Acoustic Album Update #8: Somniphobia

Here’s the big reveal: My long-awaited acoustic album is being mastered at this very moment…assuming you’re reading this not too long after I posted it. Let’s go big with some tidbits and tadbits. I already went through a non-yet-complete version of the album before. Read that post again or for the first time, if you’d like. Today though, let’s get into new stuff, like the album title.
I kept the title under wraps for a long time. No, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it’s pretentious sounding. Whatever. Somniphobia. That’s what it’s called. Early on, I imagined giving the album a name that was some kind of pun on the word “acoustic,” or using that word somewhere in the title just to make it clear that these songs were all, in fact, acoustic. If I remember correctly, I chanced upon the word somewhere and found it cool sounding. I don’t quite remember if I immediately considered it for the album title or just a song. It doesn’t matter. Ultimately it became both.
You may remember me referring to the title track before. The lyrics in it are probably by far the most serious on the album, and it’s up there in my whole catalog. There’s still silliness in it, but overall, I’d say that track is a little haunting. That was my intent, anyway. The verses are a bit sad in tone, but the other parts range from whispery to non-aggressively-loud. A section towards the end has this chant of “You want a diagnosis?! You want to die alone?!” I’m pretty happy with it.
With that out of the way, what other news has cropped up since last time? Oh, I changed up the track order a bit. This still isn’t official, but it’s what it is at this point.
- Keep Your Eyes Open
- Dungarees
- 222 Skyscraper Way
- Do It, Screw It
- Ooh La La (Ooh La La La La La La)
- Somniphobia
- Pretty Little Ditty (Acoustic)
- Around the World (Acoustic)
- Everyone I Know Is an Alcoholic (Acoustic)
- Tomorrow Is a New Day
Before, I had the title track in the third spot. It’s a little too serious sounding to appear that early, so I moved it before the acoustic versions of my classic songs. So it’s like track 6 serves as a closing of some kind. Then you get the fun acoustic versions of a few old favorites. And then there’s “Tomorrow Is a New Day,” a song that is, in a way, perfect. Let me talk a little bit about that one.
“Tomorrow Is a New Day” is a weird one. Besides having the usual acoustic guitar and drums, it features a distorted droning bass synth deep in the mix. There’s also some awkward electric guitar in there. There are no vocals from me; just some avant-garde speaking thanks to some samples I found online. I did ask for permission to use the samples. For a while I was worried I wouldn’t be able to use them in the way I wanted to.
Am I forgetting anything else? Oh yes, the album art. You’ll have to wait until next week for that. My plan is to get the masters back early next week, approve them, and then reveal the cover and samples of all the songs in one post. But we’ll see. Stay tuned.