Building Castles out of Matchsticks: A Sense of Wander

Ever since forming solo project 'Building Castles out of Matchsticks' in the Winter of 2000, Canadian experimental musician Anne Sulikowski has been writing music that refuses to sit quietly in the music genre filing cabinet.

Achieving the enviable position of having her music appear on the popular TV show CSI (which is actually rather fitting since her full-time work is in forensic psychiatry) these days Anne divides her time between radio show ‘The Infinite Echo’ where she dishes out an eclectic mix to the morning commuters, as well documenting regular off-grid wanderings set to her tracks on YouTube. 

Reflecting Anne's love of adventure, the music of Building Castles out of Matchsticks offers an extraordinary audio prescription for the modern day escapist.

DMD: Please give me the epic story behind Building Castles out of Matchsticks 

Anne Sulikowski: I sort of wish I could begin this story by saying that one day I was coming home from school and I found an old chest packed with vintage guitar pedals inside a tree trunk that was actually an entrance to a secret underground city, with the leaves of the trees itself whispering for me to go inside. 

Or maybe I could tell the story of a girl who built an arc so big to take at least 300 cool people all the way up north to find the entrance leading deep within the hollow earth, where apparently there is a secret city where everyone is good. Or better yet the story when I was woken from a deep sleep by shadow people, whom, not only could see through walls, but through time, through space, through you.....

The real story is I was barely out of high school, lost as most were that age. I wasn’t very popular at school because I always floated to the stranger side of all things, including music, films, political outlooks, fashion, conversations. I had a wildly vivid imagination and many things would bore me, leaving me spending significant time alone. 

I played in a few bands and wanted to do something solo, didn't have any money, or gear or really didn't really know where I could have started, hence the name "building castles out of matchsticks" a friend said that to me once, as I was trying to get all my shit together. He said, “don't worry, with that kind of imagination, you could build castles out of matchsticks!" I thought it was such a cute phrase, but with deep meanings. I decided to start recording under that name.

DMD: What artists/bands initially inspired you to produce the sounds you are now making? 

AS: I have always been all over the place musically, even back then. I can vividly remember exactly what I was listening to though on heavy rotation when I first started recorded music. My room was always filled with sounds of Sonic Youth, Oval, Stereolab and American Analog set. 

Not to mention all the recordings my friends were doing, involving lots of knobs and dials....I was doing a radio show at the time (and still am) so I was always listening to so much music......its actually really difficult to state what inspired me initially....but I feel it was the actual people around me that inspired me most with their art.

DMD: What 10 albums do you always come back to?

AS: Flying Saucer Attack - New Lands

Casino versus Japan - Whole numbers play the basics

Oval - O

Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate witch cults of the radio age

Do Make Say Think - & yet & yet

Gary Numan /Tubeway Army - Replicas

Nudge - cached

Loscil - Submers

Atlas Sound - Parallax

Modern English - After the Snow

DMD: What is the Ontario experimental music scene like?

AS: Since I work full time in forensic psychiatry, most of the time I have left I spend recording, creating and wandering. I used to play live often but music is such a personal experience for me I actually get more out of the music process itself, so I focus more on presenting it as an aftermath for those interested.

I could list hundreds of talented and innovative artists around here, but the same can be said for any area really.  Although I am quite extroverted at the same time I am also extremely introverted in the sense that showcasing myself and how I do my music process live is somewhat of a lower priority than showing the results I come up with.

DMD: What instruments did you learn growing up? 

AS: Growing up I spent quite some time singing in choirs, so I guess voice would have been the focus? In grade school I did train to use a recorder, which I hated but actually used in some tracks years later. 

I played a piano at my grandmothers house the wrong way, and a long time ago my father bought me a Casio keyboard that came with a song book which I grew sick of playing, so I would rearrange the existing songs and play then in strange arrangements, even backwards. The first real instrument I bought was a JP8000 when I was 19 years old. I can read music now, but never write music in any formal way. 

DMD: What is your recording set-up? 

AS: I experiment often with my recording setup and my music process. Things are never the same from day to day in my studio. I'm always changing things and trying new ideas and new ways to get new sounds or to arrange the sounds preexisting in my head together somehow. 

Lately, I have been recording a long series of drones and improvised ambient sounds with guitar and various pedal chains and either using those as foundations to build tracks upon or simply sampling segments from those drone recordings and looping them into a sequenced program, lets say, like fruit loops.

I do not rely on soft synths or samples which I find limiting and hard to work with, making my music process really easy. I'm mostly doing multi-tracking with me playing instruments (guitar and keys) and real time processing with pedals using freeware like audacity. Then I use the sounds I created and build from there. Layering in subtle ways is how I create my recordings. I also use secrets. Lots of secrets. :)

DMD: How did you come to get your music featured in CSI?

AS: Out of the blue they contacted me on myspace. They said they have "hired people just looking online for music to use for the show" and added "your work is perfect". Even though I had never seen the show (been TV free since I was 19!) 

I agreed to let them use my music as it was not only financially rewarding but an amazing way to build my resume, for future work for me. They used my music for some creepy parts.....it was a really cool experience to be involved in.

I have also sold works to the Ontario life network for a few episodes of their documentary series "Descending". One was called "ghosts of the pacific" where my music played while divers explored fallen war ships at the bottom of the ocean. Super cool to say the least. I really want to do more music for Films or TV in the future. 

 

DMD: How many guitars, amplifiers & pedals do you own and which are your favourites?

AS: I literally have so much gear it makes people sick. Rather than fuelling peoples "gear envy" (don’t worry I have it too) I will focus on the main gear I’ve been using lately in my current set up. I have so many pedals I could open a little shop, but I won’t, because they are mine and I actually love them.  

Pedals frequently used: Earthquaker devices Arpanoid, EHX Pog2, Boss Harmonist, Boss DD20, Red Panda Particle, EHX Cathedral, TC Electronic Trinity 2 Reverb, Boss Terra echo, Boss Multi Overtone, EHX Pitchfork, Boss RV3, EHX Superego, Boss DD3, EHX Memory Boy, Boss Feedback booster, Boss Slicer, EHX Flanger Hoax, Korg Kaoss pad, EHX switchblade. Sometimes I use a looper too. I desperately need a volume pedal.

Guitars: Fender Jazzmaster, Fender American Stratocaster & Epiphone Orange 

Synthesizers: Moog MG - 1, two Roland JP8000s, Roland JX3P with controller, casio keyboards. 

Anne's pedal hoard

DMD: Apart from music, where else do you find inspiration?

AS: Most of my inspiration comes from thought disorder, ideas of reference, circumstantial thinking, driving around for hours on end looking for for anything abandoned, my daydreams and of course my wildly vivid imagination. 

DMD: What about your music would you say has changed since you released Window Pain 12 years ago?

AS: Let me tell you how much can happen in the span of 12 years. I could honestly go on and on and on. and on. I had amazing times, and really really terrible times, times so terrible that it forced me even to leave recording music for a couple of years altogether. 

I survived my father dying which changed my life forever, he had cancer and it was honestly surreal to see his body give up against his wishes. I also survived a horrific relationship with someone who ended up being very very dark, and this darkness made him really really sick. 

Things have changed for me now and I live the life I always wanted, and I am surrounded by people who are supportive, real and good.  What has changed musically is the tone of my music, going from songs of remembering tormented times to newer times like now, times when I can focus on themes within myself and things I imagine rather than painfully expressing awful things that have happened and were happening to me. I am so much stronger now, both as a person and a musician. 

I am not questioning things I record like I did when I was recording 12 years ago when it wasn't "the best of times". I dived into my personal life here as my music if a direct reflection of my experience. Now my songs are recorded with ease and I cover themes I want to cover, rather than recording as a mere coping tool. I am so much happier these days. A more tangible answer could be that the last two years I have introduced guitar as one of my main sources of my ambient sounds. Guitar with dozens of pedals. 😊

DMD: What made you feel the need to document these abandoned places? Would you encourage more DIY musicians to do the same since the golden age of MTV has been replaced by YouTube?

AS: I love taking photos, lots of them, and I've been addicted to taking photos for years now. I'm quite bipolar with a camera, it seems as though I'm drawn to either things forgotten, abandoned, decayed or ruined to that which is natural, untouched and places barely walked upon by man. It only made sense to also make videos, as the music I record is quite open to interpretation, making it a perfect medium to add a visual element to it, especially one that moves and tells some sort of story. 

Having said that, the video design I arrange is also quite open to interpretation, as I very much enjoy the concept of an abstract story line, allowing the viewer to adapt whatever emotion the imagery to presents to them, paired with the music. 

It is actually a wonderful age to live in, having things like YouTube, making the creative process easily shared without making sure it has a commercial quality to it. It allows for a lot of "real art" to occur, without all the corporate obstacles associated with things like MTV etc...

DMD: Please tell us about your radio show

AS: My radio show is called the Infinite Echo and it's a mix of experimental and electric music focusing on the obscure, the ambient, new and other forgotten genres. Mostly it's the sounds of robots all singing to themselves. It airs here in Hamilton, Ontario every Friday morning from 8 to 9 am on 93.3 FM and can be streamed from cfmu.mcmaster.ca 

DMD: What do we need to look out for in the future from you and your various projects? 

AS: I have quite a bit on my plate right now which I am pleased to say! The past year I have been heavily focused on music with all my spare time. An EP I have completed, called "magical thinking" is being currently released with Paper Plus Sound Records.

I have upcoming EP’s (many on cassette) in the works for release this year and early next year with the following labels: Zero Sum Recordings, Big Pharma Records, Orb Tapes, Grey Matter, and Assembly Field with my "dickhop" ep. Most of these are in the works and have not yet been finalized. 

I have also just recently been featured on godhatesgodrecords compilation Anti fOrm 2 and Assembly fields V/A Compilation 4. My track "I have been to the bottom of the ocean" which is to be released on the Drone 8 compilation on Paper plus sound records.  

Paracelsian Productions recently released their amazing three disc 30 artists compilation called "Cybernetic Ecosystems" which includes my track "Oscillating forest". I have two vinyl releases scheduled: A Vinyl split with Casino versus Japan (Erik Kowalski) and a split with Horizonte-de-sucesos (Marco Roberti, who is also occasional composer at dead voices on air) in Summer 2017. 

I’m also doing more collaborative works with announcements coming soon. I am also planning on continuing video works for my music as well as for video works for musical friends.  I am planning also on starting an online site devoted to my obsession of photographing abandoned places called "recreational trespassing" with my good friend Sonja Bernhard.

DMD: Lastly, is there anybody you want to give a shout out to?

AS: Hello everyone and thank you for listening xo

You can listen to the excellent Paracelsian Productions compilation here  

(Anne's track appears on part 2) 

and you can read an interview with PP founder Steven Beaumont here

Facebook

Soundcloud 

Bandcamp

Tomhet: EP & Album Review

Alberta, Western Canada is probably most famous for being home to the award-winning band Nickelback, but just down the road in the small town of High River lurks Tomhet.

Operating under the alias Xaphan, his music couldn’t embody a more polar opposite to the chart topping millennia rockers. 

Since forming in 2004, his one man Black Metal project Tomhet (Swedish for emptiness) has assembled a small cult  following through releasing demos, splits, and albums adding up to roughly 26 releases.

Throughout his career, Xaphan has pitted steel sharp black metal riffing against ambient minimalist synths, in the process widely exploring the styles of both Atmospheric and Depressive Suicidal Black Metal. Determined to not be stuck in the Black Metal box, his more recent efforts have seen him dabbling in Post Industrial music and Dark Electronica (both ‘Caliginous’ releases and the 2014 online EP ‘Anchorazor’).

Sometimes, his decision to dip his toe in new musical pools can draw a dividing line between his listeners. Tomhet’s last release ‘Of A Dying Star’ which was performed only on synthesisers (a concept first explored on ‘Celestial Tranquility’ back in 2009) brought him as much flack as it did praise. But despite the quality of those releases, I for one am relieved to hail the return of the axes to Tomhet’s sound.

Extinction in Time-Lapse review

The 10th Tomhet EP kicks off with a brief yet foreboding passage simply dubbed ‘Intro’ and explodes into the second track, lead by a catchy guitar riff (reminiscent of 90’s era Darkthrone) played over relentless rapid fire blasting drums draped in anguished screams. It then switches to a more sinister chord progression before returning to the main riff once again. It doesn’t stick around too long though and is replaced by a soaring lead line amongst the tornado blasting that fades into a final exhaled breath of distortion.

Third track ‘Blind To Our Demise’ serves as the EP’s mini epic, pummelling programmed drums give way to slow drifting guitar chords that mirror winter fog. A quick drum count  cues up a melody that demands you at least think about putting a noose around your neck even just for a second, soon it all spirals into a dissonant inferno and we are left with nothing but the beautiful noise it leaves behind.

The EP closer ‘This Failing Species’ contains a looped keyboard pattern which evolves into a choir of sorrow while drums pulse beneath like beating hearts, the ensemble builds up to a climax of despair before expiring, leaving a mournful atmosphere long after the music has stopped. 

Overall, ‘Extinction in Time-Lapse’ is a short but solid release that kept my intrigue throughout and had a good balance of the Black Metal and Ambient forces at play. Check it out!

8.5/10

Nightmares in Damask Review

It is difficult to sum up Nightmares in Damask in one word. Depression is of course the obvious word choice but even that doesn’t begin to describe half of it. Put simply, this album doesn’t represent a world where the birds sing joyously come sunrise. 12 years since the project began and the drum machine has been ditched, making Nightmares the first Tomhet release to feature 100% live drums. 

It is also more guitar and vocally driven, leaving the Ambient sections for the bookend tracks.

After a grainy, wind-ridden intro, ‘My Coffin in Her Arms’ saunters in on slightly slower blasts than we’ve come to expect from Tomhet. Taking the speed down a few gears to a crawling pace which sets the tone for the majority of the record, guitar triads bleed like freshly slashed wrists before another round of frantic blasting erupts (this time sounding like the kit is about to fall apart) then disappears into a whisper of amplifier noise. 

On ‘The Heavens Were Soaked In Kerosene’ arpeggiated guitar lines rain down heavily (which make me recall Austere) while grating vocals circle overhead like vultures over a battlefield, both eventually building up into a tormented frenzy. ‘Pit Of Loneliness’ begins with an overspill of feedback into Xaphan’s cries of despair, commanded by one of my favourite riffs on the album which unfortunately doesn’t stick around long enough for me to enjoy it.

‘Through A Tidal Wave Of Panic’ is the album’s angst-ridden centerpiece and certainly lives up to it’s name. Mixing together gentle swaying sections with bursts of medium speed drum blasts, for this track perhaps envision yourself having a calm walk through snow covered forests before some unspeakable terror has seized you and the walk now turns to a fearful sprint. 

Both tracks ‘Calcified, Docile And Confused’ & ‘In Darkness I Hear Their Screams’ uphold the albums’ generally unyielding misanthropic suicidal feelings. While on ‘Clawing Beneath My Sealed Grave’ the vocals bubble away menacingly and the returning guitar triads are saturated in a state of desperate urgency.

This is the first Tomhet record (to my knowledge at least) scattered with much shorter songs than he is normally known for. Upon first listen, their place in the tracklist felt questionable, but after a few spins these short interludes separate the longer tracks well. Since the pace of the album is considerably slow, they add a much needed energy boost and will keep the speed demons content for now.

‘Raining Napalm Molotovs' features a scream that sounds like Xaphan is falling down a well, meanwhile ‘Crucified and Pissed Upon’ & ’Their Shadow Kingdom Ablaze’ both feel like they are about to derail any second, arriving with a clatter of guitar and drums caught up in a Tasmanian devil like blur, both are gone in the blink of an eye.

With a strong sense of dread, ‘The Sky As An Ocean…We drown’ the album’s longest track sticks the keys in the ignition of the hearse and leads a gloomy procession while Xaphan howls in pain. Presumably during all this grey skies send down a mighty storm and the world weeps eternally, powerful stuff. On closing track ‘Exit Us’ droning blackened ambient synthesisers transport us to the very depths of his sprawling cavernous abyss. 

It is heavily apparent that either Xaphan’s drumming still needs to catch up to the drum machine but that still remains to be seen if that is his final goal. I am sure most fans will find it in their blackened hearts to forgive him, either way the addition of live drums certainly will play a large dictating role in how the next release will sound. At times I felt I was missing some cleaner guitar parts which I personally feel could have added more dynamics to the album’s overall aesthetic, but nothing’s perfect. 

I wouldn’t be surprised that come next release another sonic change will have occurred Seeing how often Xaphan has been noted to switch musical paths. As much as I found a lot to love about this full length I would definitely be lying if I considered this to be Tomhet’s strongest work yet considering the quality and diverse material he has released before it. It certainly remains a transitional statement of a record marking a re-birth of the Tomhet sound.

But if you like your Black Metal steak cathartically raw, there can be no doubts in my mind that Nightmares in Damask will satisfy your (Transylvanian) hunger. 

8/10 

Visit Tomhet’s official bandcamp here

A limited number of cassettes for Extinction in Time-Lapse and Nightmares in Damask are available from Californian label Grey Matter Productions get ‘em while they’re hot!

Also keep those tired eyes peeled for a Tomhet CD release planned with Italian Black Metal label war against yourself

Zoo Strategies Interview and EP Review

Grab your Fender Telecaster and set your metronome to 3/4.... 
It’s Math Rock time!

In search of some Canadian Bacon I headed North to have a quick Q and A sesh with Vancouver’s very own Zoo Strategies we talk about: their local scene, modern music distribution models and....the bronze age(?)

Now, before you say “who strategies?” (see what I did there?) Here’s a quick info bomb:
Forming in 2014 originally intended as an internet side project, the debut EP ‘Zeus Tragedies’ was released in November that year and wowed all who listened, with one fellow hailing the band’s sound as ‘Mall Prog’. The EP even scraped into Fecking Bahamas (online math bible) Top 50 Math Albums Readers Poll at number 49.

(You can read my thoughts on the band's latest release at the bottom of this feature)

The next year in March they dropped a sophomore EP entitled ‘Separation' this time ending up at number 40 alongside Irish post rockers And So I Watch You From Afar and British mathcore heroes Rollo Tomasi. Not bad at all considering they haven’t played outside of their home city yet….





DMD: How did you guys come up with the band name?
Trevor (Guitar) This name was formed by my recognition of a place on Broadway and Granville called “financial strategies”. I saw the “strategies” part and thought it was appealing.
I just took that and added Zoo to it to create an aesthetically appealing two word combo. This process is essentially how all good band names are created.


DMD: What is the age of everybody in the band?
Trevor: Personally, my favourite age is the bronze age. It really speaks to me. Either that or age of empires. I’d say that’s a good age too.
DB: British Imperial Africa and the Zulu Nation


DMD: How is the music scene in Vancouver?
Brendan (Bass) The metal scene is really good. There's some top notch death metal and some really good doom and stoner stuff as well. Mitochondrion, Auroch, and Haggatha are the big three Vancouver bands for me personally. Unfortunately, there aren't many math rock bands, but there are a few good ones like mi’ens and hawking. I also don’t think that Vancouver has very many experimental acts in general. It is very run of the mill in a lot of cases.
Trevor: It’s okay. There are lots of folk and singer songwriter acts here. They seem to just parrot each other. Vancouver, however, has a pretty good avant garde electronic music scene. Some of my local favourites include Jonathan Sherk and Ian William Craig. As for my favourite local group i’d probably say it’s Fond of Tigers.
Daniel Baxter (Guitar and Vox) Vancouver’s music scene can be very clique-y. Like certain groups or singers will interact or collaborate with each other and it’s difficult to get in with them, unless you have ‘cred’ from some other outer source.

DMD: Tell me the epic history of the band
Trevor: We started in 2014 and the band originally began as an internet collaboration between me and Miles. I had a few demos that Miles was writing drums for. Over time naturally expanded with Brendan and Daniel joining the band shortly after. Between that time we’ve written some music and played some shows. A federal election happened during the existence of the band.
DB: Our other groups Polarhorse (Trevor and Daniel) and Yes Bear (Miles and Brendan) have been good friends and stage sharers for a couple years as well.


DMD: Describe the music of Z.S
Trevor: If old Macdonald kept his farm and didn’t go batshit insane, this is the music he would have made. Zoo Strategies is, for all intensive purposes, mall prog.
DB: A Miyazaki road trip to the eastern Great Lakes Area.


DMD: Have you chaps played outside of Canada? If not, where do you want to play next?
Brendan: Not yet, unfortunately, but a west coast tour in the States would be pretty awesome.
Trevor: I really want to play in North Vancouver.


DMD: How did you guys get to feature on the Vancouver Connection? (The EP track ‘Actual Birthday’ appeared on the compilation ‘Vancouver Connection volume 1.’ The band are currently selling physical copies through their social media).
Trevor: A guy named Adam Sharp asked us. Here’s a suggestion for future research: find out how Adam Sharp found us!
DB: He’s a British immigrant.


DMD: There are a couple of lines of vocals on Separation, are vocals going to feature more on future ZS releases?
Trevor: They might. It really depends if we think that vocals will support the music. We’re agnostic to the idea of using more or adding less at the moment.
DB: Really depends on the song and what we want to convey musically. Vocals are just another texture and should be treated as any other instrument


DMD: Do you guys have a special approach to writing or just let it come out naturally?
Trevor: The approach we seem to take involves one of us having a few seed ideas. We usually record ideas and send them to each other via the internet. We then think about the ideas and try to mobilize our thoughts into production action at rehearsal. At practice we try to learn the ideas in the order that they are presented. From then we usually tinker with the form. I’d say that all four of us really like the idea of form and composition so we usually take a bit of time to think about what kind of songs we’d like to write, what kind of forms we have or haven’t used yet, and what we can do to support the music or make our songs more coherent. Perhaps one of my favourite aspects of playing in this band is that we usually think of our method pretty philosophically. We are always refining and debating what we do and how we should do it. Above all else, we experience anguish at the possibilities as to where our music might go.
DB: I think about songwriting like carving a totem pole out of a tree. The tree is the idealist version of the song, and then you carve and whittle in the shape and details.


DMD: What’s an album you guys always come back to?
Trevor: Piglet: Lava Land
DB: Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock


DMD: Who first inspired you to pick up a musical instrument?
Brendan: No one at first but since I started playing there were a few people who blew my mind and really inspired me, probably most notably Colin Marston.
Trevor: Some humans.
DB: Popularity


DMD: Your music is ‘pay what you want’ on Bandcamp, do you think underground bands trying to get people to pay something like $7.99 for an album is more dead than David Bowie?
Brendan: I feel like if someone wants you to pay for all the hard work they put into their music, then fair enough. But I definitely like to have our music available for free.
Trevor: I am definitely an advocate for having our music as a free download as well. Unless I felt like I was doing this for purely economic reasons, having a price point for our music is not interesting to me.
DB: I think it’s dependant on the fan base we want to reach. I know that sounds controversial

DMD: When is the next record coming out? and will it be self released or through a label?
Trevor: Most likely this year. I should hope so at least. It might be released through a label, But It will be released through the internet.

You can listen to and download the band's EPs for free here


I thoroughly enjoyed the band’s debut EP ‘Zeus Tragedies’ and for those haven’t yet heard it just yet here are my thoughts:

I would describe it as a bit of a wilder beast than the band’s latest offeringc, but that is part of its raw charm. Whether its slowly raining melodies one moment, guitars capering over blast-beats the next, or climbing a ladder to mouth-open-in-disbelief endings, it makes for a most Intriguing and Impressive listen.

Separation Track by Track review:
Opening with the rushing sounds of several passing cars in the rain, this acts nicely as the record’s starting pistol. Separation is shorter and sweeter than the previous release, the song-writing this time around leaves nothing to chance; no riff feels over-done and no section feels too long, all band members sound intently focused on the same sonic goal.
The track ‘Actual Birthday’ comes complete with addictive drum rhythms and delightful well rounded guitar hooks that will get your heart racing and your feet tapping. I would describe the guitar-playing as less finger dancing, and more finger singing!

Bass beautifully buzzes away like a stoned bumblebee in ‘Weekend Dad’ with the surprise appearance of vocals for the first time in the band’s recorded career. These don’t spoil the sound but add to the the weaving bright aesthetics the angelic guitar chords and harmonies paint, then out of nowhere ZS roll the dice again pounding into a heavy steel and concrete cadence without even a whiff of a distortion or overdrive pedal.

Instrumental track ‘Bleeding Out’ serves as spacey ambient break before the closing song ‘Teen Suicide Ghosts Roam These Skateparks’ politely kicks down the door.

The drumming remains impressive all the way through the EP, but is best showcased on this final track, sounding more like one continuous solo in it’s own right, the fills don't over compensate but compliment the acrobatic guitars that positively sparkle and twinkle in the closing bars. The dynamics still rise and fall at the drop of a hat, but ZS have already proven to us they are masters of such art. Before you know it, Separation is over, and left not knowing what to do with oneself, just smile and hit repeat.

8/10