Category: lyric video

Lyric Video: The Library is on Fire Teams Up with Mike Watt on a Tense and Uneasy Ripper

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and musician Steve Five took his name from a poem by French wartime poet René Char, while working at Strand Bookstore. He also had weekly meetings over coffee with Television‘s Tom Verlaine. Five started The Library is on Fire back in 2007, and the band quickly established a sound that combined the melodies of Guided by Voices and the wall of sound guitar riffage of Dinosaur, Jr. and others.

The Library is on Fire quickly became a NYC scene mainstay and developed a reputation for playing chaotic live shows at Glasslands and Death by Audio. After several releases including 2010’s Magic Windows, Magic Nights, the band went on hiatus on 2014 with members going on to play in a number of other notable projects including Oberhofer, Public Access TV and more.

After a nearly lengthy hiatus, the members of The Library is on Fire have released new material, which will appear on their first album in almost a decade. The album will feature “Back Pocket,” a a sludgy, shoegazer-like ripper that brought A Place to Bury Strangers and others to mind.

The album’s second and latest single “Hotel Jugoslavija” features the legendary Mike Watt on a track built around relentless military styled drumming paired with sludgy angular bursts of guitar and lyrics that use a spy games metaphor to describe a relationship full of love, loss, deceit and heartbreak. The result is a song that possesses a math rock-meets-prog rock vibe while being tense and uneasy.

Lyric Video: The Library is on Fire Shares a Sludgy Ripper

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and musician Steve Five took his name from a poem by French wartime poet René Char, while working at Strand Bookstore. He also had weekly meetings over coffee with Television‘s Tom Verlaine. Five started The Library is on Fire back in 2007, and the band quickly established a sound that combined the melodies of Guided by Voices and the wall of sound guitar riffage of Dinosaur, Jr. and others.

The Library is on Fire quickly became a NYC scene mainstay and developed a reputation for playing chaotic live shows at Glasslands and Death by Audio. After several releases including 2010’s Magic Windows, Magic Nights, the band went on hiatus on 2014 with members going on to play in a number of other notable projects including Oberhofer, Public Access TV and more.

Released earlier this year, “Back Pocket” is the first single from the Brooklyn-based outfit in over nine years. Built around distortion-pedaled power chords, thunderous and propulsive drumming, dreamy melodies and enormous hooks and choruses, “Back Pocket” is a sludgy, shoegazer-like ripper that brings A Place to Bury Strangers and others to mind.

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Teams up with FissBassBeats on a Banger

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga.

So far this year, she has released two singles which I’ve written about:

  • Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 
  • Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

The JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Daaray Dunya,” was produced by FissBassBeats and sees the Senegalese artist singing and rhyming about the difficulties young people, who struggle to get by in a mad, mad, mad world, and yet continue to believe that they have a bright future. FissBassBeats contributes a tweeter and woofer rattling drill production featuring looped guitar, skittering beats and deep low end. While “Daaray Dunya” is a bit of a sonic departure from her previously released singles, it continues the Senegalese artist’s unique meshing of the ancient and the modern.

Lyric Video: Jake Merritt Shares Soulful “Don’t Go Too Far”

Jake Merritt is an Atlanta-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His sophomore album, Old Soul was released earlier this year, and the album features material that draws from elements of R&B, soul, rock, folk, country and the blues while displaying an artist, who has grown more comfortable as a singer/songwriter deeply versed and rooted in the genres that sprouted out from the Delta blues. Thematically, the album touches upon almost every aspect of the human experience with lyrics written in an honest and direct manner.

Album single “Don’t Go Too Far” is a slow-burning bit of singer/songwriter soul built around shimmering, reverb-soaked guitar, a steady backbeat paired with Merritt’s achingly tender delivery and a series of a remarkably catchy hooks. Sonically, “Don’t Go Too Far” seems a bit like a synthesis of The Black Keys and the Colemine Records catalog.

Lyric Video: New York’s Rebel Kicks Share Anthemic “Electrophoria”

New York-based indie electro pop outfit Rebel Kicks — sibling duo Anthony and Steven Babino — grew up in a musical home: their father was a professional jazz musician, and the siblings, who were also lifelong musicians, had played and sang with their father. It took the Babino Brothers some time to find their own music and voice: For a while Anthony had a weekly residency performing mostly covers while Steven hadn’t even figured out which instrument best suited him. But they often played weddings, corporate and private events, Eventually, the Babino Brothers began performing and recording together as sidemen, working on original music together. While working as hired guns in St. Petersburg, FL, the duo had an epiphany about the sort of music they wanted to make, and it opened to the door to Rebel Kicks.

Rebel Kicks formed in 2018 and can trace their origins to when Anthony Babino walked into his younger brother’s room and said “Here is a bass and here is a setlist. We have a gig Friday.” Since then, the duo have released their full-length debut, 2020’s A Portrait of a Man, Part 1, a handful of EPs, including Whiskey and Sinatra, a live EP and a string of singles, which have been featured on shows aired on MTV and Showtime.

“We grew up listening to so many genres—jazz, classic rock, Motown, R&B—and with Rebel Kicks we have finally found a project where we can explore our full range,” Rebel Kicks’ Anthony Babino says. “It may sound cliché to say this, but life is a journey, and we finally hit upon a sound that reflects our journey,” the band’s Steven Babino adds. Sonically, the duo specialize in anthemic alt pop/indie electro rock built around bold electronic soundscapes, melodic bass lines, arena rock friendly riffs, big hooks, the siblings uncanny harmonies and emotive lead vocals singing lyrics that are full of social commentary and introspective, deeply personal revelation.

With both Anthony and Steven Babino being multi-instrumentalists, the pair employ a DIY ethos to their work — with the duo writing, recording, producing and playing each instrumental part of their material. But they do welcome collaboration and have worked with a number of producers and songwriters including Abe Dertner, Jeff Blue, Jason Pennock, Russ DeSalvo, Jimmy Greco, Jackson Hoffman and Ryder Stuart among others. For the New York-based sibling duo, Rebel Kicks represents an opportunity for them to do what they love together. “We are a very close family, and it’s been amazing for us to share in making the music that has always lived in us,” Anthony Babino says. Steven Babino adds: “We are best friends, and it’s not lost on me how lucky we are to make a living writing and performing together.”

Live the band expands into a quartet with longtime touring bandmates Daniel Bradley (drums) and Dorian Lake (keys, vocals). And building upon a rapidly growing national profile, the New York-based outfit has shared bills with acts like Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Mac Miller, Iggy Azalea, Incubus and a lengthy list of others.

This year will see the duo releasing a batch of singles, including their latest single “Electrophoria.” Built around glistening synths, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, a relentless motorik-like groove, slashing power chord-driven riffs paired with their penchant for enormous hooks and arena rock bombast, “Electrophoria” manages to sound as though it were a slick and darkly seductive synthesis of Muse and Echoes-era The Rapture.

“Electrophoria,” was originally commissioned for an independent film that never came to fruition. But as the duo explain the song is an examination of the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence. “It’s a song about the decision to accept or deny the inevitable, feeling like you’re trapped in a situation that you can’t get out of, while slowing realizing that you may never want to actually leave,” the duo explain.

Lyric Video: Indonesia’s Rinni Wulandari Shares a Fun and Infectious Banger

Rinni Wulandari is a Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia-born R&B and pop artist. Wulandari grew up in a musical family: her mother was a vocalist and her father was a bassist and her two older sisters and brother are also in the music industry. So for the Indonesian pop artist, it was natural — and maybe perhaps fated — for her to be involved in music.

As a child, Wulandari used to sing for any kind of school events, including talent shoes and singing contests. As a high schooler, she was the frontperson of a band with a cousin, who was a dummer. She also auditioned for Indonesian Idol back in 2007, when she had turned 17, and became the youngest participant to ever win at the time.

In 2014, Wulandari came up with a new image for herself and transformed from pop singer to R&B singer. Since then she’s released four successful albums in her native Indonesia — 2014’s Independent Part 1, 2017’s I Am Independent and Independent Part 2, 2021’s Skins.

The Indonesian R&B and pop artist’s latest single “switch,” is the first bit of new material from Wulandari since the release of 2021’s critically applauded Skins. The song’s origins can be traced back to Wulandari struggling with insomnia during her pregnancy. Her spouse, producer and DJ Jevin Julian quickly recognized that her insomnia made her unproductive, and encouraged her to transform her sleepless nights to an opportunity to create new music.

“switch” pairs the Indonesian artist’s sultry delivery with a sleek house music-inspired production featuring glistening synth arpeggios and skittering tweeter and woofer rattling beats paired with euphoric hooks. Wulandari explains that “switch” delivers a powerful message to today’s youth, urging them to cherish their carefree moments, a time when responsibilities are minimal and freedom is abundant — and life is unburdened by responsibilities, obligations and commitments. The song was inspired by Wulandari’s nostalgia for own her youth, hanging out with friends and not stressed out over everything. But underlying all of that is a song that’s just a fun, night out at the club kind of banger.

Lyric Video: Fresno’s Trash n’ Privilege Share a Furious Ripper

Fresno, CA-based punk outfit Trash n’ Privilege — Steve Shepard (vocals, guitar), Charles McClelland (vocals, guitar), Joe Triester (bass) and Jim Chaffin (drums) — specialize in a brusing punk rock, built around driving beats, big guitar riffs and raw vocals, influenced by the 80s California and DC hardcore scenes, where the band’s members grew up and cut their teeth. Lyrically, the band’s material frequently focuses on criticism of Big Tech, hypocrite culture, everyday life experiences and the 24 hour news cycle, among other things.

Trash n’ Privilege’s latest single “Fresh Idea” is a bruising ripper built around enormous power chords, thunderous drumming and Shepard’s Henry Rollins-like delivery paired with enormous, mosh pit friendly hooks. Lyrically and thematically, “Fresh Idea” is a fiery indictment on hypocrisy.

Lyric Video: NISEFF Shares Summery Bop “La Nota”

With the release of her debut EP, Mami Spicy, the emerging and rapidly rising Puerto Rican artist Niseff quickly established a sound that that blends elements of reggaeton and contemporary pop and pairs it with her sultry delivery and empowering lyrics.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Ta To Cool,” a song built around skittering reggaeton beats and glistening synth arpeggios paired with a series of razor sharp, infectious and well-placed hooks and Niseff’s sultry-self assured delivery.

The Puerto Rican artist’s latest single “La Nota” is a slick synthesis of skittering reggaton beats and cumbia paired with Niseff’s sultry delivery. “La Nota” continues a remarkable run of dance floor friendly bangers – – but while arguably being the most summery she has released to date.

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Shares Breezy Ni Mama”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. As you might remember, Siga started off 2023 with “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

Siga’s latest single “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

Lyric Video: FACS Share Brooding “Slogan”

Back in 2013, Chicago-based post-punk act Disappears — founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums), Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) and Damon Carruesco (bass) — released two related yet very different efforts that are among some of my favorite albums — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era.  

In 2017, Carruesco left the band. The remaining members — Case, Lager and van Herrik — eventually decided to continue onward, but under a new name, and new sonic direction and songwriting approach as FACS. With 2018’s full-length debut, Negative Houses, the trio quickly established themselves as a heavy band, although they don’t necessarily feel like one.

Since Negative Houses, the Chicago-based outfit has released three more albums, including 2021’s Present Tense. Each of those albums have seen the members of FACS perfercting their unique brand of intense, catharsis-inducing art rock/post-punk, while pushing their sound and approach in new directions.

The Chicago-based outfit’s fifth album, Still Life In Decay was recorded by Sanford Parker at Electrical Audio Recording and is slated for an April 7, 2023 release through Trouble In Mind Records. Bassist Alianna Kalaba, who took over for founding member Jonathan van Herik after the release of Negative Houses makes her amicable last stand with the group. Alongside Leger, the band’s rhythm section dance and twist around each other like double helix in which collectively they approach rhythm from outside the groove, rather than inside it, creating a lattice in which Case can weave his guitar lines in an around, like creeping vines. 

Reportedly, Still Life in Decay is a decidedly focused effort that sees the band at their most solidified. The apocalyptic chaos of that defined their previous album is pushed away in favor of examination with a remarkable clarity — while being a sort of addendum to Present Tense

Last month, I wrote about Still Life in Decay‘s first single, the uneasy “When You Say.” Built around the propulsive lockstep rhythm between Leger and Kalaba, and Case’s reverb-drenched, guitar slashes, the song sees Case shouting repeated phrases with a desperate agency, as though desperately trying to hold on to something — anything, really. The song’s freeform lyrics touch upon themes of resignation, cynicism, classism and search for identity and meaning in a crumbling society. The song is a primal, forceful meditation on the exposed ugliness, divides and inequities within our world — both pre-pandemic and post pandemic.

“Slogan,” Still Life in Decay‘s second and latest single is a brooding track rooted in shimmering and meditative guitar, a forceful rhythm section paired with Case’s reverb-drenched vocal and a soulful yet buzzing guitar solo. The song narrators meditates on identity and memory — repeating one phrase “I had it in the palm of my hand,” much like a slogan.

Directed by the band’s Brian Case, the lyric video for “Slogan” features the song’s lyrics floating on top of a geometric field.

Lyric Video: dayaway Shares Breezy and Hook-Driven “hot blue summer”

Acclaimed duo Brooklyn-based indie CLAVVS — Amber Renee and Graham Marsh — can trace their origins back to a chance meeting after they both separately decided at the last minute to attend a random house party.

Renee’s background is in Americana. Marsh cut his teeth working on Grammy-winning hits by Bruno Mars and Gnarls Barkley. But with CLAVVS the pair weave together the organic and synthetic in a way that brings comparisons to Sylvan Esso and Maggie Rogers — but with a glossier, mainstream sheen. And as a result, the pair has landed placements on MTV, PBS, a number of tastemaking playlists and played in stores like Urban Outfitters.

The duo are also behind the rising indie pop project dayaway. Renee is a water sign — and naturally she has an obsession with the ocean. Fittingly, the project was conceived over countless summer afternoons at Rockaway Beach. The songs she writes for dayaway frequently tell stories about love and loss, detailing heartbreak in summertime snapshots paired with hazy dream pop/New Wave-inspired soundscapes.

Last year’s self-titled dayaway debut EP was released to critical applause from the likes of Under the Radar and Earmilk. EP single “cool water” amassed millions of streams across the digital streaming platforms while landing on Spotify’s New Music Friday, Good Vibes and Golden Hour playlists among others. Follow up singles “beach 90th” and “desert island” landed on Apple Music’s New in Indie and Spotify’s Surf Rock Sunshine playlist. Material from the EP were also featured on Netflix’s Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between, and ABC’s A Million Little Things.

The duo’s latest single “hot blue summer” is a breezy and summery bop rooted in Renee’s achingly tender and ethereal delivery paired with buzzing and reverb-drenched guitars, bubbling electronics, twinkling keys and a razor sharp hook. The song evokes the blissful buzz of summer afternoons at the beach — but the uptempo poppiness of the song is a bit deceptive: The song actually acknowledges that despite the hopes and playfulness of summer and summer love, heartbreak is always around the corner.

Lyric Video: Eyes of Argus Share Sludgy Dirge “From The Dark”

Currently split between Providence and Salem, MA, emerging doom metal duo Eyes Of Argus — Guitar Hero and Rock Band co-creator and member of Megasus, Ryan Lesser (guitar) and Sam (vocals) — can trace their origins back to the bleakest days of the pandemic when Lesser began crafting tracks rooted in the concept of ugly/pretty: Lesser specifically plays fuzzy, down-tuned sludgy power chords while Sam contributes ethereal vocals and magical lyrics. 

Lyric Video: L.T. Leif Shares Lush “Gentle Moon”

L.T. Leif (they/them) is a Canadian-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, who has spent stints residing in the Canadian prairies, Finland, Iceland and the Pacific Northwest — and is an adopted member of the Scottish DIY music scene. Their life and work is rooted in the self-sufficient spirit of the Canadian prairies and is informed by their travels.

Leif first cut their teeth with Calgary-based orchestral pop outfit The Consonant C. Since the group’s split back in 2011, Leif has explored different configurations and approaches, including experimental noise collaborations with the Bug Incision crew, playing sold-out shows with punk-hearted OK JAZZ, drumming with slacker-rock bands Hex Ray and Hungry Freaks, playing synths with Astral Swanns’ Matt Swamn, and even singing in a witch choir, Hermitess. Leif’s admirers including K Records founder and label head Calvin Johnson — they toured together with The Believer Magazine.

As a solo artist, Leif has collaborated with a collection of friends, releasing 2016’s double album Shadow on the Brim/Rough Beasts and her first release on Lost Map Records, last year’s Lost Cat cassette compilation of live and unreleased tracks, Introducing L.T. Lief. Throughout each of those releases, Leif’s spirit is collaborative generative, experimental and kind. The band members and the parameters of the project are ever-evolving, but as Leif says of the overall project, “to the friendships and the moment, we are grateful and stay true.”

Leif’s recently released album Come Back To Me, But Lightly was demoed in a room on Glasgow‘s Great Western Road and made intercontinentally with contributions both remote and in-person from pals near and far. The album features lush and sensual songs about “the body, loss as a decision, and knowing your own desire as a radical act,” the Canadian artist says. “It has a lot of imagery and thought from the northern places I’ve been living, and takes inspiration from minimalist writers, painters, and thinkers. This album comes from a six-year long space of change, from a life I was living as someone afraid of my own brain and body, into someone a lot more openly unshiney. Painful and seeping. I think that distance and decisions and loss and conflict are all things that can birth you into a different kind of being.”

Come Back To Me, But Lightly‘s latest single “Gentle Moon,” is a lush and beguiling tune rooted in a gentle, kindly spirit paired with an arrangement featuring glistening pedal steel, twinkling keys, strummed guitar and Leif’s expressive vocals singing lyrics that make references to the cosmos, the human body and longing. The song feels warm, deeply-lived in and unabashedly earnest.

Lyric Video: Eyes Of Argus Share Sludgy “Honey’d Dreams”

Currently split between Providence and Salem, MA, emerging doom metal duo Eyes Of ArgusGuitar Hero and Rock Band co-creator and member of Megasus, Ryan Lesser (guitar) and Sam (vocals) — can trace their origins back to the bleakest days of the pandemic when Lesser began crafting tracks rooted in the concept of ugly/pretty: Lesser specifically plays fuzzy, down-tuned sludgy power chords while Sam contributes ethereal vocals and magical lyrics.

The duo’s full-length debut is slated for a February 23, 2023 release, and was recorded and mixed by Lesser, after he studied the techniques of Steve Albini, who he recorded with several years earlier.

Clocking in at about 8:20, the album’s latest single, the expansive “Honey’d Dreams” begins with a brooding “Planet Caravan“-like introduction with glistening and reverb-drenched guitars and then quickly turning into a doom metal dirge featuring sludgy power chords, thunderous drumming paired with Sam’s ethereal crooning. Lyrically, the song is rooted in seemingly Norse-inspired imagery and mythology. The end result is a song that balances brooding sludge with a hazy, nostalgia-tinged dreaminess.

Lyric Video: Matt Corby Shares Strutting “Reelin'”

Matt Corby is a multi-award winning Australian singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Since the release of 2018’s J Award-winning album, Rainbow Valley, the acclaimed Aussie artist and producer has been busy: He launched his own independent label and loaned his production expertise to material by JOVM mainstay Genesis Owusu, Jack River, Great Gable, Bud Rokesky and most recently, his award-winning collaboration with Budjerah. And back in 2020 he released two standalone singles “If I Never Say A Word” and “Vitamin.”

Corby’s highly-anticipated third, full-length album Everything’s Fine is slated for a March 24, 2023 release through UK-based Communion Music.. Marking his first album in five years, Everything’s Fine vividly captures the personal and creative growth of the acclaimed Aussie artist and producer, who like many of us, had life tip him upside down and downside up.

On the day Corby was going to start recoding his new album, he and his family were rescued by a neighbor. Their home had been engulfed by floodwaters that raged through Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. After nervously watching his very pregnant partner and young son be whisked away in a small, inflatable dinghy, he got to work ferrying provisions to stranded neighbors and locals and digging rotting mud out from beneath his home. 

With their home inundated by floodwater, the whole family was forced to move into Corby’s Rainbow Valley Studios, during the album’s recording process. Juggling familial responsibilities with his creative and professional pursuits was a one-of-kind pressure cooker circumstance that helped galvanize his artistic evolution.

Firmly fixed on seeing the best of things, Matt reveals “I’m at a really beautiful point in my life. I’m accepting all this stuff: the good and the bad, but particularly the bad. Which is kind of great. It’s a good thing to come to that point. Life isn’t always magical, but the moments that are, well you really value them. I think this record is about that, about managing your actual reality. Sometimes I have those moments when you realize: well I’m still breathing, you still have the gift of life, so everything is fine I guess?”

Within a week of the flood, Corby returned to the studio, and wound up writing and recording “Problems,” a funky R&B-inspired bop centered around a strutting bass line, twinkling keys and boom bap-like drumming paired with the Aussie artist’s plaintive crooning and his unerring knack for well-placed, razor sharp hooks. Sonically, “Problems” sounds indebted to D’Angelo and Mayer Hawthorne — but while rooted in personal, lived-in experience and astute observation of human behavior and character. The song’s message is a simple and profound one: While maybe your own world is on fire or about to sink under water, the most important thing is that you and your loved ones are alive — and mostly well. 

“It’s about how funny humans are creating our own problems and issues that we then have to solve. Or creating problems so difficult we then can’t solve,” Corby says. “And how people talk so much shit and don’t do anything – how we’re setting ourselves up for failure. People want to point the finger but nobody wants to carry anything themselves.” 

Everything Fine‘s second and latest single “Reelin'” is a strutting bop featuring light yet propulsive percussion, twinkling keys and warm horn bursts paired with Corby’s effortlessly soulful crooning. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Reelin'” is rooted in lived-in personal experience and astute observation. The new single sees Corby reflecting on the inherent push-and-pull dynamic of long-term romantic relationships. Throughout the song, the acclaimed Aussie artist makes the observation that the cornerstone of every successful committed relationship is communication, compromise — and a bit of forgiveness and healing, too.