. Also, maybe come to terms with something that totally changes your frame of mind.”
Italo Calvino
“I was taking a long, hot bath, listening to a story story by Italo Calvino from 1946, and I remember feeling so grateful that there was such beautiful storytelling in the world. This music called for something reverent, and I wanted to write a gratitude song for the people that spend their lives examining beautiful language and metaphors and symbols.”