When You Come Around

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
drums performed and engineered by Joel Jeschke
backing vocals performed by Jenna Grace Peters

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering
art direction by Annie da Silva (JSLVR)
spotify canvas by Jess Sanchez

This was one of the first songs I wrote that would eventually make it onto the album and inspire the title. It’s about that feeling you get when you develop feelings for someone but know that they don’t see you the same way.

I programmed a drum loop and roughed out the acoustic and vocal— quickly sent that off to Joel who immediately understood the vibe. I must have re-tracked the lead vocal five or six times but sometimes that’s how things go.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
backing vocals performed by Carly Cooper

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering

I wrote this song after my parents sold the house I grew up in. I had begun to feel estranged from the old neighbourhood and that cemented it for me.

Around that time I had started to fixate on disappointments and struggles that I and others around me were going through. But there was also so much beauty surrounding us and opportunity for gratitude.

“Prism” is a song about seeing the good despite the bad, knowing that both can exist simultaneously, and accepting this gift of life.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
drums performed by Joel Jeschke
backing vocals performed by Carly Cooper
strings performed and engineered by Chloe Davidson

drums engineered by Father Bobby Townsend
mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering

This song started out as a reflection on my complicated relationship with my parents but evolved into a general sense “being good enough for others” and the anxiety that stems from comparison.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
backing vocals performed by Emily Slaney
strings performed and engineered by Bobby Hawk

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering
art direction by Colin Carbonera

I wrote this song about someone I deeply cared for, who passed away several years ago. I have never been a deeply superstitious person but I think that being haunted is such a devastating (and sometimes beautiful) part of being human.

I keep thinking of that Andrew Garfield quote about grief being “all the unexpressed love” and that just about sums it up.

written / produced by Colin Carbonera
performed by Colin Carbonera and Dominique Adams

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering

Nobody wants to be perceived as try-hard but everybody wants to belong. I think this song is a bit about loneliness and feeling like an outsider. The stripped back, simple production helps, I think, to convey that sense of vulnerability and hopefully, sincerity.

I asked my friend Dominique Adams if she’d lend her vocals to this song and I’m fortunate she did.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
pedal steel performed and engineered by Lane King

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering
art direction by Annie da Silva (JSLVR)
music video directed by Colin Carbonera

This is my song about being a closeted queer kid growing up, and someone I used to know. I think you can listen to it two ways: like I’m singing it to somebody, and like I’m singing it to myself.

“Space Folds Thin” was also inspired by the movie Interstellar, particularly that scene of Coop in the tesseract, interacting with Murph. I always say it’s a movie about the power of love.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
drums performed and engineered by Joel Jeschke
backing vocals performed & engineered by Dominique Adams

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering

This is maybe my favourite song on the record. It’s for anyone who’s feeling angsty about the state of the world (myself included). It’s a bit cheeky and a good reminder not to spend all your time on earth taking yourself seriously.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
drums performed by Graeme Rife

drums engineered by Kevin Davis
mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering
art direction by Annie da Silva (JSLVR)

This one’s about talking in circles and never making good or taking action, perpetually dipping your toes in the water but never diving in.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera
drums performed by Joel Jeschke

drums engineered by Father Bobby Townsend
mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering
art direction by Annie da Silva (JSLVR)

I wrote this song shortly after “ILWYCA” and view them as sibling songs. I look at “Placebo” in two ways.

The first being through the lens of searching for a feeling that you only get with a particular person. Some people come into our lives for a very short time and sometimes those departures can feel so deeply.

I also see it in the way of people making us feel loved or seen, and realizing after that perhaps we didn’t read things quite as clear as we wanted to.

Voice memo from my phone of a beautiful moment at my brother-in-law’s football game. Another one of my brothers-in-law says “Just enjoy it while you can…” which is shortly drowned out by the sound of our families cheering for Gage— who’s made a pick 6.

written / produced / performed by Colin Carbonera

mixed by Phenix Warren at Pocono House
mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering

“Marigolds” is a song for my boys. So much changes in the blink of an eye— so cliche, I know— and I keep thinking I can save these precious moments in a song.