Sadness...
Pain...
Grief...
These are the pieces of anguish that this four-track EP of Demo 001 by M.T. Goins begins to toy with as you listen to it. Cold and unflinching, you can understand how this could be one of the most painful things I've come across this year.
The first track, I die a little every day starts just like that line as Goins begins with an understanding that this "poison" will send "fragments of him racing down the drain." I die a little every day is a marvel of the depression M.T. Goins is under. The guitar playing is simple and direct as Goins is more of a lyricist on this particular track.
"These barstools move away from us.
The room within implodes
You hold my hand it's like you must
The space around won't fold
Would there be any happiness if it didn't fold? Would M.T. Goins even care?
The second track is titled Man of Bugs. It begins with some sort of party chatter and guitar tuning before dipping into my second favorite guitar playing on this record. Goins sings about Manny and his "dreams of digging a well" along with all the secrets he's left "down in the American south." If Manny doesn't want to become one of the "Florida dead" then he needs to make some changes very quickly.
One of the most interesting parts is how the song ends. It's interesting to watch where the song goes once it picks up.
Track three scratches away the guitar and suddenly pulls out a piano to perform Cast Into Darkness. This is one of the most interesting and diverse songs on the entire record. There's a plethora of other interesting instruments that join in throughout the song including that organ that plays along with the hook of this track that wants to "cast you into darkness."
It's as sad as it is engaging. Take time and enjoy the instrumentation as much as the lyrics. It's a beautiful new artistic memory to take with you as you move forward in your own world.
When posting about the pieces and plots of this four-track EP, M.T. Goins had the following to say:
"When Perhaps, the most defining facet of adulthood is the state of being haunted. When the cruel, grinning face of your own expiration date pops up uninvited it rattles you. Gets you cozy with the hourglass..."
As a cancer survivor, I understand what Goins means completely. So as we dive into the final track titled, All The Places I Am Haunted, I can feel the blood creeping from the ocean in an attempt to take me with it. While it can be a bit difficult to understand at times as the lyrics aren't available yet, I'd like to share a part I liked:
Thomas ghosts haunt the ocean
Drive back to where I would bleed
Father time with all his cruel jokes tried to really play in the reed
You couldn't swim I had to hold ya.
It's a shame I mascara grand prix.
Wouldn't let me.
Couldnt mold ya.
But you saw through those tears I'd never see.
This is a haunting that I understand, and it's nice to blossom in a little sadness from time to time. Demo 001 takes M.T. Goins from Sturgill Simpson to Citizen Cope. The vocals and production are strange at first until you get exposed to the deeper pieces as they move forward. Plus, it's a lyrically interesting EP over a few interesting beats like All The Places I Am Haunted. This is a very cool artistic experiment with very sad, beautiful, yet painful pieces to it. Check Demo 001 out when you get a chance.
...We arrange our histories to our tastes, tossing truth into far corners of a locked attic.