“YO! THIS IS GOOD SHIT!!!!!! Congrats and thank you!!!!!”
—award-winning music journalist and cultural historian Jeff Chang

“‘À Montréal’ & ‘Weekend in the district’…a thousand fire emojis dude. ”
—Jimi Impossible

“great production work and compositions man…I’m proud to be on this project!!”
—Liam Furey

“Oh lord, get thee to [Dialectic]’s new album, Acres and Continents, immediately. Fantastic writing and a modern sensibility with lots of late ’80s/early ’90s influences (think California-fied early R.E.M. and you won’t be far off).”
—Christopher Daley

“Damn, [Ying-sun] can sing. Really like ‘Weekend in the District’. Has a S.F. sound.”
—Michael Klonsky

“Yessss! #12 is my favorite.”
—Kristina Johnson Avery

“Wow. ‘Phantom Engineer’, ‘Hide and Seek’, and of course ‘F the Truck, I Win’. I been hearing about [Dialectic] for a minute but I had no idea [they] bring it like this.”
—Danielle Mahones

“Listening to the album on spotify. I think you guys have a great sound.”
—Tony Wagner

“I really liked ‘Meditation on San Francisco’.”
—Bonafide Rojas

“Really digging the album. ‘Weekend in the District’ is awesome. Love the guitar riff”
—Bay Uno

“The growth is tremendous. You should be very proud.”
—Mike Molina

“Love the songs! [Ying-sun’s] voice sounds great! And I so wish I could be there [Sunday] to sing along to ‘Fuck You Truck’! YOU WIN!”
—Anita Kline

“Track 12 is my jam.”
—Purvi Shah

“Listened to half of it this afternoon, great voice and love the music.”
—Timmy Lu

“Uuuhhhh it sounds so good!!!”
—Mika Lemoine

“just listened this morning! LOVELY.”
—Jessica Weber

“Just listened to a couple of songs; it’s great! Who knew [Ying-sun] had talents other than picking out produce and selecting great TV shows?”
—Rob Gitin

these shows are what made me want to make music. at the best of them, a human kind of magic happened. it was a physical sort of emotion that was vulnerable and painful and joyous. a transcendent musical rapture. it wasn’t something that happened to me, or even in me. it was something that happened with me. it happened in concert with the musicians, with whatever friends were at that show on that night, and with the strangers who made up the audience with us. i’m sure the term ‘concert’ is meant to describe the performers—multiple musicians, playing together—but it meant a larger shared activity to me. it meant this feeling and connection that we all created with one another.

i got some of that from listening to records, because words and music have their own kind of standalone magic. hearing people sing songs that, to me, were clearly about my life, was incredibly powerful. and recorded music went with me wherever i went, at all times of day and night—something live music could not do.

but live music had the power that comes in the moment of creation, of co-creation, that can never exist in the same way again. not on audio, not on video, not ever. it brought out the parts of everyone in the room that were the same, were universal, and touched them together, in heat, in proximity, in love.

i loved being a part of those nights. it’s why i started making music. i wanted to be the catalyst in creating that feeling, that experience. i’m older now, and don’t get to nearly as many live shows as i used to. but i’ve also learned that there’s a depth to what musicians create with their recordings. hearing the studio version of a song time after time after time, you develop a relationship to that song. over time, and with a substantial body of work, you develop a relationship with the artist. it includes their recordings, and whatever performances you see, and their presence in pop culture. this is now part of why i want to make music.

all of this is to say that this latest record, acres and continents, is more than just a static recorded statement, destined to remain frozen in time. it is part of an ongoing conversation between us and whoever listens to it, whoever finds something in the album to hold on to and take into her life. and it is part of the co-creation of a relationship between performers and listeners.

so, if something in the album finds purchase with you—or hell, pisses you off or discomfits you terribly—feel free to join more actively in the conversation. post something to us on our website or on facebook, or by text (if you already have our numbers ), or at a show, or the next time you see one of us in the world.

i love music. i love what it makes possible, its ethereal physicality, ephemeral permanence, its capacity to build and tear down. and i love what it creates between you and me.

We are ridiculously proud of this album and are psyched to finally be able to share it with you. See you there.

you felt the spin of the wheel
you fell hard to the floor
and nothing and no one
could make you move anymore

come on, come on—open your eyes
come on, come on—see through this disguise
that lies upon this land that the world forgot
it’s not sleep if you never wake up
it’s not sleep if you never wake up

the world grew up around you
you shrank back in your skin
the sun never touched you
you never felt the wind

your mother kissed you and held your hand
your sister stood guard at the gate
your father sat at the foot of your bed
and said, “awake. awake.”

come on, come on—open your eyes
come on, come on—see through this disguise
that lies upon this land that the world forgot
it’s not sleep if you never wake up
it’s not sleep if you never wake up

but for you, there will be no kisses
from knights on white horses, or young and handsome princes
this fairytale of ours, this fairytale is fractured
and you and i will never know a ‘happily ever after’

your father carved your name in his breast
your mother cried as she kissed your face
your sister watched the snow falling through the window
and wondered how the thieves had escaped

come on, come on—open your eyes
come on, come on—see through this disguise
that lies upon this land that the world forgot
it’s not sleep if you never wake up
it’s not sleep if you never wake up

come home, come home
your wife is waiting
come home, come home

you touched her tender cheek
that was not the touch of love
your hands stayed clean
your boots were slick with blood

come home, come home
your wife is waiting
come home, come home

you chose the wind
over your own flesh and bone
surrounded by a hundred thousand men
she died alone
and you will too
wait till you see what i have planned for you

it’s been so long
i feared the worst
you, another body in the field
you, safe from your curse

come home, come home
your wife is waiting
come home, come home

why did i think it would be different?
i’m just another helpless man
i used to wonder why you do the things you do
now i know, you just do them cause you can

i try to play fair, but every time i do
you take everything you want and do anything you want to
i’ve heard you say the words, but girl, if this is love
well, it isn’t worth the trouble, i swear i’ve had enough
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—babe, i’ve thought it through

you taught me more
than i ever wanted to learn
i try to forget
but your lessons always return

i didn’t think you had it in you
when we started you were warmer than the sun
but somewhere along the line
you turned so cold, now i find myself alone
how could you leave me so undone?

i try to play fair, but every time i do
you take everything you want and do anything you want to
i’ve heard you say the words, but girl, if this is love
well, it isn’t worth the trouble, i swear i’ve had enough
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—babe, i’ve thought it through

the secrets that i keep for you
the lies you believe for me
i don’t know what it means to be free
but i know it’s not this

i try to play fair, but every time i do
you take everything you want and do anything you want to
i’ve heard you say the words, but girl, if this is love
well, it isn’t worth the trouble, i swear i’ve had enough
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—it’s what i’ve gotta do
run away—babe, i’ve thought it through