Well you lost in the war
Went in toe and toe
You hadn’t quite known
It isn’t like a dream
The battles are real
And somewhere in hidden lines
You knew there was a hope
the shred that ends the rope
Like that sweet somewhere
Where the spring and the summer meet
You forgot simple thanks
Like a thing you toss away
Good health along the days
There’s a peak in the way
You walk and you breathe
But some times when its right
You catch yourself in stride
Forgetting that its shy
Like that sweet somewhere
Where the spring and the summer meet
And when you’re all alone
Your mind’s in the sky
Returning from the cold
Remember how it feels
When the dark turns to light
So love can find the way
Love can find its way
I can tell something’s weird
I know the way you grieve
Your hands block your smile
And you talk memories
But when the days seem to glide
There’s no limit to your scope
Your eyes begin to glow
Like that sweet somewhere
Sweet somewhere
Sweet somewhere
When the dark turns to light
So love can find the way
Love can find its way
about
A string-adorned melody reminiscent of the era when crooners recorded entire albums with string sections, “Where The Spring and Summer Meet” is the product of James simplifying the often obsessive, detail-oriented approach one hears on his earlier projects like Admirers, Mikey Jukebox and his stint in early-2000s dreampop/shoegaze upstarts Longwave. These days, the focus is less on production and more on songs and the vibe of players in a room. And with “Spring & Summer,” James marries the bedroom-producer ethic with a Brill Building sensibility that’s long been pushing to get through in his music.
“Over the last couple of years,” he explains, “I’ve really been drawn to pre-artificial recording techniques. Hearing the first early Ray Charles records and things like those J&M Studios/Cosimo Matassa cuts from the late 40’s right when recording was getting itself really together, where it was just four mics in a room, if that, that’s really left an impression on me after years of going in the opposite direction. For me right now, it’s all about the room, performance, and someone capturing it.”
-Saby Reyes-Kulkarni
Lyric:
Well you lost in the war
Went in toe and toe
You hadn’t quite known
It isn’t like a dream
The battles are real
And somewhere in hidden lines
You knew there was a hope
A shred that ends the rope
Like that sweet somewhere
When the spring and the summer meet
You forgot simple thanks
Like a thing you toss away
Good health along the days
There’s a peak in the way
You walk and you breathe
But some times when it's right
You catch yourself in stride
Forgetting that it's shy
Like that sweet somewhere
When the spring and the summer meet
And when you’re all alone
Your mind’s in the sky
Returning from the cold
Remember how it feels
When the dark turns to light
So love can find the way
Love can find its way
I can tell something’s weird
I know the way you grieve
Your hands block your smile
And you talk memories
But when the days seem to glide
There’s no limit to your scope
Your eyes begin to glow
Like that sweet somewhere
Sweet somewhere
Sweet somewhere
When the dark turns to light
So love can find the way
Love can find its way
credits
released June 21, 2019
Recorded & Mixed by Mikey James at Bare Essential Recording, Perinton, New York.
Mastered by Rob Kleiner at SE Mastering, Los Angeles, California.
Mikey James - vocal, guitars, drums, arrangements
Ben Stephanus - electric bass
Greg Gefell - pedal steel guitar
Jeremy Stoner - tuba arrangement
Callan Saunders - backing vocal
Tara James - backing vocal
Kit James - backing vocal
One of independent music’s great eccentrics of the last two-plus decades, James has always had a keen ear for production and arrangement since his earliest efforts to capture the grandeur of George Martin’s layering on a cassette 4-track machine.
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