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The Paint

by News of the Fire

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1.
Catalyst words slip from her mouth. Ideas battle concepts spitting up doubt. Casual shrugs shot to the side, Tailoring our compliments in pauses we hide. Calendar nouns replacing our thoughts, Lingering verbs remind us of what we're not. She said yes, as her knees point to go. Oh, veiled in cement, intentions don't show. Coma induced with my head on the wall. Sheets strangle my sleep away, replaying it all. It's back and it's forth, unwilling to stop. Immune to diplomacy, as I tap out, I'm shot. I wanted a nod. I wanted a smile. What I got was not satisfactory, now I'm steeping in denial. Give me a word that's perfectly clear. Slice through my sinews and bones, embed it for me to hear. Oh, oh. She said yes, as her knees point to go. Oh, veiled in cement, intentions don't show. Intentions don't show. x 4 She said yes, as her knees point to go. Oh, veiled in cement, intentions don't show.
2.
My Veneer 04:48
I'VE GOT A CRUTCH INSIDE OF ME SPLIT DOWN MY SPINE LET IT SEE WHY I SNAP BONES OH I SUPPOSE DARKNESS IT HIDES LET'S CALL IT OUT SLEDGEHAMMERED FACE DISEMBODIED CLOUT WHY I AGREE OH I DO SEE FRACTURED LIMBS WATERED EYES MUDDLED BLOOD FROM INSIDE SIDEWAYS NOSE HALF-BENT EAR CROOKED NECK MY VENEER THESE PANGS THAT STING I RIPPED THEM OUT PUMP ON THE FLOOR WRITE ABOUT WHY I BELIEVE OH I DECIEVE A POOL OF WET CLINGS TO YOUR BROW HANDS CRY OUT SOBS LACK SOUND WHY I DO BREATHE OH I'M RELIEVED I WANTED NOTHING MORE BUT YOU PUSHED ME THROUGH THAT DOOR I WANTED NOTHING MORE BUT YOU PUSHED AND YOU PUSHED AND YOU PUSHED FRACTURED LIMBS WATERED EYES MUDDLED BLOOD FROM INSIDE SIDEWAYS NOSE HALF-BENT EAR CROOKED NECK MY VENEER SHE FELL INTO THE WATER SHE'S NOT COMING UP SHE FELL INTO THE WATER SHE'S NOT COMING UP
3.
Candlelight before I met you never had that much to say. Shadows cast upon a figure attached to fingers salty-grey. We've got to leave ourselves alone. I know we never will. Caution is a word that's in disguise and I hope it's something that you will find. A collared shirt cracked the silence; ruffled now, self aware. Countered by a shift in vocal support. Tethered to the back of his chair. We've got to leave ourselves alone. I know we never will. Caution is a word that's in disguise and I hope it's something that you will find. Ah, ah, ah, ah x 4 (Be sure to sing in a very echo-y room) (Head bang here) We've got to leave ourselves alone. I know we never will. Caution is a word that's in disguise and I hope it's something you will find.
4.
We're driving along, knots crash through our hair. Our faces twist and turn in ways that physics can't share. Sweat beads with plastic. Sister sit next to me. Oh Embrace me, oh and brace now. Oh embrace me, oh embrace now. Emergency sounds, loud now. Metal it sings a song when these lights hit and shards go round and round. I will stand right here and talk 'til these words calm you down. And around, 'round we spun, suspended in the air. Life is still, I still remember the tangles in your hair. Stuck in the smell of asphalt too hot. We push and lean into the curves, pull back as it stops. Sweat beads with plastic. Sister sit next to me. Oh embrace me, oh embrace now. Emergency sounds loud now. Oh embrace me, oh and brace now. Emergency sounds loud now. Metal it sings a song. x 4 Hold tight. x 6 Embrace me and brace now. She's feeling, oh nothing, she wants to keep her head down. x4 Oh down. Oh down. Oh. x 2 Metal it sings a song when these lights hit and shards go round and round. I will stand right here and talk 'til these words calm you down. And around, 'round we spun, suspended in the air. Life is still, I still remember the tangles in your... Metal it sings a song when these lights hit and shards go round and round. I will stand right here and talk 'til these words calm you down. And around, 'round we spun, suspended in the air. Life is still, I still remember the tangles in your hair.

about

THIS IS IN-DEPTH. WARNING. IF YOU DO NOT GIVE A SHIT, THIS WILL BORE YOU. OR MAYBE THAT IS WHY YOU ARE READING. HERE IT GOES:

It's been two years since our last EP, and holy shit, how things have changed. Nick and I are about to graduate, enter the work force and be real humans. Nico is living in London, studying at the London school of economics for another few months after almost an entire year. We got a new guitarist (Logan Petitto) he we also went to high school with us and he's a ginger. Gas is over $4.00 a gallon and I've got investment in stocks (what?!).

What I'm saying is we're growing up. We're no longer the callow-faced children we once were (though, we're still boys. Definitely). We're slowly realizing the music scene isn't something you just show up to and get red-carpet treatment. You don't rise to stardom overnight. I'm not saying that that is what our EP is about. 'Cause Zeus help us, we hardly know ourselves. I'm just trying to pick apart what has changed.

All I can say is what I've noticed. I've noticed that all things come together in the end. Life twists and creates ups and downs, and what you create comes together then, but the realization comes afterwards. Looking back on this EP, I can say it reflects that journey of not knowing what in the shit is going on. But we get to the end and then we can start to quantify it. We all want a neat story that ties together and sits well with us, but we can only focus on that afterwards.

I've tangled with the idea of telling people literally what our songs mean from a lyrical standpoint. At first, that idea bugged me. I wanted people to derive meaning in whichever way meant the most sense to them. Then, I started to see that a lot of people take that opportunity to become "experts." "This song is about A because if you look at line B, the diction and repetition of the first vowel and the ending rhyme scheme illustrate a complex understanding of the freudian idolatry." I love that shit and I hate it. I hate when people use it to tell people they are wrong for thinking what they feel is right and shoving it down other's throats. I love when people take something from a song and connect with it, regardless of what someone meant when they wrote it out.

So, for the first time, I'm going to lay out what each song actually means. Some people are going to hate it. Some people are going to love it. I just know that when I write lyrics, most of the time, I write simply from the simple pleasure of enjoy the word pairings. It drives me nuts when people think that artists sit for hours and days and weeks, piecing together meaning in every single word and chord. Anyone that says they are...well, that's just bullshit. We just spew things onto a board and some of it sticks. Things that make sense to us. The stuff that sticks, people can take for their own and that's what I find most empowering about making music. It goes from our creation to a connection with someone else

Veiled in Cement - It's about a lack of communication in a relationship and not telling your significant other how you truly feel. Knowing that you shouldn't be doing what you're doing, but continuing to do so because you are selfish in that one moment.

My Veneer - It's about how others perceive you vs. the person you truly are. Maybe that's as an ass or a push-over. For me, it's people perceiving me as a nice guy. I would say that's generally true. But, this song is about "Yeah, I'm nice, but I can also tear down a wall if you want to get in my way." It's also very sexually charged. It was written at a time where I was questioning why I hadn't found someone. It's sort of a "fuck that, I'm a badass. Take it or leave it" attitude. This song is the most personal song I've ever written and it meant a lot to me just to write this down on paper and literally vocalize it. It's changed me.

Caution is a Word - This is about dragging out a relationship that shouldn't be going on. Again, no communication. I'm working on it. I GET IT.

Emergency Sounds - Perhaps the most chilling story here. It's about a car accident that my mom was in when she was a child. It killed her best friend baby brother and her older sister. She would always tell me I reminded her of
him and I wrote this song from the point of view of what it must have been like right before the crash, the chorus is sung right as the car is hit, and then the aftermath. I can only imagine the pain that she went through and wanted to try and connect myself to that in some way.

A few observations on this EP from which you can deduct what you will:
1. I thought this EP dealt with a life cycle and relationships, (which I still think it does) but even now, that's changing. I just realized a lot of it has to do with internal struggles and the ever-changing struggle to try and connect with someone else. That's man's greatest challenge.
2. As opposed to our first EP (which we recorded and mixed in three days), this one almost took an entire academic year. We had time. Too much time? Maybe. But we made what we wanted. We recorded it for free thanks to our good friend and amazing engineer Sean Hines (VERY different from the amount of money we spent on our last).
3. We've been slow to write songs. Life happens. It gets in the way and then moves out just when you need it to.

In closing, this EP feels like us. It was made in the company of friends. In their houses. We were able to experiment with some vocals and takes that we weren't able to before. We've been together for years now and we know how we work. We know Nick takes bass always on the first try. He's amazing. We know that I will tear apart and tear apart vocal takes until I'm laying in disillusionment on the ground. It's just the way we work and it's what makes us us. Not everything comes out perfectly and clean, but we've just learned to roll and keep our heads towards what we truly want. We're not always on 100% because we have to deal with our day-to-day, but when we're on, it's the most amazing feeling and that's what this EP feels like.

I know this is a lot of blabbering, but I figured you could take what you think works the best for you.

If you have any more questions, feel free to email us at newsofthefire@gmail. We are email wizards.

Best,
Dan

credits

released April 23, 2013

Recorded/Engineered by our good friend, gracious host, and incredibly-patient brother Sean Hines.

Mixed by the ever-talented and beautifully voiced John Spiker.

Mastered by the notoriously-friendly sonic giant Kevin Blacker.

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News of the Fire Los Angeles, California

We have sweat. Jars full of sweat after every show we play. Dont believe us? Give us a crowd of 10, or a sea of 500+ people and you’ll see that the videos and reviews don’t lie; we pour our souls into each performance. These vast efforts are repaid by the audience with growing fanatical support, both online and at our shows. We move the masses with sweat wherever we play. ... more

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