Through fits and starts and misfires, the first single is nigh upon us. We are excited to share “Blood On My Sandals” with the world and disappoint all of our grandparents in the process. My parents already refer to it as “the song with the f word in it a bunch,” so, Mom, Dad, please don't read the rest of the lyrics. This is probably our favorite song as a group because it is so fun to play live, and it's unlike anything else we play. The song is this tight, pop-funk number that lets us put our sunglasses on and just vibe.
The chorus came to me while I was out taking a walk. I liked the way the melody doesn't quite resolve, never landing on the root or third and coming to rest on the fifth which it only does for a moment. It hovers around the second note in the D major scale, an E, making it not quite dissonant but not quite home either. The melody sort of self-propels in this way, never resolving but also never being so off that it loses the listener. The first couplet of the chorus came to me while out on one of these walks: “It smells like palo santo/And snuffed-out candles.” Palo santo, for those who do not know, is a tree found in South America which is burned for spiritual cleansing. I think it smells like burning rubber and gives me a headache, but ask your local apothecary for more details. The original plan was to go through the chord progression twice and finish the chorus with the next couplet, “I can't handle/This wax on the mantle,” but it took time getting from one end to the other, and somewhere “Blood on my sandals” popped into my head. I liked the imagery of sandals - symbols of peace, Jesus, the beach - splattered with violence and pain. It felt like the post-hippie reality - the brutality of hope annulled. This helped me to hone the overall theme of the lyrics: the struggle of reconciling loss, be it religion, a relationship, or innocence.
Sometimes, what a waste it all seems, but the single will be out November 5th which coincides with a show we have with the lovely Fly-By Drivers and Superjaw. The plan is to follow that with another single, “Huffin' Sunshine," two weeks later, and then the album should be out by the end of November or beginning of December.
Go vote, and I hope your team wins.
Tyler