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The Mere

by Empty Mirror

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    In a card sleeve case. Artwork by William Moran.

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1.
The Mere 02:17
lyrics
I'm the architect of my disconnect I'm the fingers in your hair I'm that final round as the night shuts down I'll only turn you in your sleep As she turns back to me I'm the dream that ends with the morning spent wondering "what's wrong with me?" The handsome mayor falls from favor with the paper no one reads We're mediocrity We're mediocrity We're mediocrity We're turning into me We're turning into me How could it come to be? I'll tell all
2.
All Stems (Ready to Fast-Forward Now) 04:02
lyrics
Nobody knows Nobody knows you I take lovers over my bent and brittle knee I break whatever you call that -- your sympahy I make the hollow pride concede yeah, I make the hollow mind conceive there's a simple question we could ask But nobody knows to Nobody knows you You are the half-truth on my arm, desire-proof Ready to tell the world that all is well? You're creaking the words like rusty oil wells They'll take what you don't want to sell And you'll take the years they owe in hell nobody knows you Nobody chose to You are the half-truth Like a scar I smile through oh, we're stuck in a damn loop Oh we're stuck just continue forward forward forward forward forward forward forward forward forward forward Forward Forward Forward Forward Forward Forward Yes Forward Forward Forward
3.
Keep It Real 00:45
lyrics
so take a moment the moment Revealed and keep it real keep it real Keep it
4.
Breakfast at Midnight 02:35
lyrics
Firefighters know Firefighters notice things sleeping for the bell to ring It's ill-begotten fame It's not his real name I'm some kind of game I care because I can't I can't because I care will he ever will he ever nod off? will he ever will he ever resolve?
5.
Clownishness 02:47
lyrics
I couldn't work it out I couldn't work it out Standing before it I tried to implore it but I had a sudden doubt half-thinking roundabout whimpering from a shout oh, what's that quotation on civilization? It's something I care about trying to down it out Trying to drown it out disintegration and remasculation bilious in the mouth I have it where I want it I have the means to flaunt it I ask politely I do not want to fright thee we pussies ask politely we do not want to, frankly Work it out work it out work it out Work it out Work it out Work it out purge it out purge it out We're playing out
6.
Thinking in Tongues 02:06
lyrics
One thinks what one will sure do love you all the time at least eat what you've killed I'm consumed by my desire I know I want you I can feel the fire dying every night The moment of still I love it half the time
7.
Two-Drink Minimum to Leave the Beach 03:22
lyrics
Seconds to be your lover decades to be your friend I made a poem of her Wind over sand I didn't write this ending I simply understand Entropy's never-ending The sea chews the land If this is liberation I can't be free My life in just one moment of pure release Ampersand, ampersand and endlessly shifting speech everything poisonous is locked in our reach If this is liberation I can't be free Bonfire leer Fire up an effigy I tremble nearer I love you I love you still A castle a man of silt
8.
Fatehandler (For an Insignificant Man) 02:14
lyrics
The mind is weak The body creaks The body seeks haven If you can't think It's best to sing If you can't sing, shut up fatehandler There's an excellence inside you small wonder Let a second guess divide you Shut up
9.
Inedia (Naked Girl) 02:43
lyrics
Suddenly hungry pours a drink asks not what she needs Half empty never the words never the words Naked girl grows in reverse into a birth Naked girl Sever, sever It's your only lever Better leave her first Fuck her first.

about

"Sculpted to perfection, Empty Mirror create a timeless sense of grandeur on the patient and persistent journey of The Mere" -Skope Magazine bit.ly/2t7ownQ

"Surprisingly emotional and wickedly addictive from start to finish, The Mere is a swan song from a group that never got the recognition from critics that they deserved in life, but can now find a sincere appreciation from audiences in death. In a lot of ways, the dark, hollow tonality of this record echoes the story of The Empty Mirror itself; the complexities of the music are overwhelming to put it mildly, but to be denied the genuine bliss of experiencing this album in its complete state would be a shame of epic proportions. The bottom line? Give this record the spin it’s been waiting for – I have a feeling you won’t regret it." -The Indie Source bit.ly/2Sm4tAZ

"The lyrics in songs like 'Clownishness,' the title track and 'Breakfast at Midnight' are sharp as butcher knives and provide a sense of clarity amidst the suffocating atmosphere of noir-esque bass and drum violence.... The Mere, put simply, is a poignant, unforgettable dreamscape broken into nine tracks that vault between the bleak and the boisterous, finding a soft center somewhere between the two that is perhaps the most powerful gift The Empty Mirror could have ever given us." -Music Existence bit.ly/2Gkknpk

"The Empty Mirror haven’t finished imparting their message from beyond the grave to us yet; everything that we’ve heard up until this point in the album has been a preamble to “Inedia (Naked Girl),” which brings The Mere to a close with a kaleidoscopic explosion of melodies fused together in a single tightly wound track.As the roaring feedback crumbles into reverberating guitars that fade to black before us, The Empty Mirror’s so-called lost record comes to a stop, and we’re left to ponder the deeper meaning within its layers of enigmatic poetry and stealthy instrumental emotionality. I myself couldn’t be much more pleased with what Grant Huling has produced in this gorgeously appointed LP that lives up to everything The Empty Mirror were capable of during their highly extolled time running the underground." -Vents Magazine bit.ly/2SLaYwC

"In honor of the tenth anniversary of Overwhelm’s distribution, Huling diligently worked to finish the production on the band’s intimate nine-track sophomore effort. The group’s follow-up record was finally released last fall, and proved to be just as stunning, influential and progressive as their debut." -ShockYa! bit.ly/2t8iL9t

"The Mere is fascinating because of its tones of didactic reflection and complicated yet simple sound, like walking through a dream enveloped in a snowstorm." -Tattoo.com bit.ly/2WzcelP

"The Mere has a bold and dynamic sense and grips the listener into a trance like state." -Indie Pulse bit.ly/2RBVaru


Music video for "The Mere": bit.ly/2DCVxhK

Music video for "Thinking in Tongues": bit.ly/2AnlYW0

credits

released August 11, 2018

Grant Huling (Vox, Bass, Guitar)
Bill Kim (Drums)
Kate Amrine (Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet)
Karl Lyden (Trombone, Bass Trombone)

Drums recorded at Hideout Studio in North Seattle by James Sullivan and Alan Chizmar. Brass recorded in Williamsburg. Everything else recorded in German Village.

Written and produced by Grant Huling. Opus 6.

Painting by William Moran: movingdot.tumblr.com

Instrumental version available here: soundcloud.com/theemptymirror/sets/the-mere-instrumental-lp

A live performance of The Mere with strings:
vimeo.com/28667610

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Empty Mirror image

Empty Mirror Ohio

Born Oberlin, Ohio, 2005. Died Seattle, Washington, 2009.

Revived in 2018 for two posthumous releases: The Mere (the LP we had started when we broke up, completed as intended) and Overkill (outtakes spanning the life).

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