Tales to Needed Outcomes Tracklist

”Pretense”

At the time I was writing this album, I was working on textured atmospheric background tracks to play between songs for another band I was in, and this was an outgrowth of that work. I wanted to open the album with something a bit ominous. This track also laid the groundwork for the concept of the album, and that was for parts from one song to permeate into other songs. I was thinking about albums like Downward Spiral by NIN and Souls at Zero by Neurosis and their repeating motifs. Rather than have the same motif, I wanted them to connect specific songs. The piano notes here are a nod to the melody of the second album track, while the textured sounds show up in two other spots on the album.

”What is Tough to See”

This was the first song written for this album. The working title for the album was TTNO, which stood for This Town Needs Or Does It Explode. It was a comedic nod to the band TTNG (This Town Needs Guns), as the whole concept for the album grew out of a night early in the COVID lockdown when I sat down to learn one of their songs. It was in an alternate tuning I hadn’t used previously. I spent about 30 seconds trying to learn the song before I transitioned over to writing my own songs, and that’s when this first riff was born. The whole album was written using that tuning.

The lyrics are an homage to someone who can bring out the best in you and be a motivator to be and do better. While you revere this person, you also hold back parts of yourself, particularly the parts you are insecure about or ashamed of. It’s an invitation to let people in. The final part of the song is repeated in the next song. This is the first opportunity to hear one of our guest musicians, with Becky throwing down some melancholy trumpet!

”Awkward Attempts at Making Space”

This album was conceptualized and crafted during the first months of the COVID lockdown. At the time, I thought I would release it as a solo project, as the songs are much softer and more melodic than much of our previous material. When the other members heard the songs, however, they were interested in developing them as a group and expanding our sound. They really helped drive the songs into richer territory.

Lyrically, the themes on this album encompass many of the themes within the broader society at that time. This particular song is a reflection on the #metoo movement. It’s a reminder to white cis men to make space for others; to resist the urge to be the first to speak, to make a stance, to stake a claim. It’s also a reminder to look at one’s actions and consider how they may have affected others. I wanted the “chorus” to be antithetical to expectations. Usually, songs build into a big or glorious chorus, so I made the chorus very quiet and vulnerable and had the verse be the part with more space being occupied, so to speak. Shout out to Becky and Rin for killing it on the trumpet and violin parts! They match for the first half before separating into their own “space”.

”Story of Stuff”

This is one of the more straightforward and apparent songs on the album. The name is a reference to a social commentary film exploring consumerism and the environmental and mental health tolls it takes, as well as a critique of governments who reinforce or insist on this toxic form of capitalism. When recording, we brought along several atypical instruments to see if we could find ways to incorporate them. This track showcases a little slide guitar, which is most impactful in the “chorus” of the song. When we played live, we had been doubling the chorus vocal repeats of “Something” but while recording, we thought of adding a third repeat to deepen the impact. J also wrote several keyboard parts for the album. This song highlights the Hammond organ throughout. Listen for the outro of this song to show up elsewhere on the album.

”Cyclic Living”

This is another more lyrically straightforward song. It’s a commentary on the rote and routine way our lives are oftentimes structured. One of the interesting things about the time of the lockdown was that people had a chance to evaluate what they were doing with their lives. What relationships were most important to maintain and what fell by the wayside. Whether the ways we earned money were fulfilling, sustainable, and in line with our values and the other parts of our lives. This song aims to explore some of those ideas and challenge some of the beliefs we hold.

In the run-up to recording, it was a late decision to add the screaming background vocals to the chorus. This was a nod to our typical noisier material. A reminder to our fans that we aren’t going soft permanently. I think the halftime pre-chorus gives it a desperation which helps release the frustration and anger of the chorus. The structure of the song is four separate parts played in order twice to simulate a cycle.


“…to Fall”

This is one of my favorite drumbeats on the album, so we decided to showcase it by having it start the album. While there are dozens throughout the album, I think that Brandon’s guitar part on the chorus is one of the more glowing examples of what is gained by bringing these songs to the band versus keeping them as a solo endeavor. I never would have thought of that part, but it adds so much to this section.

I am basically a self-taught musician. I only have a rudimentary understanding of sheet music notation, let alone writing for woodwind, brass, or other stringed instruments. I wrote all the accompaniment parts by ear and played them on a keyboard. Using my recording software, I was able to create sheet music. I learned so much along the way about notation and transposition.

Becky once again killed it on the trumpet here. One of her notes to me as a composer was that I wrote all these really long notes that flowed into each other, which left almost no space to take breaths. She was at times getting a bit lightheaded while recording from hypoxia. The astute listener will detect portions of the guitar that reference back to previous songs.

”Loneliness (I’m Waiting)”

I am not a piano player. I wrote this part, and it took me forever to pull off a passable version of it for the demo. When Katya joined the band, I was psyched to learn they could play the piano, so it could get its due justice. The studio had a beautiful grand piano and it was amazing to have the chance to record with that.

The audio sample is from the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. This is an excerpt from a public talk he gave where the conclusion is that humans feel loneliness because our actions and endeavors are focused on our self, our ego, and our oneness. We are lonely because we see ourselves as separate from the world. There are many layers of texture. Brandon played a beautiful reverb-rich tremolo guitar part, J programmed three separate synth parts, and there is a recurrence of the textured synths from pretense.

”Hello Cannon Falls”

This song is a playful homage to the song “Goodbye Sky Harbor” by Jimmy Eat World. They end their album Clarity with a 15+ minute song of loops and textures. The name is a play on their track, switching "Goodbye" to "Hello" and then name-dropping the town where Pachyderm Studios is located.

The core of this idea was written solo. I programmed two drum parts and a simple looped bassline, and then I layered ten guitar parts to flow in and out. Some of them reference other songs on the album, and some are unique to this song.

For the other members, I suggested we basically do this as an improv in the studio. Erik played one of the two drum parts I programmed, with some additions of his own, and we kept the second programmed kit on there. J and Brandon totally improvised their parts. For Katya, we wanted to pull lines from each of the other songs, so they chose ahead of time what lines they wanted to use. But much of the melody was improvised at the studio. Once they recorded all their vocal lines, we chopped them up and layered them.

”Well I Wonder”

This is perhaps the most upbeat song in our repertoire. I often make jokes that I can only write sad or angry songs, so this is definitely a departure. The title is a Smiths reference, which is a bit of an inside joke for the band. When it came to writing an accompaniment part, I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate a flute. And I’ll note that this was before Andre 3000 dropped a flute album! Erik objected, saying I was turning us into a Renaissance minstrel band. I then leaned into that by also adding a mandolin. Huge love and thanks to Amy for the flute playing! We decided to add the cello to give a bit of tension against the more upbeat flute part. Props to Logan! J programmed a really cool Mellotron part as well.

Lyrically and thematically, a lot of the second half of the album is sort of a push and pull. The narrators are torn between loneliness and wanting human connection while feeling stuck in the connections they have or being skeptical and distrustful of the nature of those relationships.

”Post-Tense”

This is an obvious callback to “Loneliness”, but it’s intentionally played a bit stiffer and more stunted. It’s also only half of the piece, which is intended to have a sense of lacking and unresolve. This is heightened by it sort of simply stopping with no resolve. This reuses some of the textures from "Pretense" to tie things together. It’s the same piano used at the studio and because it’s so quiet, you can hear when Katya presses and releases the sustain pedal.

”A Goodbye”

I think this is perhaps the most involved drum part on the album, which is hidden by the relative softness of the song. I used a banjitar - a banjo that has six strings and is tuned like a guitar - to double my guitar part. Throughout much of the track, I run a reverse track of the guitar. This not only sounds cool, but it has a metaphorical tie to the theme.

Lyrically, it’s somewhat straightforward. The narrator is lonely but not yet alone. It’s clear the end of something is near, but they’re waiting. There are two references to the song "Loneliness". First, the obvious tie of “I’m Waiting” to the name. Second is the line, “There’s only your self", which is a play on yourself as one word versus your self. It’s a reference to the Krishnamurti quote. The fade at the end is to give the effect of the waiting going on with no definitive conclusion. On the fading drums, Erik did a tom overdub. This was an homage to a La Dispute song called “Nine”, which they once recorded live at All Saints Church in the UK. At the end, the guitarist joins the drummer by adding a similar tom/rimshot part.

”Sundered”

First and foremost, shoutout to Logan for the cello part and Rin for the violin. Their performance slays on this song. We feel so privileged to have such phenomenal players join us. This makes the song. When I wrote it, I knew this would be the album closer. We always try and end our albums with a more “epic” song. The guitar riff is intentionally reminiscent of the "Loneliness"/"Post-Tense" piano part. J also wrote a really cool Rhodes part, which beautifully fills in some quieter space. This is my favorite harmony part on the album, and it also echoes what Katya and I do on some of our other heavier material. The lyrics are really the end of a relationship. The final plea and discussion that results in the relationship being… Sundered.