more from
Historical Fiction Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Fata Morgana

by DM Stith

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Fata Morgana, DM Stith’s new LP produced by Thomas Bartlett (Yoko Ono, Florence + the Machine, St. Vincent), out April 14th from Historical Fiction Records, presents a transformed Stith. After a decade in Brooklyn that saw releases on Asthmatic Kitty and Octave Recordings, Stith moved to Rochester, New York in the summer of 2021 trading the familiar density of New York City for fresh perspective on the shores of Lake Ontario.

    The experience and resulting artistic clarity is woven through the album that feels as much like a mirror as it does a memoir. The album takes its name from the rare phenomena, a mirage that bends the horizon and allows the viewer to see farther than they could on their own. This is the Fata Morgana – the trick of light transforming, reflecting, a physical representation of grace.

    On Doomed!, the album’s first single, Stith declares, “I shed my skin/all over again / All my memories and All they represent” with a playful, reassured tone. From track to track Stith mines his anxieties (I can’t seem to get/ lost in this city / its numbing infinity) and natural surroundings (I’ll take it as proof / the intent of the universe / to show me itself / Ontario blue) for tight pop tunes he refracts through adventurous arrangements and Bartlett’s impressionistic production.

    Reflecting on the new release, Stith shares, “I realized I’d have to address the ways my fear of death has manifested as perfectionism; that, in order to understand the function of that death-clutch, I’d have to allow myself to be seen as I am. To speak with my own voice.”

    On the album closer, the title track Fata Morgana, Stith pulls back the curtain on the self-exploration that has always been at the center of his creative process, singing, “I’m turning off ambition like a stove / it’s useful but a hazard when left alone.” Stith showcases a new ease with words throughout the record, but here, in the final minute of the album, he makes room for the ineffable; a pair of ascending pianos unlocking, drifting, and realigning in a sort of musical moiré.
    Featuring guest appearances by Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond), Thomas Bartlett, Thor Harris, and Dustin Ragland, Fata Morgana is available on streaming and Bandcamp April 14th.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Fata Morgana via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      $30 USD or more 

     

1.
Greyhounds 03:48
Lost in this grid Hunched up against the wind, No one is around Sewn in the seams of my eiderdown sleeves I hug this to my heart When the Greyhounds all rush out desperate laps in the park Kinetic release or revenge at the dark Flashing your gang signs at the moon …I can’t seem to get Lost in this city Its Numbing infinity Dizzy me around Sewn in the seam is a muffled scream And it Echoes in my gut When the Greyhounds all rush out desperate laps in the park Kinetic release or revenge at the dark Flashing your gang signs at the moon No you can’t make me give this up to you Flash your gang signs at the moon This is no time… I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here Lost in this grid Hunched up against the wind No one is around And sewn in the seams I can’t shake the feeling The earth is not my home And I’m running this alone desperate laps in the park Kinetic release or revenge at the dark Flashing your gang signs at the moon No you can’t make me give this up to you Flash your gang signs at the moon This is no time… I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t be here hoohoohoohoo
2.
In the Glare 03:44
Since I hit the ground x8 now I’m in the glare And I can feeling everything I know that trick of light bending in air And I’ll take it as proof the intent of the Universe to show me itself Ontario blue since I hit the ground x4 When I’m in your stare well, I’m not myself out there fate or phantasm belief is a natural reaction But you’re looking healthy but it’s taken what’s left of me a moment behind you Ontario blue … since i hit the ground x8
3.
Doomed! 03:22
Where am I? I wandered upstate rising up Evaporating out of my life Even when I’m closest to you You’re a prism and I just pass right through To a peaceful plain Calm wind in the grain Still this hive is churning out again its Doom Its doom… I shed my skin all over again All my memories and All they represent They hug me like a hurricane wheel Exploring every inch of me Hug me like I’m doomed… Oh light like this gets stuck in my eyelashes And I’m cocooned in my own doubt and fear I calm myself I console myself But I can’t hold myself Cuz I can’t slow myself And I can’t show myself Cuz I don’t know, myself Maybe its just that I’ve outgrown myself I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m…
4.
Midnight below the tree The loneliness of hide and seek And I have counted down and uncupped my eyes And I have memorized every place my friends could hide Listen for the heartbeat, the breath, The whisper and the broken branch Midnight in theater B I calm myself and follow my feet And I kick this empty can down the road It’s useless to fight against the earth’s cruel slope And they’re listening to the echo, the clang, the clamor of a broken man Reach for me Even as I run away And I will dodge and feint It’s just how the game is played Now I know where you hide when You’re caught in an awkward lie Blame it on some change in me And elevate yourself with fortune cookie speak But the camouflage is incomplete I see you but you don’t see me Reach for me Even as I walk away And I will dodge and feint It’s just how the game is played Did I drop my guard to something terrible A black hole in a lab summoned like the devil to corrupt me or am I just slippery Will you reach for me Even as I walk away I’ve been losing sleep Keeping up this pace Will you reach for me Even as I walk away I will dodge and feint It’s just how the game is played
5.
Monday’s dumb Twirl your hair and suck your thumb Stay inside Listen to your neighbors fight Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Honestly I’ve never seen myself so clear Heart on sleeve I’ve barely changed in forty years Oooo Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever
6.
Monday’s dumb Twirl your hair and suck your thumb Stay inside Listen to your neighbors fight Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Honestly I’ve never seen myself so clear Heart on sleeve I’ve barely changed in forty years Oooo Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever
7.
The Oracle 04:24
Time is not an arrow Time is a grenade and You’re holding it the wrong way Feels like moving backwards Even as you stand in place Oh, ask the oracle anything How will I know how will I know how will I know how will I know A fair fight is a fair fight Almost, but not quite So what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do now You become a superstition A symbol of regret A stone we kiss to make a wish Permission to forget And you click your heels together Have you even tried that yet You had lightning in a bottle And a promise to collect At least that’s what you thought it meant In a circuit guided vessel Retracing your mistakes Everyday is the same day A merry go round merry go round merry go round merry go round Just holding it down holding it down holding it down holding it down You become a superstition A symbol of regret A stone we kiss to make a wish Permission to forget And you click your heels together Have you even tried that yet You had lightning in a bottle And a promise to collect At least that’s what you thought it meant Time is not an arrow Time is a grenade and You’re holding it the wrong way
8.
I’m knocked out Frozen for winter I’ve been somewhere but so far I’m Unable to remember… Ah I, I wouldn’t know, I wouldn’t know My good man My shadow in his hand He’s tracing me all around around around And drawin’ me back to life Plan for the weather and Grab some things for dinner And sprinkle some seeds around the back yard A favor to some critter I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know My good man Easy and content He smiles his surrender All akimbo on the floor And distracted by my laughter I Can’t pull on my sneakers The failure of my hands to complete a simple task The wholeness of this power I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know ah Soft ear of the earth Stretched across the sky Decide for me these things I can’t decide I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know
9.
10.
Fata Morgana 03:28
I’m turning off ambition like a stove It’s useful but a hazard when left alone I never speak about love It’s a word I can’t define I don’t understand it It’s easier than I’d hoped To live a life without it It’s easier than I’d hoped To live a life without it Let’s try an imagination game I’m me and you are you And we don’t see each other Although we’re in The same goddamned room And our bodies are featureless A pair of plastic tubes Tell me now do you love me And would you let me love you But love is a story part Love is an afterthought Otherwise love is a takeover An activity plan you bought Let love be its own thing Like the mystics say Let it have its own body Let it walk away…

about

Fata Morgana, DM Stith’s new LP produced by Thomas Bartlett (Yoko Ono, Florence + the Machine, St. Vincent), presents a transformed Stith. After a decade in Brooklyn that saw releases on Asthmatic Kitty and Octave Recordings, Stith moved to Rochester, New York in the summer of 2021 trading the familiar density of New York City for fresh perspective on the shores of Lake Ontario.

The experience and resulting artistic clarity is woven through the album that feels as much like a mirror as it does a memoir. The album takes its name from the rare phenomena, a mirage that bends the horizon and allows the viewer to see farther than they could on their own. This is the Fata Morgana – the trick of light transforming, reflecting, a physical representation of grace.

On Doomed!, the album’s first single, Stith declares, “I shed my skin/all over again / All my memories and All they represent” with a playful, reassured tone. From track to track Stith mines his anxieties (I can’t seem to get/ lost in this city / its numbing infinity) and natural surroundings (I’ll take it as proof / the intent of the universe / to show me itself / Ontario blue) for tight pop tunes he refracts through adventurous arrangements and Bartlett’s impressionistic production.

Reflecting on the new release, Stith shares, “I realized I’d have to address the ways my fear of death has manifested as perfectionism; that, in order to understand the function of that death-clutch, I’d have to allow myself to be seen as I am. To speak with my own voice.”

On the album closer, the title track Fata Morgana, Stith pulls back the curtain on the self-exploration that has always been at the center of his creative process, singing, “I’m turning off ambition like a stove / it’s useful but a hazard when left alone.” Stith showcases a new ease with words throughout the record, but here, in the final minute of the album, he makes room for the ineffable; a pair of ascending pianos unlocking, drifting, and realigning in a sort of musical moiré.

Fata Morgana features guest appearances by Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond), Thomas Bartlett, Thor Harris, and Dustin Ragland.

credits

released April 14, 2023

All songs written by DM Stith

Except “Fata Morgana” written by DM Stith and Thomas Bartlett

Produced by DM Stith and Thomas Bartlett

All guitars, vocals, bass and percussion performed by DM Stith

All piano and synths by Thomas Bartlett

Shakers on “Doomed!” performed and engineered by Thor Harris

Accessory percussion on “Dodges & Feints” performed and engineered by Thor Harris

Drumset on “Dodges & Feints” performed and engineered by Dustin Ragland

Intro and Choir vocals on “In The Gloom” performed and engineered by Shara Nova

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

DM Stith Rochester, New York

A singer-songwriter and visual artist currently living in New York.

contact / help

Contact DM Stith

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like DM Stith, you may also like: