LoneLyhaiku i

CRASH—andmy hand’s broken in the sand

But I stand up and extend my eyes to

The horizon and watch the crows explode

One hundred andnine degrees…Such abrupt a turn

In this reverseI fail to seethe benefit

And though I may walk in circlesI know this much at least:

You cannot suppress a notion

You cannot oppress an ocean

And you cannotrepressme

Marta Andelson: Vocals, flutes Justin Carter: Electric guitar Tom Earnest: Electric bass Vincent Kelley: Drums Julia Marquez-Uppman: CelloLeah Meyer: Violin Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, pianos, electric guitar Sami Rebein: Violin Karin Stein: Charango Jacob Ziontz: Viola

ii StiLL home?

Polyrhythmic crickets went silent when I passed byso I’ll mind my step

Unaccustomed to the sound of quiet since you passed onYou left your step

I can’t find your step

But are you still home? I thought I saw purple glints in your hair that weren’t there

But how could I know?I’d just like to see if it’s time for your petals to unfold

Looking through some photographs you left behindI have tried to find the rest

Polyrhythmic crickets await your soundif you’re found

Just mind your step, just mind your step

But now that I’m home I couldn’t leave if I tried‘Cause I’m still home, I’ll wait awhile

till it’s time to tell what’s been untold:

When I was with you I glowed like thedark air just before the headlights crest

Jacob Cohn: Vocals, guitar, banjo Tom Earnest: Upright bass Leah Meyer: Vocals, fiddle Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, pianos

Sun Scream iii

I took a walk along the power linesslicked with sunshineand watched the kids gape attheir screaming sunsfor they couldn’t wait till darkto start the sparksbut neither can you

And you’ve got pocketfuls of particlesbut I’ve got noneso rest your head on someone else’s kneeand do it quickly‘cause I’m not ready for youI can’t be ready for youand you’re not ready for me

Your son is screaming in the living roomWon’t you tend to him?Don’t pretend you don’t hear him callHear him crying from behind these paper wallsI know it’s hardI know it’s so hardI know you’ve been barredand that I’ve scarred you

Don’t let goDon’t let go of meI will try to release you

Which leaves me:the longest light who teasesthe shortest night it precedesAnd you: the butterfly betweensole and sun-soaked concrete

Tom Earnest: Electric bass Katie In: Vocals Drew Johnson: Drums Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, pianos, vibraphone, mandolins, Nord keyboard

iv the centraL Spine

Caleb Neubauer: Piano, bowed mandolin, singing bowls

June apathy v

On the steel and in the stonesbrushing fingers ‘gainst your wristSwinging legs and thick shadowsyour choreographies condense

And your forehead’s numbingfrom the fracture of a thoughtas the transatlanticbridges cool and fall apart

You don’t know how this all came to bebut it feels so far from ordinary

‘Cause you are not immuneto an apathetic JuneAnd while it’s not opportuneit’s an apathetic June

‘Cause you are not immuneto this apathetic JuneSo few of us are immuneto an apathetic June

Pencils snap and ivoriescut my fingers as they perchThe paper’s blank, a lack of inkwon’t let a melody emerge

The sun is hiddenwhile our faces lose their glowAnd the notes will fade inapproaching monochrome

And how did all of this even come to be?‘cause it feels so far from ordinary

But I am not immuneto an apathetic JuneFew of us are immuneto an apathetic June

Yeah we are not immuneto this apathetic JuneSo we will wait and seeif July brings something new

Ethan Kenvarg: Electric guitars, drums Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, Rhodes keyboard, pianos, shaker

vi Look Within Sometime

Michael Maiorana: Sympathetic piano vibrations Ian Neubauer: Acoustic bass Laurel Tuggle: Harp

monday StormS vii

The chokecherry keeps reminding me that we’re nearing the end of this season And you may trim the violet cleanbut August simply cannot be outrun

Mahogany blushes as it’s soaked with rainA deepening stain The house, encased, surveys the afternoon In exile, I found fields were best viewed fromthe fraying edges of the setting sun

The driftwood there, atop the stool—it found its place, no need to resume floating in the sea Soon we will anchor just the sameWe’ll wash ashoreas ancient remains of coastal trees

Monday storms wet our eyes but fail to wear down tangible time Monday storms compromise but who would let them break our ties?

You or I?

Tom Earnest: Electric basses Vadim Fainberg: Electric guitars Drew Johnson: Drums Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, piano, accordions, celesta

viii don’t Let your Gaze Leave mine

Don’t let your eyes leave mine, dear Don’t let your gaze leave mine, dear

Don’t let your hands leave mine, dearDon’t let your grip leave mine, dear

Don’t let your heart leave mine, dearDon’t let your love leave mine, dear

Tom Earnest: Electric bass Drew Johnson: Drums Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, marimbas, drum programming

voice/BreathS ix

Your voice is not how I expected, how I expectedBut until now, I hadn’t heard it, I’d never heard itSo I will listen, I will notice how we become accustomed to each other’s timbre

While you fumble off, you fumble off the field

Your voice is not how I expected, not how I’d left itYou tell me that you haven’t chosen, you didn’t decide yetBut if you’d calm down, we could make wavesYeah if you’d just come ‘round, I could take you to a new place

But you crumple up, you crumple up in fearBut you crumble in, you crumble in your fearSo I stumble out, I stumble out of hereYeah I stumble out, I stumble out of hereand I let you breathe in and out

Till you turn to me, and swallow up your fearand we tumble off, we tumble off the pier

Tom Earnest: Electric bass Vadim Fainberg: Electric guitar Katie In: Vocals, acoustic guitar Vincent Kelley: Drums, cymbalsAndy Keyes: Alto saxophone Caleb Neubauer: Vocals, pianos Luke Panciera: Trumpets Arthur Richardson: Trombones

All songs written and produced by Caleb Neubauer.

String quartet arrangements on 1 by Caleb Neubauer. Brass quintet arrangements on 9 by Erik Jarvis. Additional collaborative arrangements by Marta Andelson on 1; Justin Carter on 1; Jacob Cohn on 2;

Tom Earnest on 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9; Vadim Fainberg on 7 and 9; Katie In on 3 and 9; Drew Johnson on 3, 7, and 8; Vincent Kelley on 1 and 9; Ethan Kenvarg on 5;

Michael Maiorana on 6; Leah Meyer on 2; Ian Neubauer on 6; Karin Stein on 1; Laurel Tuggle on 6; and Yang West and Chloe Yates on 8.

Recorded at Ooraloo Studios (drifting) in Grinnell, IA, and Bend, OR. Additional recording took place at Yorick Studio in Omaha, NE, by Justin Carter and Erik Jarvis;

in Bozeman, MT; and remotely from Chicago, IL, by Katie In and Ethan Kenvarg.

Mixed by Caleb Neubauer at Yorick Studio in Omaha, NE.Mastered by Jake Munson Sound in Seattle, WA.

Illuminated monotypes and artwork design by Caleb Neubauer.

Selves by Misty Aeons is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (2014).

mistyaeons.com

mmxiv SeLveS

Caleb Neubauer would like to thank: all of the musicians who worked on this album, for it would not have been possible without your willingness, and would not be what it is without your talents; Grinnell College, Freesound, and Faulconer

Gallery for your community and resources; Jon Edwards, for generous use of your attic studio; Paul Nelson, for your immense trust and help in Bucksbaum; John Rommereim, for lending a key to the Electronic Music Studio; Stacey

Bostwick and China Mauck, for your support in recording the marimba overnight; Tony Perman and Roger Vetter, for permitting the string quartet to record in the World Music Room; the “Andelstein” family, for your studio use and

unceasing encouragement and teaching; Justin Carter and Erik Jarvis, for your valuable input, encouragement, and kindness at Yorick; Pooj Padmaraj, Moira Donovan, and Daniel Agostino, for making Look Within Sometime possible,

and its consequent samples; Andy Keyes, for holding down the Rhodes and providing last-minute sax; Christopher Barbey, Andy Delany, Kathryn In, “Snuggles” Kenvarg, and Ana Novak, for always listening and asking questions;

Colin Brooks, for your faithful photography and coding excellence; my friends, for your inspiration and love; Jana Hyder, for starting me on piano long ago; Jack Kerouac, for concocting the phrase “misty aeons” in Big Sur,

and Mackenzie Martin, for helping me choose it as a moniker; finally, my family, for your unyielding support.