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Tethers

by Minor Moon

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Tethers via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 400 
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a lovely full color gatefold wallet, with artwork and design by Benedict Kupstas.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Tethers via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 50 
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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    High-bias cassette tape. Good vibes only. Beautifully designed by Benedict Kupstas. Only 30 copies available :)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Tethers via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 30 
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  • A collaboration between Chicago's Co-op Sauce and Minor Moon celebrating the release of the band's new album 'Tethers' ~ in this bottle earth and sky ignite with the bright burn of fermented habanero, umami rich AKA Miso and the neon pop of grapefruit, whole lemon and ginger.

    Label artwork by Maggie Famiglietti (@magadeth / @cocaine.rodeo).

    Pair Lightning Fix with Chicago's finest cosmic rock n roll:
    ships out within 7 days

      $8 USD or more 

     

1.
The Ground 04:01
The ground Was trembling up to me And all around Was sound And a fountain Of blood and glowing string I woke from half-day eyes Sprayed up and scattered the light I froze at the peak of the arc Bare life in a thousand shards The ground Was cracking at my feet And all around Was sound And a fountain Of stone, from there you swing I woke from half-moon eyes Sprayed up and scattered the light I froze at the peak of the arc Bare life in a thousand shards
2.
Swung out to the tiled plane Stretching each direction the same Under a purple sky, uncertain I called your name And I came upon a fountain of stone The very same as on the shore back home I look down to my reflection A shimmering ghost Among the rattling past There’s a layer that packs All the heat won’t let it go A riddle crying to be told And under that where the rattling never rests There’s a sunken chest You enter through a silvery door I heard the innards are a cloud of smoke You’ve seen before I dipped my feet inside Like Rome back in ’45 Violence and history Have no boundary In this light And the water turned black and cold And pulled me in by the toes Into a thick, unending ocean A million holes Among the rattling past There’s a layer that packs All the heat won’t let it go A riddle crying to be told And under that where the rattling never rests There’s a sunken chest You enter through a silvery door I heard the innards are a cloud of smoke And no, no lightning fix, babe No lightning fix, babe And then underwater all alone The purple circle of light above slowly closed I climb down into my vessel To sink below
3.
Under an ocean of holes With no sign of the lodestar Dipped outside of the known arc This vessel will crack before it blows I’d have a moment to mourn ya Through a window Ooh, you can’t run from the spell Ooh, no, you can’t slip out unheld When it’s all premonition On the edge of oblivion And the whole sunken world is your cage Whose death is this? I’m dipping under the black Beyond all going back And repeating Under an ocean of holes I’m not sending a postcard I ripped up what I owed ya Now, way deep down on the floor You know that I’m getting closer To the silvery door Ooh, you’re in the midst of the spell Ooh, you didn’t slip but you fell You cut up like a knife Teeming with life And were thrown to the bottom of the sea Whose death is this? I stepped out of the night Into a tunnel of torch light Heart beating
4.
I am haunted down a well-lit road By the shadow sticking to my clothes Walking underground, the torches glowing I encountered them two miles below Tunnel opened to a space so wide and tall Shelters endless, stretching row by row Found them all dancing in the weird town square Thousand bodies swaying unaware Thousand bodies where the bonfire flared Their heads were dead: no eyes, no teeth, no hair Hey, dark ones Shaking cavern Hey, dark ones you’ve won They undulated by the big bright light Their shadows scattered out and magnified, like Giants dancing through an endless night The great cave silent while they rock in time They rock in time Hey, dark ones Shaking cavern Hey, dark ones you’ve won Now have some fun And in a twisted flash I clearly see Bodies move while the shadows lead I feel a tugging from right next to me Now I’m dancing up a well-lit road Battling the shadow clawing at my soul Louder now, the silent drums from the darkness below Trying to turn me around, I’m writhing on the floor Crawling, rolling, bleeding up the hole in the world, Then lo and behold, I’m banging on the silvery door Hey, dark ones Shaking cavern Hey, dark ones, I’m done Hey, dark ones Shaking cavern Hey, dark ones, I’m gone Tether, take me to shore
5.
I fled as the sky cracked The ground bubbled red and bright And I swung out way beyond the light And I held that tether so I tight I burned A line right on my skin And here in this room now The one I’ve been dying to find The one that lies just behind That silvery door in my mind there’s only Some white smoke in my eyes And back where there was a future One time we watched a comet flying by It was blue as fire and blue as ice And ain’t it just an obvious blessing to find A moment of such light
6.
So Quiet 04:30
This is what you set out for You gotta get home It’s over now You hung your string You had your swing and how You swung out Well, that monster won’t find you here Sipping on the brink, you were Slipping on down The dirty backbone You can’t put no stake in that This is not how it ends Just look at how the ends tie up I hung my string I had my swing and now I’m swingin in Well, that monster won’t find me here I’m still learning how to be So quiet
7.
Oh, you came to As the trash truck rattled by And the circling sunshine Filled the room And the risk of the city still looks pretty When you close your eyes and count to infinity, well You set out You set out as the whole world fell You didn’t think that I would find you there And you recall Behind that door, a hazy room, small As the room you rented last fall Was there anything else? And you get your pity in the midst of the city When you close your eyes and count to infinity, well You set out You set out as the whole world fell You didn’t think that I would find you there What’ll you do now What’ll you do now, can’t run from the spell You can bet I’ll find you anywhere You set out You set out on a tether That you’d never return? You should have known better, well What’ll you do now? What’ll you do now in the midst of the spell Now that you know I’ll find you anywhere?
8.
The first time you left home You were naked, slimy, still attached And you didn’t have a single word to scream about that, Well, sure as hell you scream And now that you’re alone again You feel naked, slimy, still attached You struggle to find the words to speak about where you’re at Well, maybe nothing’s changed But to be honest there’s this newfound and vaguely dreadful sense that Maybe nothing changes Well, how about that? You walk out that silvery door Where’s the sting? Where’s the fire and rain? In the heat of summer you just sweat all through the day You sure tethered something strange In the roar of the passing trucks you can’t hear your breath While you would hear the scream Well, how about that? There is nothing obvious about that Well, I don’t know when But I know that this is happening again I said I know that this is happening again And maybe there’s no shame In being caught in a loop at the end I said I’m feeling caught in a loop at the end But it’s just the beginning Well, how about that? There is nothing obvious about that
9.
What do we talk about When we talk about talking? With sand dry tongues in tomorrow’s weather Will the presence of strangers really loosen up the tether? What do we listen for When we really try to listen? All these big moves are just small ripples When you’re knee-deep at a distance And at the sea when you look up At the sea when you look up What do you see when you look up? Beyond the light The peace flows cheap all night Beyond the light Where the circle ain’t wrapped so tight What are we clinging to When we’re reclaiming our possessions? Like how I will use the key I still have To get in alone, Pack my shit up while you are at work What are we hoping for When we stare into the future? ‘Cause today looks like a bright sleek funnel The light shines on as everything crumbles You call out, my god, it’s an echoing fumble With no fold to hold all of the secrets that humble you And the fear won’t wake you up Beyond the light The peace flows cheap all night ‘Cause beyond the light There’s no need for an appetite Beyond the light No teeth, no hair, no eyes And beyond the light Where the circle ain’t wrapped so tight What do we talk about When we talk about freedom? Like a child in the air
10.
I loved you on the highway And in the bath And in the storm drain eating up my cigarette ash I loved you in a toothache And in the mail And in the long year descending to the bottom of the trail I loved you in a stain I loved you when you’d ask I loved you on the first day, baby And I loved you on the last I loved you as a stranger And in our bed As you were laughing freely at something that I said I loved you as you craned As the wheel was turning back I loved you in the freeze and the thaw and I loved you after that I sit in rocky silence Too thick for dreaming I greet the salty absence Breezing from within I cough a long wind I rub both my eyes I clean up the mess I accept my prize I blow through the winnings I clean that up too And then I picture a picture someone else took of you I loved you in the mirror Looking alone In the long year, the creaking of your steps beyond the door I loved you in a stain I loved you when you asked I loved you on the first day, baby And I loved you after that I loved you on the first day, baby Wonder will it ever pass?

credits

released March 26, 2021

Sam Cantor - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar (all), synth (3, 5) and upright piano (5)
Nathan Bojko - drum kit (all except track 5)
Michael Downing - electric bass guitar and vocals (all except track 5)
Colin Drozdoff - Wurlitzer electric piano, organ, grand piano and Prophet (all but track 5), additional synths (1, 6)
Konstantine Stebliy - lap steel guitar (all but track 5)

Additional musicians:
V.V. Lightbody - vocals (1, 2, 3, 9), flute (2, 3, 4), piano noise (5)
Macie Stewart - violin (2, 3, 4, 6, 10), vocals (3)
Nora Barton - cello (2, 3, 4, 6, 10)
Sean Mullins - percussion (all except track 8)
Alex Blomarz - tenor and baritone saxophone (2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10)
Nick Broste - trombone (3, 6)
Dorian Gehring - pedal steel guitar (5)

Mixed and edited by Dave Vettraino and Sam Cantor
Recorded in Chicago, IL by Dave Vettraino at Decade Music Studios and Public House Sound Recordings and by Sam Cantor at home and at Erin’s house in Urbana, IL, with additional recording by Dorian Gehring at Foxhall Studio and by Michael Downing at home. Sean Mullins recorded percussion parts from his home in Brooklyn, NY. Mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service.

Art and design by Benedict Kupstas.
Cover art direction by Sam Cantor and Benedict Kupstas.
Track illustrations by Sam Cantor.
Photography by Vivian McConnel.

All songs written and produced by Sam Cantor (Minor Moon Music ASCAP).
Lyrics by Sam Cantor.
Music arranged by Minor Moon.
String arrangements by Macie Stewart.
Horn arrangements by Colin Drozdoff and Sam Cantor.

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