Strange that this place doesn’t spook me out,
but it doesn’t:
working the night shift locked away
under government ground,
roaming the stacks in a library of numbers,
feeding and changing all the big
number crunchers:
fear would be a signal
coming over the horizon.
Sometimes I wander to the heart of the “black forest”
where a sage sits in silicon
with its head in an eastern desert.
You know you can’t beat a steam drill
with a single iron spike,
so you lay down your tools and wait.
And the clouds are blowing by
—because I can feel them blowing by—
If I could read, I would read them blowing by.
I know there is a language for the alphabet of weather.
I know that there are curves behind the numbers that I enter,
but you don’t get the vision of a raptor in the desert
without the hunger of a raptor.
There was a kid who worked here
who used to walk out in the hallways
and look at the postings on the doors:
bits of articles, cartoons and epigrams.
Dürer’s rhinoceros kept him coming back.
He said “I’ll never know how he could capture
such a likeness without ever laying eyes on one.”
I dreamed of a legless buffalo
as I nodded off for a moment
a couple of hours before the dawn;
I felt a piercing gaze lift me from my chair,
I felt the tail wag the dog.
Wait a minute now:
What resolution will turn a map to territory,
will melt spirit from the stones?
And the clouds are blowing by
—because I can feel them blowing by—
If I could count I would count them blowing by.
There is no end to it.
My hands are busy, busy
ticking off seconds, seconds.
At dawn, when I roll down the mountain,
I don’t watch the road, I only look to the plains
where the sun appears at the head of a fleet of balloons
and I laugh, because it burns like a myth,
it howls like a bomb in the pit of my stomach
and I don’t know what’s coming.
Take this hammer, bring it to my captain,
tell him I’m gone.
credits
from The Warm, Dark Circus,
released October 27, 2023
_______________________________________
Damon Waitkus - lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, hammer dulcimers, mandolin, guzheng, piano, percussion, electric taishogoto, glockenspiel, flute, whistle, synth
Emily Packard - violin, viola
Kate McLoughlin - bassoon
Jason Hoopes - bass
Jordan Glenn - drums, percussion, accordion
Thea Kelley - lead and backing vocals
Victor Reynolds - recorders, 12-string electric guitar, backing vocals
JACK O' THE CLOCK "presents a fine lesson on what it means to write songs that are at once approachable and human while simultaneously being incredibly profound in terms of timbre, depth of emotion, and harmonic complexity," Progulator.
supported by 71 fans who also own “Dürer’s Rhinoceros”
This rather astounding record can't really be categorized - musically, it's so full of everything and so original that a short description is impossible. It is superbly played. The words are FANTASTIC and I would have chosen The Butcher as my favourite if the app had allowed me to ;-) Tom Landon
supported by 32 fans who also own “Dürer’s Rhinoceros”
got recc'd this on youtube and loved it- reminds me a lot of late 60's and early 70's records i used to hear playing out of my parents' stereo on sweltering summer days. OPAL
supported by 31 fans who also own “Dürer’s Rhinoceros”
Mysterious, yet nostalgic, Isolubilia is truly an ode to the romance found in the pursuit of a mystery. Musically rich in turbulence and serenity, majesty and humbleness, this album made me feel both lonely, yet understood as an isolated individual. Perhaps we're all fellow romantics, looking up at the same night sky, trying to wring our own meaning out of the stars. I hope that pursuit never ends. The John
Gorgeous fingerstyle guitar playing from this Portland, Oregon musician that captures the spirit of American Primitive in dazzling detail. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 30, 2021
supported by 30 fans who also own “Dürer’s Rhinoceros”
Always love musick and art coming out of Brattleboro VT but this really spun my head around, love the crazy atonal indie folk vibes! Bought a CD, can’t wait to hear it on my car speakers!
Ansel__knight