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Being No One, Going Nowhere

by STRFKR

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1.
Thin and white and kinky hair A shadows climbing up the wall Your letter lying near the phone With honors for the patient one I know your dark side is stronger than you think You always were underneath Was this trouble your nature Why can’t you shake it Even like this Was this trouble your nature Why can’t you say it Even like this I don’t know why They always have so much to say And no one there who cared to hear I know your darkness better than you think While all your old lovers falling on their knees And all their hearts exploding underneath You always were good to me Was this trouble your nature Why can’t you shake it Even like this Was this trouble your nature Why can’t you say it Even like this
2.
Satellite 03:56
Fall away from the edge of the world Where I’m fine on my own Felt right alone Bled White Soft cell where there’s nowhere to go There where nobody knows Theres nothing at all Shadow light Shadow light My thoughts all evil and pure Gone away from my own design Satellite Show me light I felt so close to a cure In a moment of passing time Show me light Satellite Show me light Lonely light Show me light Only light Slow wave tangled up in a haze Of a short faded memory Moving down there in front of me Relaying Repeating Body rides over the falls Where I'm finding my home Where theres nothing at all Shadow light Shadow light
3.
Never Ever 03:34
Soft velvet and candle light Little fears that you keep inside Everything that was there before Well it feels just like a fantasy You don't keep desire on high display Young slave and her Mary Kay Held you up on St. Andy's cross And it feels just like a dream, you said "All my friends all my enemies All wrapped up down in front of me All red white All so good to be Free from every desire" Black sheets cover morning light Old secrets that never die All the shame that was there before Well it feels just like my fantasy When I was on my knees well then where were you Trading places for someone new And every time you come crawling down Well it feels just like a dream, you said "All my friends all my enemies All tied up down in front of me All red white All so good to be Free from every desire" "All my friends all my enemies All wrapped up down in front of me All red white All so good to be Free from every desire" What would I lie for?
4.
In a way I'm the only one The lonely one I lay myself before you Flame the fire in your eyes In a way It's the only way There's no escape You lay yourself before me Where there's nowhere to run or hide Give me a sign Give me something to hold on I am your play thing, baby I'll be your friend I'll be there when you need it I am a lap dog baby I am a child now I am a child now Was it something you needed Or something you wanted? And covered your eyes Was it something you asked for Or put in a casket? When something ain't right Just know that something ain't right I know that something ain't right In a way I'm the only one The lonely one I lay myself before you Flame the fire in your eyes In a way It's the only way There's no escape You lay yourself before me Where there's nowhere to run or hide Give me a sign Give me something to hold on I am your play thing, baby I'll be your friend I'll be there when you need it I am a lap dog baby I am a child now I am a child now Was it something you needed Or something you wanted? And covered your eyes Was it something you asked for Or put in a casket? When something ain't right Just know that something ain't right I know that something ain't right
5.
Lonely eyes and a save me smile I know I could die tonight Junior high and I'm getting by I don't wanna try I wanna take you home boy Come with me out in the light Living as somebody else boy Open your eyes You gotta try boy Open your eyes Squeezing the palm of my hand In these bodies, we are alone What could I have changed your mind Tell me What good when we're out of time Won't say that I never tried Will you Set me free by the river side Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body Let it take me Back to the river Lonely eyes and a save me smile standing halfway in the night 'Cross the room in this neon tomb Let it be the satellite I wanna take you home boy Come with me out in the light Living as somebody else boy Open your eyes You gotta try boy Open your eyes Who doesn't need another friend In these bodies, we are alone What could I have changed your mind Tell me What good when we're out of time Won't say that I never tried Will you Set me free by the river side Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body And let it Take my body Take my body Let it take me Back to the river
6.
interspace 01:10
7.
In The End 03:44
Strange light On the Highway Golden Hours Hover and Retreat She said I'd love something I can grow into And I have good intentions She kept me up for her secrets and waning moon And now I, I can’t remember She’s so Bad, With good intentions She’s bad With good intentions In the end You traded your heart For another In the end It was there all along Under cover Strange light On the Highway Golden Hours Hover and Retreat She said I want someone I can grow into and I have good intentions She kept me up for hours of darkened mood And now I, I can’t remember She’s so Bad, With good intentions She’s bad With good intentions
8.
Maps 04:36
I see in your eyes Moving all around you You never had to try Changing all the time I see it in your eyes Falling by your side You never had to lie To keep them in your heart
9.
Your sullen face was almost frozen in time Said all your secrets could surely be all mine And all that I wanted was already alive What does it mean then to be yourself While they all hide in comfort you wouldn’t know I hear your call Standing alone I know you well/will Demian I become a devil When I’m with you Dance around my shadow And let it through I become a devil When I’m with you Dance around my shadow And let it through When I’m with you You knew all along it was only half of the world Said all your secrets would be clearer in time And all that I needed was inside all along I hear your call Demian
10.
Dark Days 03:42
When it all was said and done When the weight fell from our shoulders We were both confused and young And our games are growing old - growing old I know we’ll never make it I know you want it all When it all was coming down What was left there from each other We were both confused and young And we both are growing older - growing old I know we’ll never make it
11.
You’re alright where you are Being no one Going nowhere

about

Being No One, Going Nowhere. The title of STRFKR's fourth album may seem bleak at first. But hold it in your head a minute, feel its weight, and you may recognize the phrase for what it is: a goal. In the era of the personal brand—amid the FOMO Age—it's increasingly hard to shed a stifling sense of self, or to just be in the moment that you're in. Well, consider this an invitation to get blissfully insignificant. That's what STRFKR founder Joshua Hodges aimed to do when he exiled himself to the desert to create this record, but he returned with his most significant work yet: a set of darkly glistening dance songs rife with sticky beats, earworming hooks, philosophical heft, and bittersweet beauty.

The album opens on "Tape Machine," and the difference is readily apparent. On 2013's Miracle Mile, STRFKR refined a full-band sound, but this doubles down on and completely reimagines the project's electronic and pop roots. The initial synths could fuel a rave, and the ensuing groove could score a Drive sequel, but the song is richer still, with cosmic effects flying overhead and a psych-folk earthiness below. It isn't that the band sat this LP out—drummer (etc.) Keil Corcoran penned the thick astral disco of "In the End," and he and bassist (etc.) Shawn Glassford both pitch in throughout. But Being No One, Going Nowhere was born in Joshua Tree after Hodges packed up his Los Angeles apartment and moved to that tiny Mojave outpost under the great big sky. “It came together for me in the desert," he says. "Out there, it's easy to feel small and slow."

When Hodges started STRFKR in 2007, it was designed to be success-proof. The name was both unfit for radio and a jab at fame-chasers. But the project was also meant to be bright, playful and brimming with energy. He stumbled upon a winning juxtaposition that's a STRFKR staple to this day: dark (or heavy) lyrics set to happy music. Hodges credits that to Elliott Smith's influence, although Being No One, Going Nowhere has closer sonic kin in Italo-disco, kosmische musik and Tony Hoffer's work with Phoenix, Beck and M83. English thinker/writer Alan Watts, a scholar of Eastern philosophy, was another muse for Hodges—his voice appears on nearly every STRFKR release, including this one. That's him on "interspace," talking about sloughing off preconceived identity to find one's place in the universe, which is the story of Hodges' eventual career: stop trying—no, start not trying—and succeed.

This album's name actually paraphrases the title of a book by Ayya Khema, a Buddhist nun, but the concept came to Hodges in a less chaste setting. "I had an experience at a BDSM club that was really freeing," he says. "I realized that the appeal is letting go of your mind and stress. You can be super present with the pain, and then the pain isn't even pain. It's a gateway to freedom." In a way, each song on Being No One, Going Nowhere seeks that end. There's the reality-refracting fantasy of "Never Ever," the hard truths about addiction's ravages on "Tape Machine," a death-defying coming of age tale on "Open Your Eyes," and references to Hermann Hesse's 1919 novel of self-realization, Demian, on "When I'm With You." If the words don't set you free, the music—exuberant, enveloping, incredibly catchy—should do so handily.

None of which is to imply that STRFKR is drifting along aimlessly. To the contrary, Hodges crafted this album's dance bent with the stage in mind. The live setup these days includes a custom-made LED wall and a homemade light show that syncs with the rhythm of the songs (also, the occasional crowd-surfing astronaut and band-in-drag). Plus, he camped out at the house of producer Jeffrey Brodsky (Yacht, RAC) for a week and a half, working all hours to ensure Being No One, Going Nowhere sounds as crisply booming over PAs as it does in headphones. Even if Hodges is too busy pushing the future of indie dance-pop forward to possibly attain his goal of unplugging, his aspiration is everything: "Existing is it. This moment is enough."

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released November 4, 2016

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