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The Skirmishers

by Glass Echoes

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1.
Fractured 03:34
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Motion, your mind Mind Clap to the waters, false Dream of the faulters, of their salts For I am gone Pawned off, a con I am fractured now Ooh could you see us together Ooh could you mean this forever Ooh could you see us together Ooh could you mean this forever Ooh could you see us together
2.
Say What You Need To Say 03:35
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It’s getting late Hidden shivers in the driveway I’m thinking, overthinking it and it plays, plays, plays Do you really know me? I am barreling away Can’t keep the lights on and I’m running out of names What I want to say Say what you need to say to me The words won’t cut me open You got me breathing deep Say what you need to say to me I’m caught up in a bullish ocean And I couldn’t see Thinking of my life here now Running all the circles around and around We’re close-knit, fleeting, how my heart’s beating so loud You can call me out I am havoc and I try not to let you down I’m seething, how my heart’s reeling without I’m out Say what you need to say to me The words won’t cut me open You got me breathing deep Say what you need to say to me I’m caught up in a bullish ocean And I couldn’t see Say what you need to say Say what you need to say Say what you need to say Say what you need to say
3.
The Skirmishers 04:16
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Fully thrown Please don’t go The happening, they’re after me I’m hidden in the snow And I don’t know They hold their aim They lie in wait They’re coming close and slowly stalling I sit up straight I fear the cutaway And all along the sky is falling Cavalier Forever foreign fear The hidden hurts I fear I struck a nerve and now It’s happening, they’re after me They hold their aim They lie in wait They’re coming close and slowly stalling I sit up straight I fear the cutaway And all along the sky is falling The small arms now They’re clearly calling Don’t run to close the gate Take it in slow Old guard with their old fine hopes And all along the sky is falling Peering right through the glow How they’re watching me In all of my episodes, they know Bordering, skirmishing Watching, but they can never know They hold their aim They lie in wait Coming close and slowly stalling I sit up straight I fear the cutaway And all along the sky is falling The small arms now They’re clearly calling Don’t run to close the gate Take it in slow Old guard with their old fine hopes And all along the sky is falling
4.
Washed Away 04:08
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That's it It's too late to begin again To call your name Sprawling thin Coming close, immediate The thawed moraine When the winters end All the loss of everything Waiting for us someday When the nightmares send Full on, the slowed wave And we are washed away Still caught in it We had brought dominion The sullen shade Just the thought within That we alone are sentient The golden way When the winters end All the loss of everything Waiting for us someday When the nightmares send Full on, the slowed wave And we are washed away We are washed away Slow start, wool ceiling All falter we all fall feeling New heart, full healing Low crawl but we all believe it Slow start, wool ceiling All falter we all fall feeling New heart, full healing Low crawl but we all believe it
5.
Welsh Winter 01:56
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6.
Cold 04:19
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Everything is set in motion Wait still for the crossing's run, all done Scribbling I still wrote it golden I keep it all clear, keep it all spun Is there anybody out there who can hear me I’m praying in the undertow Bruise water like a stone It’s a shakedown here I fight back, fight back I’m still coming in cold You got me laying here in cryosleep No feels I can’t hear I’m waking up from borrowed dreams, but I see It’s a missing feeling I can’t believe Everything come over me Is there anybody out there who can hear me I’m praying in the undertow Bruise water like a stone It’s a shakedown here I fight back, fight back I’m still coming in cold So cold I’m still coming in cold Is there anybody out there who can hear me It’s a shakedown here I fight back, fight back I’m still coming in cold
7.
Somewhere in the Valley 03:44
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I’m waking up The wrappings from my eyes are peeling off I’m climbing up Walls with shivered eyes, a bitter cup Somewhere in the valley speaks Meet me Meet me, meet me there Meet me there Not giving up  The crossings come with cues the hunger brought It speaks to me of softer things I’m losing it The busy beat of time, it’s bruising Somewhere in the valley speaks
8.
Long Way 03:31
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I see your love for a moment I feel your touch has softened Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth Holding on I'm holding What did I do wrong I can't feel the weight, the steel, the way that I used to Where did I go wrong Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth Baby, we’re a long way From the water’s warmth
9.
Running Dark 04:17
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Holding still, hiding in the hills The monsters fall in line, they're coming Running dark, I feed the guilty spark The cruelest part of me Breathe the thrill, waiting for the kill The hunters in the night, they're coming They're coming And I know that they want me And I know that they want me still They want me still They're coming And I know that they want me And I know they want They're coming And I know that they want me I know still
10.
Refine It 04:43
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I was pushing it, moving on I was formidable, moving it all, to the woods I’d be lying, but I couldn’t lie to you, I couldn’t lie to you I’d be a sight, I know, if I let it all go So I’ll let it all go So I’ll let it all go So I’ll let it all go So I’ll let it all go How could I refine it, redesign it Oh I know there’s layers to this, we reminisce of better days I’d be lying, but I couldn’t lie to you, I couldn’t lie to you I’d be a sight, I know, if I let it all go
11.
Traitor 03:29
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Not all will be forgiven I cut away I blur it all, amend it The bitter lathe The traitor waits If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? The truth we learn from fiction The withered page We burn it all, lament it We get a say The traitor waits If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? If we could go back and see the moment Would you try again? Not all will be forgiven I cut away

about

Questioning the questions.

When making art, how beneficial can the questions be? “Will this work?” “Should we do this, or that?” Maybe there’s a time to shed the questions and simply let the creativity answer on its own.

This was the natural mental wrestling match for Glass Echoes (Chris Bartels and Ben Noble) while writing what would become their sophomore album together, The Skirmishers.

After excitedly, and almost accidentally, stumbling upon their unique experimental indie-pop sound with 2020’s debut Breathe, described by Atwood Magazine as “a record of fragility and depth,” one wouldn’t fault the Minneapolis duo for asking questions, now that they were past the accidental creative stage.

But Glass Echoes was always meant to be simply a vehicle of creative freedom and escape, and so the conscious choice of avoiding unnecessary questions - and in turn, simply letting the sonic journey go where it goes - became a priority and an exercise.

And it led to this, The Skirmishers - a cinematic roller coaster of ups and downs - an emotional odyssey of sound. The title track encompasses that ride with unexpected weirdness amidst heavy, nostalgic analog synth pulses and Noble’s swirling vocal reverie.

Another standout amongst the peaks and valleys is “Traitor,” built on a raw, sporadic phone recording of a piano part Bartels recorded on a whim at his in-laws’ house. Of the collaborative process, Bartels shares, ““When I heard ‘traitor’ in Ben’s lyrics, the vocal phrase ‘try again’ popped into my head - which is when I came up with the chorus’ second line, somewhat of a ‘response’ to Ben’s line. Would you ‘try again’? As in, is this relationship, or this thing you’re chasing in life - is it worth the conflict? Will you fight for it?”

Is it worth the conflict? Will you fight for it?

Oddly enough, these were in turn questions that Noble and Bartels had to ask themselves during the creative process of The Skirmishers, actively dodging too many questions about what if or should we, and simply going where the songs lead.

credits

released March 15, 2024

Glass Echoes is Chris Bartels and Ben Noble.

Additional writing and production from Matt Patrick on tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, and 10.

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Glass Echoes Minneapolis, Minnesota

In the midst of exploring a variety of musical styles together, Glass Echoes organically turned into the flagship collaboration between Ben Noble and Chris Bartels. With no regard for sonic boundaries, it became a full creative expression for both of them. Each song, rich in layers, has a unique and experimental character, while still embracing a melodic, familiar tone. ... more

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