There is no light at the end of this tunnel/ so it’s a good thing we brought matches.

I haven’t released any music of my own since 2018’s “War Balloons” with Big Cats (although I did appear on those two Fred Again songs; find them here). Surprise! Here’s something new, a remix of “Matches.”

This is a piece of writing that has meant a lot to me over the years, the closest thing I have to a personal manifesto. It was originally part of a side project, so I’ve pretty much always performed just my own parts solo (often a capella), and had wanted to build a solo version of the song out of that for a long time. I guess good things take time, because Dave Olson is a musician I’ve liked and respected for 20 years (!) now; someone who was part of the very first community of artists that ever nurtured me, and it really feels special to collaborate with him on this song. Hope you like it.

Listen via: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music

Music, Mixing, and Artwork by Dave Olson
Words by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre
Vocals Recorded by SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE at Luv ‘n’ Dedication Studio, St. Paul, MN

MATCHES (words by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre)

the reason that I’m not a nihilist
is someday I wanna live like in star trek
and I know that we’ll never build starships
until we tackle poverty, war and hardship, so we fight
overnight or over lifetimes, organize for that warp drive
and of course I realize
that we’re a long way from it
but what better reason to start runnin’?
said if you’re gonna do the work then it’s gotta be honest
because the best of us have all already been forgotten
and if you’re in it for the recognition
I hate to disappoint, but if you do it right you’ll never get it
we don’t remember the farmer, we remember the fruit
we don’t remember the inventor, we remember the boom
the impact through the eons
so I know what side of history I wanna be on
I got a lotta ancestors on my side
Got a ancestor took a bullet to the chest and survived
I got an ancestor who cheated and lied
I got an ancestor who taught her children how to fight
Right? so much spirit in my corner
can’t help but color outside every border
to every ancestor who kept my song alive
I swear on your unmarked graves, I will sing it ‘til I die

No friction, no flame…
No future, no light,
But the light we make (the light we make)
No friction, no flame…
No future, no light,
but the light we make…

There are no stories told in a vacuum
There is no prophecy lighting our way
there is just a lotta darkness to be afraid of
so it’s a good thing we are not afraid
There is no superman in that phone booth
there is no rewarding our faith
there is no one who can save us
so it’s a good thing we don’t need to be saved
There are no starships in low earth orbit
No aliens to save us from ourselves
There is no voice willing to speak for us
So it’s a good thing we know how to yell
There is no chosen one, no destiny, no fate
There’s no such thing as magic
There is no light at the end of this tunnel
So it’s a good thing we brought matches