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About this release
Recorded fourth but lived with the longest, Sandcastles became a test of endurance as much as acceptance. Tristan brought it in fully arranged — melody, chords, structure intact — a gentle lecture on impermanence disguised as a driving, fast-moving song. I spent weeks woodshedding the drums just to survive it at tempo. In my head were flashes of Carter Beauford — splash cymbal color and restless movement — and Nate Smith’s relentless 16th-note hi-hat urgency, with floor tom fills that feel like momentum tipping forward. I wanted it in one take. No safety net. No edits.
But the song hit deeper than its speed. The line “you say one day we’ll publish all your thoughts, but I’m not sure we will” cut hard in the wake of COVID and a band collapse, when the fear of fading into obscurity felt less poetic and more personal. The chorus offers comfort — it’s okay, I’m grateful we had this time — but the final post-chorus surges into something almost violent: be here now, because this will not last. Like sandcastles, the work is beautiful precisely because it won’t survive the tide.
I finally asked Tristan to run the session while I played. I usually prefer control — splicing, polishing, perfecting — but this one needed witness and decision. We finished it that night in the basement. Later, Martha layered harmonies that elevated everything, even if it took a minute to find the exact shape Tristan was hearing. And in the bridge, when the band drops back from the chorus and the drums slam into halftime, hammering the snare with everything I’ve got, it feels like the thesis of the song: quiet acceptance everywhere else — but underneath, a fierce refusal to disappear without making a sound.
Lyrics
Maybe you'll never learn to dance But the way you move, brings smiles to the strangers that you meet Maybe you'll never learn to love yourself But you love the crunch of freshly fallen leaves under your feet You say you'll never get it But I think you get it more than me Two guitars and a campfire made you feel Like you'd finally found your place Yeah, we were drunk and didn't hit the notes But all our friends swear to this day That it was like Bowie) came back for one night only Just to keep the trees awake The moment fades In comes the tide and out goes what we made And not a sign of all that happened today But take a breath and how it moved you remains It won't wash away The bouquet that he made didn't last a week, but the comfort sits with you still And we say one day we're gonna publish all your thoughts But I'm not sure we will That's OK you were here to think them And I was here to drink them up Until we had our Phil Even though it's gone It can still be true That everything was worth it Even though they won't remember It can still be true That everything was perfect The moment fades In comes the tide and out goes what we made And not a sign of all that happened today But take a breath and how it moved you remains Time runs thin Soon it'll be gone away, so burn it in Might not be a chance again till who knows when So let's not worry on what might have been Oh now can last Days steadily slipping to a fading past And formed the music of our winding path Forget to listen and it's gone so fast So unplug my ears and tie me to the mast And wash me away