Brooklyn-based four-piece Earthquake Lights delve into themes of self-reflection, past mistakes, and future paths under pressure, in their breathtaking new nine-track album, ‘Signs of Life.’
Stream: ‘Signs of Life’ – Earthquake Lights
Released in July, Signs of Life is the heady and intoxicating new album from Brooklyn-based band Earthquake Lights.
The unshakably brilliant release is an amalgamation of alt-rock anthems blended with soaring orchestral arrangements and sultry jazz inflections. Their songs delve into deeply personal topics, with the band unafraid to be vulnerable in their lyrics, uncovering stories of loneliness, mental health, love and loss, alongside more fantastical tracks that tell tales of a con man and a sailing regatta. Urging listeners to exercise self-reflection, the album serves as a reminder to look back on our lives, appreciate the incredible journey that brought us here, and embrace the long path ahead, no matter how daunting it may seem.
Sonically, Signs of Life is both familiar, yet phonetically original. With surprises around every corner, Earthquake Lights take you on an unexpected journey through rich, dynamic soundscapes and thought-provoking lyrics.
Lead singer Myles Rodenhouse shares, “We’re trying to make a timeless record that leans into traditions of music and playership, not the future of music. Samples and AI and drum loops are all amazing, but we’re trying to make records that celebrate humans. It took over 100 people to make this record, and I believe you can hear that in the sounds of this record.”
Atwood Magazine spoke with Earthquake Lights as they take us track-by-track through the music and themes of their new album!
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:: stream/purchase Signs of Life here ::
:: connect with Earthquake Lights here ::
“Pictures” – Earthquake Lights ft. Lindsey Lomis
:: Inside Signs of Life ::
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“Silhouette”
This song is about the search for life. The search for life can be within yourself, within your own world but it would also be within outer space. It can be feeling like you’re always by yourself, but you find out along the way that you’re not traveling alone. We’re always learning to make music that can be specific to every person’s lens. It is not very literal to how exactly you should interpret this song, it can be seen differently through everyone’s own lens.
From the dawn of time, humans have been very curious, always searching and yearning to discover. Whether it’s within the universe, new species, new planets, new stars, or simply within ourselves which is its own universe. This song is a representation of that. We hope that people who might feel like they’re being lonely or searching for something out there can find solace in this.
“Pictures”
In the age where mental health is waning, we looked at the cultural phenomena that is social media and how it affects all of us.
Pictures written in an allegorical sense, telling a story of unrequited love. The song loosely captures the voyeuristic moment of a personality that romanticizes the nostalgia of a past relationship, friendship, acquaintance or fling, proliferated by the ever present role social media plays in our lives.
The lyrics were inspired essentially by an era that’s defined by pictures and feelings of missing out or wondering about someone that may be in some memory, possibly just out of reach but still barely relevant. Wondering about that person and if they actually care to remember you, or if it was really even worth remembering one another and losing any sleep over it.
“Heartbeat”
Heartbeat is inspired by the loss of a family member and is a reminder to cherish our heartbeat because it will not always be there. The track painfully details the fear of loss, the unpredictability of it and eventually the acceptance of it. With a rhythm that mimics a heartbeat, the introspective song takes inspiration from Japanese classical composers.
“In Your Dreams”
In Your Dreams was inspired by lucid dreaming, a state of sleep in which the dreamer is cognizant, and able to control what happens in dreams. It’s about taking control of your existence and empowering yourself, like a superhero.
“A Dead Wind”
A Dead Wind came from a fascination with the high stakes of an intense sailing regatta, and stories of crews that push themselves as hard as they humanly can in the face of adversity.
“Oil on Canvas”
Set in the mind of a con man that nefariously commits fraudulent activities in the art world. This song is a message told in the form of a parable through the eyes of a criminal.
The song follows a man and his creation of a reputation selling knock off art posed as authentic. Really the value of something is what the buyer thinks it’s really worth. What is valuable and what is not valuable? I guess that’s in the eye of the buyer.
The song and its story touches on the profound thought of perception. What is exceptional and what is not? What is the standard? Furthermore, if it is perceived as good or bad, who is the authority that deems it so?
The song is an extension of this concept from the connection between perception of art and perception of one’s self-image. Where even a con-man must create a fabricated reputation as the perception of himself internally, is not good enough.
“January”
What leads to the moment of catharsis is the acceptance of where you have been and the optimism about where you’re going. This song is about maturing and understanding mistakes you’ve made. Pursuing whoever you want to be now instead of what your former self wanted. It’s about the acceptance of your situation with optimism and persistence to carry on. Living in the present.
The month of January is supposed to symbolize the freshness. For the birds traveling south it would be a pretty late month to travel, but this song is about a bird who survived winter and is traveling south in January. The contrast of harshness, surviving winter, but also the willingness to move forward. It’s not about spring coming, it’s about you moving forward to find spring.
“Four Letter Words”
“Four Letter Words” is an aloof critique of tribalism, and arguments had for arguments sake between people that are unaware of their own similarities and shared flaws.
“Long Lost”
“Long Lost” is about self-fulfilling prophecies. Looking back at things you’ve been struggling with and realizing that they were only difficult because you were fighting them in the first place. This one is maybe one of the most emotionally raw tunes on the record, and is intended as a cautionary poem for yourself and those close to you.
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:: stream/purchase Signs of Life here ::
:: connect with Earthquake Lights here ::
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© courtesy of the artist
© courtesy of the artistSigns of Life
an album by Earthquake Lights
