The things we lose sight of are best rediscovered in a dark room with our eyes closed and our ears open. That is how Ace Enders would like you to become acquainted with his first solo release, I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business.
The project was born out of a desire for a clean start. Enders, a 22 year old New Jersey native is armed with knowledge and experience gained through his band, The Early November. After one full-length, two EPs, and nearly three years of touring with the band as the guitarist and lead vocalist, Ace was yearning to go back to the beginning and do things a little differently. “I wanted to go back to the time when music was the only thing that mattered, not all of the other messy things that come with it,” explains Enders.
Spontaneity was the key to making the album for Enders and co-producer Chris Badami. The tracks shift smoothly from bursts of earnest strength to ballads of universal isolation with a few stomps, claps, and even a “yee-haw” thrown in the mix.
Lyrically, the songs take a sophisticated approach to exploring and breaking the barriers that block true communication in our fast-paced, technology-based world. “Everything is so planned out these days that it’s not even real. From the things people say to a lot of the music that’s out there. I like to just let things happen, in the studio and in life,” Enders explains.
In the midst of bittersweet guitars, airy keys, fervent strings, and even the hum of soap operas and game shows in the background, there is a message in this album that will hopefully catch on as well as the melodies do. Enders explains, “Whether it’s a career or a relationship, there are so many things that make you lose touch with the pure love that made you start from the beginning. I think it’s important to weed all that other stuff out. I guess you could say it’s like picking up trash, even if you weren’t the one who threw it on the ground.”
The background noise heard throughout the album is a symbol of this theoretical “life pollution.” Enders wanted to represent the clutter in life that often pulls us in every imaginable direction until it’s unbearable, and you “want it to just stop” as he plainly states in track 11, “The End of the Background Noise.”
During the epiphanic month-long writing and recording process, even his appearance experienced a transformation when Enders cut his hair off in front of a hotel room mirror. “I just picked up a scissors and started chopping. My hair felt dirty, but not because I don’t wash it. I guess tainted is a better word,” Enders said.
The theme of the album is summed up in Enders’ simple explanation, “It’s about the questions you ask yourself in the middle of the night, but for some reason forget about by morning.” Undoubtedly, I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business is a welcome reminder, and just some good “clean” fun. |
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