On the process and completion of the album...

Redivivus is done. We are so incredibly happy about how it has come out. Yes, there are blippy spots; yes, there are times at which I am certain you can tell that it was recorded with no budget in my basement and mixed by a person that has never done anything like this before; yes, there will be things that we’ll do differently the next time we approach an album, but let’s chalk that stuff up to the album sounding “organic” and contributing to its “charm.” We couldn’t be happier that this is finished, and that it feels finished. None of us think very highly of ourselves or of our music, but we are truly proud of this. We should start having ways for you to get your hands on it very soon.

Redivivus was recorded in my basement in Maine. We bought a bass drum microphone and bass strings before we started recording. This more than exhausted our band fund. We recorded the drums in three days after college let out in May. The rest of the recording took another two months. We tried things we never thought we’d get to try (playing a bass guitar with a bow, recording guitars through pouring rain, using volume pedals galore, even a glockenspiel we found for 90 dollars on ebay), we got on each other’s nerves, we laughed and had cigars and watched movies and ate taffy and made stupid videos and talked and grew together. Redivivus crystallizes our first year as a band and points in the direction of our future.

This album was a surprise to all of us, because none of us thought we were making an album. It started as a five-song, rough EP with no name and no uniting elements. It so happened, however, that in the process of recording, we became inspired to do more and more to make this thing feel like a cohesive whole. We had intro tracks and reprises and lyrical themes and a loose concept. We had long conversations about how we wanted the album to feel, and how we wanted it to make people feel. The biggest theme to the album, and indeed, the biggest theme in any of our lives, is that there is hope, whatever the circumstance. There is a major chord, even after a whole song in a minor key.

This is a far cry from how I felt about this album initially. I was totally overwhelmed and edging towards hopeless over the fate of our project. Over the course of the mixing and mastering process, though, a surreal thing happened, and I was able to step back from the art we were trying to make and be affected by it. Finishing this album became one of the most spiritual experiences I have had. Thank God for Jared’s simple but profound lyrical meditations. Thank God for Micah’s creative and poignant drumming. Thank God for Mike’s off the cuff bass-lines that serendipitously fit perfectly into every song. Thank God that we can aspire to create something of beauty in community with one another. This album was an act of praise for us and we hope you can listen to it with the same sense of contemplation and praise in which we tried to write it.

Thank you for any kind words of encouragement or constructive criticism, for prayers and thoughts and inspiration. Redivivus is yours as much as it is ours.

In Peace and Love,

John



Redivivus Tracklisting:

1. We Hung Our Harps
2. ...and then the sun
3. Harbinger (Sought After,
4. If I Forget You O Jerusalem
5. Gomer (Returning Home)
6. A Voice From Behind
7. Sinai
8. The City No Longer Deserted)