EXHALE : CONCEPT
February 15th is both the birthday of Sunset Roulett and the release date anniversary for our album “EXHALE.” Bits and pieces have been shared about the meanings of all the songs but we’re celebrating our band birthday by sharing the in depth break down of each one and how they all fit together. These notes were taken directly from our lyric files as we were writing, we just put them all together.
Exhale has two parallel themes. One is about enduring a storm: emotionally, mentally & spiritually, stuff almost anyone can relate to. The second is a Biblical narrative of human sin patterns - deception - trials - confusion - suffering - apostasy - redemption - healing - clarity - salvation - rest - and hope— looking forward to the ultimate & permanent fix, the return of Christ. Scripture references are at the end of this blog.
We like to keep our lyrics somewhat open for interpretation so that it doesn’t get stuck in one genre or just appeal to once group of people, that’s part of the beauty of music. Where we write from doesn't always have to be the same place someone hears from and yet a song can touch both the writer and the listener. Our only rule is no matter how heavy or dark we go, the answer of hope has to be in each song somewhere. But if you have ever listened to any of our songs and wondered what it’s about, here ya go:
The Intro, OVERCAST is setting the sonic scene. Looking around anxiously as the light starts dissipating behind the clouds and the chill of a cold front starts blowing into your life.
BITTER follows with the ominous, dark storm clouds and sounds rolling in, but… note that it does include a warning.
Moving into HYPOCRITE, which calls out the deception of religious hypocrisy and the desperate “schemes of the enemy.” Teachings that may come off as comfortable but they’re counterfeit. Jesus called the religious elite “hypocrites” more than once. They think they’re doing good works to earn their own salvation and act like they want to help you earn yours but they are actually “not your friends” though they are often friendly & have many secret tricks to suck you in with. Fortunately our Savior knows these tricks and warns us of these things through scripture so we can discern the truth from the lies.
FRACTURED is the point when you walk out from your storm shelter, the wind is still blowing, it’s still raining a bit, but you can see the damage. Everything is broken, splintered and confused, nothing is where it’s supposed to be, & nothing looks familiar, not even yourself and you’ve reached surrender, crying out to be shown the truth about all of it.
HERESY is the symmetry to HYPOCRITE. It’s a warning against being led astray by wolves in sheep’s clothing & false teachers. With all the flattery and repetitive empty promises that people flock to, it’s ultimately a sad spiritual trap “in Jesus name” that allures people away by twisting and sometimes blatantly rejecting the truth. HYPOCRITE & HERESY used to be two verses of the same song about Matthew 23. A last minute idea came to break them apart to help carry the concept throughout the album and we turned them into interludes. The album still includes a remix of both of them together called ASTRAY.
INHALE is the deep breath after all of this suffering. It’s the healing, the clarity and the peace.
Which leads into EXHALE which is simply about God breathing his breath into you.
GLOW, the Outro, is the Light showing up after a storm. It also heavily references Revelation and the return of Jesus.
Light is needed to cast a shadow, so the sun had to come out before CAST YOUR SHADOW, which basically is the synopsis track that sums up everything and is a prayer for God to take over our lives as we take refuge under His wings in the safety of His shadow.
They all ended up weaving together more so than even planned. The messages are all inspired by scripture and experiences that take place personally in everyone’s lives to some degree, believer or not. I’ve always wanted to write/produce a concept album, “Exhale” will always be a project that holds a special place on the shelf.
Scripture references for each song:
INTRO : OVERCAST
“I am weary from my groaning;
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.” Psalm 6:6
“How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?” Psalm 13:2
“For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight,
but there is joy in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
BITTER
“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin. For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. 22 For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.” Romans 7:14-25
HYPOCRITE
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people. But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are! Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’ Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it. And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins! Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.” Matthew 23:1-36
“This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.” John 15:15
FRACTURED
“I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,” John 1:12
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
“He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Colossians 1:13
“since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,” 1 Corinthians 14:33
“But God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,” Romans 6:6
HERESY
“Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them, because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words. The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.” Romans 16: 17-19
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.” Acts 20:28-30
“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.” Matthew 7:15
”There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.” 2 Peter 2:1-3
INHALE : INTERLUDE
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
“So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” John 8:36
“Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being is shaken with terror.
And you, Lord—how long? Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.” Psalm 6:2-4
“You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
you are not pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.” Psalm 51:16-17
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
EXHALE
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27
“For I am the Lord your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
his name is the Lord of Armies.” Isaiah 51:15
“He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.” Psalm 91:4
“Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.” Psalm 96:11
OUTRO : GLOW
“the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:13-17
“He swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will no longer be a delay, but in the days when the seventh angel will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:6-7
“Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Revelation 19:11-16
“so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11
CAST YOUR SHADOW
“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust: He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,
from the destructive plague. He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day,
the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon.” Psalm 91:1-6
“The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
EXHALE is available on all music platforms