The Stars & Ground, by Bittersweet Machines

The Stars & Ground

by Bittersweet Machines

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duranboard What a Great song!!! Favorite track: The Stars and Ground.

wattsian The chorus on the title track is stupid gorgeous. Chord changes ring that little string in the heart.

Christy R. Dang! Your talent is seemingly endless. Not only can you write, create, breathe life into & execute all of your creative visions but you also explain them in a way I have rarely seen an artist be able to convey so adeptly. After reading your insights into your own album & process I feel like I see even more depth & possibility in it...yet it doesn't ruin any of my own interpretation. That's a really special gift! Thanks again for sharing it with the world & for letting me in on the process!

	/

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Full Digital Discography

12

releases

Get all 12 Bittersweet Machines releases available on Bandcamp.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Stripped of Starlight, Edge of the Nocturne Sea, Stumbling with Grace [single], Everybody OK?, And Diamond Stars Shine…, Disco Volante, Seraphina [single], The Stars & Ground, and 4 more. , and , .

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1.	You're My Favorite 03:41	lyrics	buy track
she was swimming as the sunlight faded I was coming up for air and no surprise it hit me like a bullet to the belly this is how a heart breaks for the first time wonder if she even knows that moment wonder if it even meant a thing to her cause nothing ever lasts forever i can still remember those eyes even though i'm growing old there are some memories i just can't let go and you're my favorite summer came and left without a warning just like it's done a thousand times since then i will keep her safe here for as long as i can even though i'm growing old there are some memories i just can't let go and you're my favorite you're my favorite even after all this time as the edges start to blur maybe i remember you better than you really were and i don't even care even though i'm growing old there are some memories i just can't let go even though i'm growing old there are some memories i just can't let go and you're my favorite you're my favorite you're my favorite
2.	The Stars and Ground 04:18	lyrics	buy track
Hey, outside the window pane It's just another day for you So take it if you can Fall in love and break your heart You know it from the start That life is better with the pain and scars Calm down You can lay your weary head down Anywhere you go I'll find you In between the stars and ground Crash, a flicker and a flash It all goes by so fast There's no time to fuss around We are more than we believe The greatest tragedy by far Is never knowing who we are Calm down You can lay your weary head down Anywhere you go I'll find you In between the stars and ground Hold tight Even if it is a long ride I will always be beside you There to keep you safe and sound In between the stars and ground Live with no regrets With every single breath Never miss the chance to take a stand for what you love
3.	Bitter Fruit 04:05	lyrics	buy track
there is no blame to be leveled we can both take our guns and lay them on the table there are no words to be spoken we can be safer in the silence 'til it's broken seems like some things are best unsaid maybe this isn't love maybe this isn't what we had hoped for maybe it's good enough like a bitter fruit that I can give to you bitter fruit coming undone, we unravel should we put it back together if it's fragile we don't need validation whoever said that we require definition this can be whatever we want maybe this isn't love maybe this isn't what we had hoped for maybe it's good enough like a bitter fruit that I can give to you bitter fruit bitter fruit there is no blame to be leveled we can both take our guns and lay them on the table there are no words to be spoken we can be safer in the silence 'til it's broken maybe this isn't love maybe this isn't what we had hoped for maybe it's good enough like a bitter fruit that I can give to you bitter fruit (all that we are all falls down)
4.	When You Arrived 03:25	lyrics	buy track
i was kind of lost seemed like too many lines that i had crossed like i was just aimlessly floating at sea never to be seen again then you arrived right when you were meant to stars aligned showing me the way my black and white world gave way to colors for the first time when you arrived even through the years through tragedy and evenings full of tears there's no one i would rather give all of my life than you my dear cause you arrived right when you were meant to stars aligned showing me the way my black and white world gave way to colors for the first time when you arrived when you arrived and when i think about days gone by it makes me wonder what lies ahead and it doesn't matter as long as i am here with you cause you arrived right when you were meant to stars aligned showing me the way my black and white world gave way to colors for the first time cause you arrived right when you were meant to stars aligned showing me the way my black and white world gave way to colors for the first time when you arrived when you arrived when you arrived
5.	Haunting Me 03:26	lyrics	buy track
turning in my head all the words you said how did I miss all of the warning signs when you walked away like a razor blade carefully cutting all the ties that held you to this world everywhere I turn I see your face but I can't hear a word you say was I too late? suddenly it feels like you are haunting me all the photographs phantoms of the past reminding me of a better time when you and I were young staring at the sun never thinking of our future eyes everywhere I turn I see your face but I can't hear a word you say was I too late? suddenly it feels like you are haunting me (where are you now?)
6.	Break Your Love Apart 03:41	lyrics	buy track
I've got to tell you there isn't anybody else in the world that does what you do to me i can't explain it but i sure as hell know how i feel and i don't ever want it to stop don't lose your nerve follow your heart i promise not to break your love apart don't be afraid let down your guard i promise not to break your love apart i'm having trouble breathing in and breathing out giving way to crushing beauty i'm feeling dizzy but I've never been so sure of myself please give this a chance don't lose your nerve follow your heart i promise not to break your love apart don't be afraid let down your guard i promise not to break your love apart is it supernatural or something more sinister either way i'm ok with it don't lose your nerve follow your heart i promise not to break your love apart don't be afraid let down your guard i promise not to break your love apart don't be afraid break your love apart let down your guard break your love apart don't be afraid i promise not to break your love apart
7.	Fire in the City 04:18	lyrics	buy track
fall in line with the static that they pump into our minds what is real? all the manufactured things they make us feel a fire in the city tonight no one's getting out alive even if you wanted to drive a million miles there is no escaping this time I tried there's fire in the city tonight no surprise we all blissfully collapse into the light it's who we are entertain us and we'll make them superstars a fire in the city tonight no one's getting out alive even if you wanted to drive a million miles there is no escaping this time I tried there's fire in the city tonight I can't turn away i'm walking straight into the fire like a soldier a fire in the city tonight no one's getting out alive even if you wanted to drive a million miles there is no escaping this time I tried no one's getting out alive even if you wanted to drive a million miles there is no escaping this time I tried there's fire in the city tonight fire in the city tonight
8.	The Bruises of a Normal Life 03:16	lyrics	buy track
never wanted to be superman only wanted to be real i want the bruises of a normal life and to feel all i can feel never wanted to be beautiful even though i know i am i want the bloody nose of history and the stories of a man cause i've been waiting here all my life for this moment to arrive and i'll be damned if i let it slide gonna live like i'm alive some people say there is another side and we can all be happy there but all i know is that i've got right now and no time left to spare cause i've been waiting here all my life for this moment to arrive and i'll be damned if i let it slide gonna live like i'm alive gonna live like i'm alive someday when i am an older man staring out into the sea i want the bruises of a normal life and an ocean of memories cause i've been waiting here all my life for this moment to arrive and i'll be damned if i let it slide gonna live like i'm alive (all the good things & the sufferings make it real) gonna live like i'm alive (all the good things & the sufferings make it real) gonna live like i'm alive
9.	Some Things Can't Be Undone 03:35	lyrics	buy track
pulling the back the veil on you and me we are not what we pretend to be you know maybe we could go on with the lie but why should we it is only going to kill us both bullets fly when we speak knives come out when our eyes meet I know the damage is done some things can't be undone I can see the pain in pretty things like a butterfly with broken wings we are maybe we could hold on for tonight for old time's sake it would be a beautiful mistake bullets fly when we speak knives come out when our eyes meet I know the damage is done some things can't be undone and like all cold blood assassins do shielding our emotions from the pain bullets fly when we speak knives come out when our eyes meet I know the damage is done some things can't be undone
10.	Days to Remember 05:33	lyrics	buy track
I remember when we were young driving fast in your car til the evening sun like the road up ahead was made for us and the radio played like a serenade for us and all we ever wanted was everything and all we ever had, nothing but each other I remember when we were young driving fast in your car til the evening sun never knowing where it was taking us I can remember tracing the shapes on your face with my fingertips I close my eyes and try to go back there Days to Remember do you wanna go? do you wanna disappear with me? I can remember tracing the shapes on your face with my fingertips I close my eyes and try to go back there I can remember tracing the shapes on your face with my fingertips I close my eyes and try to go back there Days to Remember Days to Remember and I want to be with you when I take my last breath and slowly drift away to that day I can remember tracing the shapes on your face with my fingertips I close my eyes and try to go back there Days to Remember Days to Remember Days to Remember
11.	The Stars & Ground [stripped] 04:13	lyrics	buy track
Hey, outside the window pane It's just another day for you So take it if you can Fall in love and break your heart You know it from the start That life is better with the pain and scars Calm down You can lay your weary head down Anywhere you go I'll find you In between the stars and ground Crash, a flicker and a flash It all goes by so fast There's no time to fuss around We are more than we believe The greatest tragedy by far Is never knowing who we are Calm down You can lay your weary head down Anywhere you go I'll find you In between the stars and ground Hold tight Even if it is a long ride I will always be beside you There to keep you safe and sound In between the stars and ground Live with no regrets With every single breath Never miss the chance to take a stand for what you love

about

Act 2.
The penultimate.

I consider “The Stars & Ground” to be a sister album to my 2018 release “No Bad Horizon”. Like any siblings there are some very obvious connections that they share and also some significant differences. Other parallels are a little more subtle.

The last two years has been a shockingly prolific period in my songwriting journey and most of these songs were written during this time. Some songs that appear on “The Stars & Ground” actually pre-date songs from “No Bad Horizon”. While others were written on the same day but ended up on separate albums by random chance. In fact, I wrote “Sign of Life” & “Haunting Me” on the same uniquely productive Sunday.

Both albums play with themes of reflecting on experiences from the past while looking forward to the future. This is captured both lyrically and in the production. I really wanted the lyrics to represent my current station in life; a significant accumulation of moments and perspective but also knowing that there is still so much to look forward to. This theme is most notable in the songs “You’re My Favorite”, “When You Arrived" and "The Bruises of a Normal Life”. But there are other songs like “Fire in the City” as well as the title track that are really meant to memorialize this very specific moment in time.

The production continues to straddle the line of retro flourishes wrapped in modern aesthetic. I truly feel that you could scramble songs from either of these albums and they would still feel right at home. Of course, “The Stars & Ground” continues my long-standing partnership with the production genius of Mark McKee. His contributions to the BiTTERSWEET MACHiNES catalogue are as vital as my own. Both albums also see Benjy Johnson deftly handling the vocal production with Kaitlin Grady providing cello and Kiel Feher on drums for multiple tracks each. Marcel Agterhuis composed & performed the music for “Days to Remember” while I added lyrics, vocal arrangement and vocal performance. I’m very fortunate to have such immensely talented people contribute to this album.

I wanted this album to be a shorter runtime and with only 10 songs on the formal release it forces each song to be very strong; with no time or room for wasted motion. It was important to make this album a tighter and more dynamic ride than my previous releases.

There are also some connections with this album’s artwork and that of “No Bad Horizon”. Both picture wide open roads and sense of adventure to symbolize that aforementioned feeling of movement; reflecting back at my life while moving forward to the future. One album’s color palate is vivid & vibrant while the other’s is black & white. One gives the point of view of the driver while the other looks back on him. One is entitled “The Stars & Ground” while the other emphasizes the space between those two points; the horizon.

All of these subtle nuances are meant to connect this collection of songs and capture this very special moment in time for me. A moment that finds me sweetly nostalgic for days gone by, excited for adventures yet to come and content with where I stand; with my eyes firmly fixed on “The Stars and Ground”.

credits

released November 15, 2019

All songs written by Matt Mocharnuk
Songs 1-9 produced by Mark McKee
Song 10 produced by Mocharnuk & Marcel Agterhuis
Vocals recorded at Earthtones Studios with Benjy Johnson
Cello - Kaitlin Grady
Drums - Kiel Feher
Mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B

license

about

Bittersweet Machines Greensboro, North Carolina

Bittersweet Machines is Matt Mocharnuk

2022 - Edge of the Nocturne Sea
2020 - Disco Volante
2019 - The Stars & Ground
2018 - No Bad Horizon
2016 - Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips
2014 - Momentary Lights
2012 - Solituda

Bonus:
-Stripped of Starlight [acoustic]
-The Wendy Birds: Everybody OK? [rarities]
-And Diamond Stars Shine Glitter Bright [EP]
-Seraphina [single]
-Stumbling with Grace [single] ... more

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