On Too Dark to See the Sky, songwriter Ying-sun Ho and company explore life in the age of COVID-19, the creation and destruction of family, and the aging and death of loved ones. And, of course, the band touches on themes of love lost and emergent.

‘We drew on a lot of different experiences and music and musings to make something that, to us, feels new and exciting and timeless all at once,’ says Ho. ‘I really think people are going to connect with these songs.’

every song i ever wrote
is a goddamned lie
the only time i ever hope
is when i hope to die
cross my heart
cross my heart
cross the whole thing out

i wrote 99 songs
every one for you
sang about our love
and how i knew it to be true
now it’s the end of the world as we know it
and i don’t feel nothing at all
the same day over and over again
till one by one we fall

every song i ever wrote
is a goddamned lie
the only time i ever hope
is when i hope to die
cross my heart
cross my heart
cross the whole thing out

your love is like glitter
your love is like glitter
your love is like glitter
your love is like glitter
your love is like glitter
your love is like glitter
can’t hold on to it,
can’t wash it off

every song i ever wrote
is a goddamned lie
the only time i ever hope
is when i hope to die
cross my heart
cross my heart
cross the whole thing out

when the trolley stalls
when the mercury falls
and lampposts take the place of walls
that’s when i hear your name

this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time

when december numbs my toes
when that potato head trumpet blows
when police spill a child’s blood on the road
that’s when i hear your name

when the people take the streets
when san francisco sleeps
when the storm comes in from the east
that’s when i hear your name

this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time

no music in the background
no lights to show the way
no god to give directions
no magic words to say

when this war is over
and the enemy has no more soldiers
and i can stop pushing this boulder
that’s when i’ll know your mine

this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time when time stands still
(that’s when i hear your name)
this is the time

your fire felt like passion
the blisters felt like love
you burned off all the oxygen
and left me lightheaded and high
what we had felt like enough

i saved your life again and again
drunk and in the thrall of your touch
i saved your life again and again
once was too much
once was too much

i lied to the doctor, i lied to police
to hide who you really are
i was trying to keep our family together
no such thing as going too far

and when you had no one else left to defend you
and everything solid turned to sand
you grabbed the child by the hand
left me sleeping in bed
and under cover of a dark and moonless night
you ran

i saved your life again and again
drunk and in the thrall of your touch
i saved your life again and again
once was too much
once was too much

no ransom demand
no chance for return
you took gasoline and match to my life
just to dance as it burned

now i’m on I-95
it’s dark, and i’m alone
mr state trooper
please just let me go, just let me go

i saved your life again and again
i always kept you safe
i saved your life again and again
what a terrible mistake
what a terrible mistake

it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
what could be the reason?
what could be to blame?
what could be the reason
for these unseasonable flames?

high above the standstill traffic, columns of smoke
and fire rose like dancing serpents
struck down at the evacuees
like monsters of malicious purpose
us in our honda, windows shut tight
against the poisonous, boiling air
the banshee wind drowned out our screams
and the children’s quiet prayers

it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
what could be the reason?
what could be to blame?
what could be the reason
for these unseasonable flames?

twenty days later, twenty people dead
100,000 acres just ember and ash
the state investigated the cause of the blaze
looking for a cigarette butt or power line flash
but this was no ordinary wildfire
this one started two towns over when
the virus surged and left scores of bodies
and overloaded the local crematorium

so it’s welcome to california
i hope you brought a mask
you’ll need it for the bug
you’ll need it for the ash
one horizon’s ocean
the other can’t be seen
it’s sort of like the future
it’s sort of like a dream
it’s sort of like a dream

it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
it’s too early for the fires
but they’re burning all the same
what could be the reason?
what could be to blame?
what could be the reason
for these unseasonable flames?

i’ve been swimming my whole life
trying to get to tennessee
solving riddles, taming beasts
slaying enemies
don’t believe in fate
no such thing as destiny
but i know exactly where i’m meant to be

marched a hundred moons
slept beneath a thousand skies
till i saw where i was headed
not in my mind, but in my eyes
i grinned a grin and laughed a laugh
and ran until i fell
and slept without a dream or care
as if under a spell

i’ve been swimming my whole life
trying to get to tennessee
solving riddles, taming beasts
slaying enemies
don’t believe in fate
no such thing as destiny
but i know exactly where i’m meant to be

come morning time i searched
and found a note to bring me sorrow
my love had left for the east
and told me not to follow
tomorrow was calling out to her
and she needed to be free
and freedom’s just another word
for far away from me

can you hear me calling?
can you hear me cry?
all the stars have fallen
it’s too dark to see the sky
can you hear me calling?
can you hear me cry?
all the stars have fallen
it’s too dark to see the sky

i’ve been swimming my whole life
trying to get to tennessee
solving riddles, taming beasts
slaying enemies
don’t believe in fate
no such thing as destiny
but i know exactly where i’m meant to be

eight years old
in the front seat of the cutlass
my mom is telling me
about how casey’s car crashed
and he’ll never get to laugh that laugh
again for anyone
i can hardly hear her words
over the sound of my father’s lungs

my hands on your hips
as you hum
your heat hangs heavy
over my lips and my tongue
and when you cry my name
your skin flashes hot like the breath of the sun
and from the back of your throat
comes an echo of my father’s lungs

last night i dreamt we had a catch
like we did when i was young
but this morning, he can barely grip a ball
his hands just aren’t that strong
and i know it might be soon
and it surely won’t be long
until there’s no more sound
no more sound in my father’s lungs

you’re new to this world
you’ve seen nothing but love
sleeping soundly, mouth open
as i watch from above
what meaning have you gleaned
from the songs that we’ve sung you?
or do you just hear the sound
the sound of my father’s lungs?

when my time is winding down
and all my work here is done
i know i’ll hear
the bittersweet call of that song
the song of my father’s lungs

On Too Dark to See the Sky, songwriter Ying-sun Ho and company explore life in the age of COVID-19, the creation and destruction of family, and the aging and death of loved ones. And, of course, the band touches on themes of love lost and emergent.

‘We drew on a lot of different experiences and music and musings to make something that, to us, feels new and exciting and timeless all at once,’ says Ho. ‘I really think people are going to connect with these songs.’

Dialectic recorded and mixed the EP at Tiny Telephone Recording with producer Beau Sorenson. This is their first time working with Sorenson, but certainly not the last.

Too Dark to See the Sky will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and other services for streaming and purchase.