Islands (LPs | 2019)

by No Mono

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1.	Violence Broken 05:04	lyrics	buy track
This is the bottom line Let it find you I’ll go there with you I guess it’s kinda like You’re losing all you had held onto And I can hear it now Rushing over, rushing to me You know I’m feeling like I can’t undo it Now I’m in too deep I don’t know what I was thinking Or what happened over At the waterline I don’t know what happened to me Or where I was swimming Every other night This is the bottom line Let it find you I’ll go there with you And I can see a time When I wound up with Another case of ills I don’t know what I was thinking Or what happened over At the waterline I don’t know what happened to me Or where I was swimming Every other night Help me to revive I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me to rewind I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me to revive I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me, help me, Help me through the storm Help me, help me, help me Help me, help me, help me I guess the bottom line Is wake up swimming When you’ve found all you need I can feel it now Rushing over, rushing in too I don’t know what I was thinking Or what happened over At the waterline I don’t know what happened to me Or where I was swimming Every other night Help me to revive I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me to rewind I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me to revive I’m a liar, I’m alone Help me, help me, help me through the storm Help me, help me, help me Help me, help me, help me
2.	Butterflies 04:40	lyrics	buy track
I remember trying To fight the fever Like you're feeding on your knees But I don't need it Starved of life I took your love And held it under ‘Til I realised You left your ghost in here You made it hurt like that When you came up, to my door Butterflies in my guts Butterflies in my mouth Man, I felt it I need your fucking love to save me I need your fucking love to save me Oh, I needed you I remember fighting More light-headed Like I'm bleeding on my back But didn't get it When you came up to my door Butterflies in my guts Butterflies in my mouth Oh, I felt it I need your fucking love to save me I need your fucking love to save me Leaning for your touch, for your touch Leaning for your love, to save me Baby don't be like ... Baby don't leave me out here like ... Baby don't be like ... Baby don't leave me out here like ... Baby don't be like ... Baby don't leave me out here like ... Baby don't be like ... I need your fucking love to save me I need your fucking love to save me I need your fucking love to move me Oh, I needed you
3.	Tidal Fight 04:59	lyrics	buy track
I just can’t believe my luck I was choked up and tied to The water in my lungs With a bad thought about where I’d head when I woke up I just need to Connect with you So I swam ‘til my feet got wet And the dive belt That sad weight Got underneath my skin Where you bit through and marked me It lingers like dust in air It’s the last thing I need from you I would follow If I could stand the light against the wall I would follow You anywhere but here And all and all I know If anyone has a way to get me home I’ll go If anyone has a way to get me home Well I swam ‘til I was out of touch Then my nerves broke, and I fell Into the depths of us With a loose head that told me To go back and just give up But I need to Connect with you I would follow If I could stand the light against the wall I would follow You anywhere but here And all and all I know If anyone has a way to get me home I’ll go If anyone has a way to get me home And I’m gone If anyone has a way to get me home And I’m done If anyone has a way to get me home
4.	Frostbitten 03:44	lyrics	buy track
I was proper sideways when you said That we wouldn’t leave together We were in the mountains all alone When you drove off, yeah, whatever Oh, that morning You were salt on my skin Oh, that morning Left us frostbite, frostbitten You were fucking crazy to believe That I’d follow you forever We were sleeping always on timber floors And I’d sleep there though, whatever But we were so drunk, most of the time Oh, that morning You were salt on my skin Oh, that morning Left us frostbite, frostbitten You’re not a young man anymore And you know it Keep us dragging through the reeds with you And the heartbreaking change That came over me that day I was so far from anywhere with you Oh, that morning You were salt on my skin Oh, that morning Left us frostbite, frostbitten
5.	//Water's Edge 01:20		buy track
6.	Finally 04:35	lyrics	buy track
Did the mountain start to fall Did the crowded streets I walked in Find me against their feet Far out, gee whiz I can’t see it For the fifth time I woke up With a wooded head, oh god I felt stuck And finally, I had had too much of me Finally, I had had too much of me Finally Finally So I was the last one out of bed Now I’m swollen with the river That changed me Oh my, gee whiz I’m starting to feel it And finally, I had had too much of me Finally, it was all my eyes could see Finally, waking up this thylacine Finally, I was all I had to be Finally Finally
7.	Desert 04:23	lyrics	buy track
I know you’ve got your ways to Show up at my door Feeling all let down With you hair onto the floor I know when you come walking And the rhythms of your feet I know when you get let down And I know it’s always me … whatever And I was talking to your sister She came over unannounced In the night your mother left you And I hardly made a sound It was shadows on me It was shadows on me It was dark on me It was dark on me Whatever, whatever You go and get stuck in the desert Whatever, whatever You go and get stuck in the desert Whatever, whatever You go and get stuck in the desert I still had a bad tooth That took me to the ground And you went back to Sydney But you hardly made a sound It’s gone out with the water That drank up me It’s dead to me, yeah No, it’s dead to me … Whatever, whatever You go and get stuck in the desert Whatever, whatever You go and get stuck in the desert I never, I never I never go back there, whatever Whatever, whatever
8.	Otherside 03:51	lyrics	buy track
It was kinda like All my fear crashed at once In a lonely room The other side of your love It was like I’d just run too far Downhill I was filling up Everything I’d emptied out For another chance At the world I’d cut down When the river broke through Oh, my god, it got me stuck I was trying to get back to A time when I just gave a fuck It was kinda like Clawing back through running water For another lung To breathe in what was gone, yeah It was like it just got too deep And man, I give it up (I should have cut my hands) Just to show you I was real (I should have given up all I had) Take the blood in me, yeah When the river broke through Oh, my god, it got me stuck I was trying to get back to A time when I just gave a fuck Just gave a fuck I don’t wanna feel like I’ve lost anything Lost anything at all I just wanna get back to you Give me a chance to break my fall Should have cut my hands Should have given up all I had Should have cut my hands Should have given up all I had
9.	Future 05:32	lyrics	buy track
I could, I couldn’t Divorce myself of my future It hung All around my bed that day A sordid place My dreams all grey All you’d say I move this way Or I move that way But when you left My knees went first And there I broke They say that when they held you under You could still breathe And when they dragged you asunder You were still free Laying there with me Stay out Late I’m searching Every night Streets I’m wandering around It’s what I needed Dancing Like the cold wind does Fingers Reaching up above To the cracks in your window I’ve found My upside down My beating heart Yeah, and when we kissed My mind went first This restless curse They say that when I held you under You could still breathe And when they dragged you asunder You were still free Laying there with me
10.	Oh, This House Is Empty 02:32	lyrics	buy track
Oh my, oh my, oh This house is alone Floating around somewhere With me in its bones Late for a meeting ‘Cos I stayed up for her And no one comes looking Here anymore Oh, take me, take me Back to the end Where I last spent The few dollars I had Trying to forget A life in this house That floated in water And sank silently Oh, take me, take me Back to my friends Where I could swim With red dirt on my breath Don’t let me give up on things that we did Don’t let me forget that we spent it well
11.	//Heavy State 01:33		buy track
12.	Blaze 03:49	lyrics	buy track
Well I got a powerful spirit And I blaze in all my colour All I need is right before me And I got a powerful spirit And I’ll get my teeth sunk in it All I need is right before me Where do we find a way That’s not a part of falling through this Somebody lied to me It’s just the way we’ve always been doing it So I got a powerful spirit And I blaze in all my colour All I need is right before me And I got a powerful spirit And I eat the bread soaked in it All I need is right before me Where do we find a way That’s not a part of falling through this Somebody lied to me It’s just the way we’ve always been doing it And all I had to say was that it’s part of me And all I had to say was that you’re part of me
13.	Black Light 03:54	lyrics	buy track
I reckon I’ll leave right now For a little bit of time with you I reckon I’ll steal your mouth So I can get away and you can feel it I reckon I’ll clear my throat For a little bit of time with you It wasn’t that I left this night It wasn’t that a ghost made you forget it I reckon I’ll leave right now ‘Cos I don’t wanna be with you And now I got you in my blood And it’s the only thing that’s killing me Don’t you wanna get this body back Don’t you wanna get some time back Don’t you wanna have me once more It’s a part of something I forget I just wanna get your body back I just wanna take the time back I just wanna have you once more I just wanna have this all the time I was planning on just running from it And I should have told you I’ve got the words I keep them from you I feel you breaking through my chest But I don’t wanna feel for you And now I see you through these lines And it’s the only thing that’s killing me Don’t you wanna get this body back Don’t you wanna get the time back Don’t you wanna have me all the time I just wanna have you once more I was planning on just running from it I should have told you I’ve got the words I keep them from you You couldn’t break the timing You wanna go back there and revive me I wanna see what you see I wanna wake up with your hands on me I wanna speak the right words It’s hardly better for us than going backwards I wish I’d see what you see I wish you’d come back here to revive me It’s time to kill this thing off To make it something that we were proud of I reckon I’ll leave right now (I was planning on just running from it) I reckon I’ll leave right now (I should have told you) I reckon I’ll take one hit For a little bit of time with you I reckon I’ll leave right now (I’ve got the words I’ll keep them from you)
14.	Blood Red 04:20	lyrics	buy track
I know you come and go Rushing through town like a flood Standing outside my door Now you’re spilling inside here And the curtains close Hits me left and right Hits me down to the floor If we live and die here Give me something strong Won’t you help me find it Sunlight in the storm If we wake up swimming Reaching for the glow I feel you weighing on me And I’ve got to let it go I wish you’d go back home Ripping through town like a storm Still the feeling grows Is it black or white? Is it here, is it? If we live and die here Give me something strong Won’t you help me find it Sunlight in the storm If we wake up swimming Reaching for the glow I feel you weighing on me And I’ve got to let it go Is there something to it A feeling I can’t shake Tie stones to my body Let the river break Here I wake up swimming Reaching for the glow I feel you weighing on me And I’ve got to let it go Let the pain leave my bones Rushing through town like a flood I know you come and go But we’re feeling alive here
15.	//No Man 00:43		buy track
16.	City Gets Better 03:38	lyrics	buy track
City won’t get us, it gets better I could hardly tell, my clothes are wet Turning in my sleep, I’m somewhere else There’s no one here like me The feeling isn’t true And I keep falling through And with me now Biding in the streets that stay at night Come on, just leave, anywhere will do City won’t get us, it gets better A break in my design to keep away From all the noises sick people made I’m waiting for something to shake me up from sleep Anything will do I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here for you, I’m here enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there for you, I’m there enough I’m there for you I can hardly tell, my clothes are wet Turning in my sleep, I’m somewhere else There’s no one here like me The feeling isn’t true I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here for you, I’m here enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there for you, I’m there enough I’m there for you City won’t get us, it gets better I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here enough, I’m here enough I’m here for you, I’m here enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there enough, I’m there enough I’m there for you, I’m there enough I’m there for you
17.	Keep On 04:55	lyrics	buy track
I fall in all you do A glade in the garden, fog in the dark night I fall to stay with you Bathe in the cold earth Wait for the morning You set the tone and I’ll be alright You set the flame by the doorway Let it be my light You set the tone and I’ll be alright You said the cold couldn’t burn us We’re alright, alright Can I be your fascination all night? ‘Cos you hold the feeling in the room But you want the beat, I need the tune Hoping the pieces, they’ll just fall right Whatever happened, me and you No idea what I’ll do Stand on the corner, hang in the moonlight You cable-tied my ideas Told me to be forthright I’ll go check my eyesight You set the tone and I’ll be alright You set the flame by the doorway Let it be my light You set the tone and I’ll be alright You said the cold couldn’t burn us Can I be your fascination all night? ‘Cos you hold the feeling in the room But you want the beat, I need the tune Hoping the pieces, they’ll just fall right Stand at your door I felt that cold like (You are somebody) Like I’m a ghost inside your room (You are somebody) And I’ll never go back home (You are somebody) ‘Cos I don’t wanna be alone (You are somebody) I gotta keep on myself Keep on, keep on, keep on I gotta keep on myself Just cut the cord and I’ll be alright Just cut the cord, cut the cord Can I be your fascination all night? ‘Cos you hold the feeling in the room But you want the beat, I need the tune Hoping the pieces, they’ll just fall right Stand at your door I felt that cold like (You are somebody) Like I’m a ghost inside your room (You are somebody) And I’ll never go back home (You are somebody) ‘Cos I don’t wanna be alone (You are somebody) I hear the echo down the hall Like you were never there at all Just leave me down here
18.	Atlas 04:35	lyrics	buy track
Out on the run from everything we’ve been through And all we’ve done yeah, everything was for you It’s falling down, all that we held onto I feel it sinking, I feel it breaking through I needed light, moving through the streets ‘til Two in the morning, waking up the neighbourhood That’s when it’s done, there’s nothing to step onto Only the deep blue You told me I would be, out there, Atlas, somewhere You told me I would be, the best that you had ever had You told me I would be, Atlas, for you You told me I would be, out there, with you I get, get, get to the water’s edge I get, get to the water’s edge I get to the water’s edge I hold my breath yeah, I brace myself I get to the water’s edge I get, get, get to the water’s edge I get to the water’s edge I get myself to the water’s edge Out on the run from everything we’ve been through And all we’ve done yeah, all of it was for you I fight it down just moving with the feeling There’s no escaping, I can hear it breathing I feel it outside, moving through the streets ‘til Two in the morning, waking up the neighbourhood That’s when it’s done, there’s nothing to step onto Only the deep blue You told me I would be, out there, Atlas, somewhere You told me I would be, the best that you had ever had You told me I would be, Atlas, for you You told me I would be, out there, with you I get, get, get to the water’s edge I get, get to the water’s edge I get to the water’s edge I hold my breath yeah, I brace myself I get to the water’s edge I get, get, get to the water’s edge I get to the water’s edge I get myself to the water’s edge
19.	Cold Freight 03:40	lyrics	buy track
As I lay in a state by the garden I was keeping a hand on my beer I stole a sip to let loose my designs So I was free, I was free Oh, I feed this state when I’m wide out Just to keep on the path of your love I was stalled in fate, no ideas running wild But honestly, honestly I’m ready for it I’ve got my teeth set And I’m ready for it No lessened ideas And I’m ready for it Unless I don’t get there I stay the course, so I can say what I feel I drift through the layers of my sandwich I float through words Can I get to a state, for a final escape? So forlorn, I get it There are days when my dinner don’t feed me There are streets that don’t take me somewhere But I’m stalled in fate, no ideas running wild But honestly, honestly I’m ready for it I’ve got my teeth set And I’m ready for it No lessened ideas And I’m ready for it Unless I don’t get there I stay the course, so I can say what I feel Torture framed by a fire And I’m ready for it Silence dulled by red wine And I’m ready for it Unless I don’t get there I’m ready for it I’ll stay the course, so I can say what I feel
20.	Fever Highs 03:47	lyrics	buy track
Oh, I built up a fever just sitting out the back out there Won't you come and hold me for a moment Stuck around the pool I grew up in And through I waded Won't you help me find a way There's something so fierce about the back of your tongue, I I was just waiting for your orbit The noise that I was making, forgot that I was calling I'm calling, I'm calling, I'm calling out c..., c..., c... Oh, right before the tide went Took me from the branches Cut me there, in open air I just let it happen I'm all out of focus And I'm all out of pain There's nothing there, just open air I'm falling with the rain So lock jaw and pick my face I sit and think about my father He's just another feather for my armour Check the bible, check my wallet, another tip for my survival I'm dolling out, keep dolling out and draw it in like water now Oh, right before the tide went Took me from the branches Cut me there, in open air I just let it happen I’m all out of focus And I'm all out of pain There's nothing there, just open air I'm just falling with the rain A hammer for A hammer for the pain Cut me there, in open air And I just let it happen You, you, you, you lost it You gotta get out of there Leaving the bedroom bare Oh, you, you, you, you, honey you lost it You gotta get out of there Leaving the bedroom bare Oh, you, you, you, you, you vanished before my loving Vanished before my loving Vanished before my loving, loving oh You, you, you, you, you vanished before my loving Vanished before my loving Vanished before my loving, loving oh You, you, you, you, you vanished before my love Vanished before my loving Vanished before my loving, loving, loving oh
21.	Rear View 03:55	lyrics	buy track
Have enough faith for love, enough faith Have enough faith for love, enough faith I have enough faith for love, enough faith Have enough faith for love, enough faith And in a distant fire There is a burning for you And in my cold desire I am frosted through In every thread I find I tie a bow here for you So you can stride out So you can find some ground Where’s the light appearing For the love I’m feeling Give your face and nothing else High up on the ceiling Shimmer down revealing Broken pieces, I will piece them back myself I took a trip last night To swim in arctic waters We’re all tightrope walkers You see me tumble down Where’s the light appearing For the love I’m feeling Give your face and nothing else High up on the ceiling Shimmer down revealing Broken pieces, I will piece them back myself Have enough faith for love, enough faith Have enough faith for love, enough faith I have enough faith for love, enough faith Have enough faith for love, enough faith

about

Scroll over song titles for lyrics.

Recorded at Pieater’s BellBird studio in Melbourne, the album came together over a three-year period, mostly in Melbourne, but pieces sketched all over. It was entirely written, recorded, produced and mixed by Tom Snowdon and Tom Iansek.

"Islands" brings the previously separated "Islands part 1" and "part 2" together in a whole state, and includes the previously unreleased track 'Finally', which helps close the "Islands" chapter.

"Islands" is the culmination of years of songwriting and performance, and draws from broad influences including Snowdon's upbringing in the remote desert town of Alice Springs and his relationship to central Australia. It also oozes Tom Iansek's boundary-pushing production.

Like the band's name, which is derived from the Japanese expression "Mono No Aware", No Mono's music explores and is inspired by the emotional and other-worldly. "Islands" is a record about transition through crisis and sanctuary. The band goes deeper: "the songs are all about the turbulence of loss and change and the transformative power that accompanies these moments. They tell our personal stories and reflect our shared fascination in the power of the unseen, and in the enjoyment of making music and songs together; ultimately, the thread that inspired this project.”

The back half of "Islands"(originally released as "part 2") serves to complement and expand on the haunting first half. The BPMs are increased, and the energy at times borders on frantic, but there’s also a swagger. Percussion is used to bewilder - at times frantic, scattered or glitchy. Snowdon’s vocals are less tender, as he battles to find connection and empathy. Yet despite the eerie energy, there is always an alien beauty to the whole, and ultimately a faith in keeping hope.

credits

released August 14, 2019

All songs written, performed, produced and recorded by No Mono at Mixed Business and BellBird Studio, Melbourne; assisted by Jack Opaluch.

Mixed by Tom lansek at BellBird Studio.
Mastered by Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound, NYC.
Compiled by John Ruberto at Mastersound, Melbourne.

Additional vocals on “Tidal Fight”, “Desert” and “Finally” performed by Ainslie Wills. Additional vocals on “Butterflies” and “Blaze” performed by Emma Louise.
Guitar solo on “Desert” performed by Lawrence Folvig. Double bass performed by Jonathan Zion.
Strings performed by Sarah Curro, David Curro, Will Clarke, Jonathan Békés, and co-arranged and directed by Jonathan Zion. Strings recorded by Cal Barter at Newmarket studios, Melbourne.
Drums on “Tidal Fight” and “Future” performed by Jo Syme. Drums and percussion on “Blaze”, “Rearview”, “City Gets Better” and “Atlas”performed by Christopher Port.
Additional writing and arrangement on “Black Light” and “Keep On” by Jack Snowdon.

Cover artwork by Tom Iansek, arrangement by Hamish Mitchell, with photography by Katrin Koenning.

We’d like to thank our family and friends, Tari and Alice, Tom Fraser, Jo Syme, Melody Forghani and Andy Gumley. We’d also like to thank everyone who contributed to the making
of this record and for supporting this project. We couldn’t have made this without you.

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