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No Creature Is Hidden

by Former Ruins

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1.
The last thing I saw Before I went under Was a hoofprint in the pool liner He said a horse fell in last spring Y'all really should have seen it Such a large, thrashing thing Honestly, it was startling But this is how it's always felt Like I'm only arriving Where you've already been And even now I feel it You've shown me your power By where you conceal it The last series we sat through featured this 8-foot, papier-mâché Mayan pyramid He said "test everything, and hold fast to the good" So we got engaged that winter Right there at the end of the world But this is how it's always worked you give us understanding when we lean on yours And even now, I feel it Your mercies keep following me And time keeps revealing it You must have been tumbling In the carpet of my childhood When I played Cause even when I felt your absence Your impression remained You preoccupied my adolescence like An open-carry on the hip Of the woman I knew I'd marry Her name was fear and trembling But this is how it's always felt Like I'm only arriving where you've already been And even now I feel it You've shown me your power By where you conceal it But then college hit And the New Atheists Rode their bus campaigns On public-speaking streaks And I was cowering under Comments about The Amalekites and God's providence Then Hitch will get his diagnosis And someone's daughter somewhere gets The same But the former will never fathom why Grieving fathers give you praise Cos this is how it's always been You're waiting beside Hospital beds In chambers of my heart That life hasn't broken yet But even now I feel it You've shown me your power No grave can seal in And this is how it's always felt Like I'm only arriving Where you've already been And even now I feel it You've shown me your power By where you conceal it
2.
Sparrow Eyes 05:57
You held me in a mother's arms Down in the breadline She wore her millefleurs dress She watched me with sparrow eyes Because she knows how I Can be a punchline That everyone knows Something about an altar I am a crawler And I know inside I know inside You're there More than I am Even to myself So I could try to flee from your sight Or fold myself into a beam of light Or become any kind of thing I like But what I am is known to you And I can't get all the way away from you You know I can't Get all the way away from you You were hounding me From heaven When you caught me outside Down by the water Or at the end of time No creature is hidden And neither was I Because you know how I Can be a punchline That hits a little close to home You lead us to the altar All us belly crawlers And if I'm curving in And see nothing but my sins You're there Deeper than I have been Even within myself But we have tried to flee from your sight In a browser, in a boardroom, on our bed at night We've become all the kinds of things we've liked And the emptiness calls out to you Cos we can't Get all the way away from you You know we can't Get all the way away from you You see me and you know me That can be a terrifying thought But I'm as real as a rabbit In a fiery field And my best hope Is getting caught I was told To embrace the shadow I never felt more free But at the end of the day It covered everything So please Come recover me Cos what we are is known to you What we are is made for you What we are is known to you What we are is made for you And I heard you pouring your heart out to mine For what must have been the thousandth time When I was struck by the lightning from eternal light And now my body is a bell at the sight of you And I can't keep anything Away from you You know I can't keep anything Away from you I want to fly to your open side And be underwing under sparrow eyes And see you wingspread against a broken sky And be remembered back to you Cos I can't Keep anything Away from you You know I can't Keep anything Away from you
3.
I didn't know that was still a thing they do Our lampstand was just removed We spilled our oil Like ink into an inky sea And when we burned it on the waves You danced on a distant flame The one we were made to enthrone We all need to hear some hard things Sometimes And this one still hits hardest We thought we could walk By the light we made Til we got lost in our own heads And the light in us was Darkness In our caricature we drew Your features based on our own truth Our logos in the sponsored section Of the program and the script we put you through And when we hung it on the wall It clashed with nothing at all We forgot your mouth is drawn Like a sword We all need to hear some hard things Sometimes And this one still hits hardest We thought we could walk By the light we made Til we got lost in our own heads And the light in us was Darkness Lest we forget, no creature is hidden Lest we forget, we're all patients at your table Lest we forget, you already see our true conditions In ways we've never been able So give us sight Lest the light in us be darkness We all need to hear some hard things Sometimes And this one still hits hardest We thought we could walk By the light we make Til we got lost in our heads And the light in us was Darkness I'm nearly Dylanesque in my hubris That I got something to say But am I pure in heart? That's the question So find me reclining against Your most-chaste-chest I'll hear your resting cadence Bear a resemblance to Repent, repent, repent We all need to hear some hard things, sometimes We all need to hear some hard things
4.
Sign 04:53
Party crashers Raised up crosses While we forgot to keep the feast It felt like an epiphany Of our true allegiances To say the least I just know that We've been here before Burning incense To a strongman And we just don't know when to stop Without a sign Of contradiction Men without chests Mourned no losses When they lit up New York City pink We don't hesitate to say They love the least of these What a nice thing to think I just know that We've been here before Offering tribute with our own children And we just don't know when to stop Without a sign Of contradiction There's no bloodless membership It's just a question of whose blood it is We gather our strength against Whatever victim seems expedient You should know cos You've been here before Being opposed from all directions And we just don't know when to stop Crucifying what Contradicts us We just don't know when to stop Without a sign that can Contradict us I just know that we've been here before I cannot get around the fact Your holy innocence is the only last Contradiction That speaks against And saves us In the end Please give us a sign And contradict us Cos I know we've been here before I know we've been here before And we just don't know when to stop Without a sign of Contradiction
5.
Lindy 04:36
I knew your love Before I even knew your name No other could give what you gave to me Lindy And yours was the first Heartbeat I'd heard No other has given what you gave to me Lindy Now I’m the one carrying you around Every day Wherever I’m gonna go You are never so far away And I cannot put you down When you gave me everything I even have your own father's arms And your children's children on my knee Unique among all others My mother The one who gave me birth I was your sunflower bud On the wall of your womb Unfolding in the depths of the earth I knew your voice Before I could speak It can be a brutal world But there was room for me It can be a brutal world But there was room for me Lindy And I knew your touch Before I was seen I was a stranger And you welcomed me Lindy I was a stranger and you welcomed me Lindy Now I’m the one carrying you around Every day Wherever I’m gonna go You are never so far away And I cannot put you down When you gave me everything I even have your own father's arms And your children's children on my knee Armfuls of memories come Like a harvest none too late (You’re never far, you’re never far) Your cherry tomato cheekbones As you prepare everyone a plate (You’re never far, you’re never far) And I cannot put you down You gave me everything
6.
All I wanna do is sleep And drink hot honey water in a dream All I wanna do is be Untroubled before a soft-core stream Feeling free But I hear your heart pounding like Hooves upon the shore And your bright face is enlightening The dark side of my door And your clear voice is ringing out It's time to go to war But all I wanna do is sleep But you know that there’s been So many horses in First drafts of lyrics Not make the cut And you know that I've tried So hard to avoid This one cliche But I now wonder Is it the one you want? I now wonder Is it the one you want? I now wonder Hey remember when we first heard “Holocene”? We got real heavy into arpeggios I was relieved to not be relied upon To play any real guitar solos Granted that we're not magnificent We still tried our best to write quote-unquote "Hauntingly beautiful" songs In the most delicate and dulcet tones But you know that there’s been So many horses in First drafts of lyrics Not make the cut And you know how I’ve tried So hard to avoid This one cliche But I now wonder If it’s the one you want (Run with the horses) I now wonder If it’s the one you want (Run with the horses) I now wonder If it’s the one (Run with the horses) You want Cos every other flanneled father Roughly my age Can’t help themselves but sing along With The Boss And when it hits the chorus We hear the galloping of horses And we believe even just for a minute We could recover all we’ve lost Singing baby Let me bring you underwing now Rib to rib as first lovers be And we would learn To ride the lightning Out to the far end of the sea I wanna behold you in all your glory See how you run under the hood I’ll pledge to you alone My heart and flesh And all my earthly goods But you know this is where it gets So embarrassing That we’d trade this for a simulation Of smeared honey on our knees Or otherwise we bear down hard Play every co-dependent card And stay convinced This is how we lead But you know I tried so hard to avoid these Cliches I rightly resisted But I’m left wondering Is there one I can’t outrun? Run with the horses Run with the horses I still wonder What it is you want Am I a bride or am I a son? Or is it whatever Being a man means In Heaven’s eternity That I can fully rest My head upon Til we behold what we’ll become Run with the horses Run with the horses
7.
Do you know I saw You standing in the middle Of the White River? You were spilling everything Your red backpack open Upturned and emptied I gave you a moment But it was all I could do not to Draw near, nearer still Cos I will have you Any form you’re in I’d be vapor I’d be freezing Just to find you In every season So I’ll come wading toward you Through dissolving paper Waving at a distance So you know it’s me Approaching And when you show me Your countersign I’ll know I can Draw near, nearer still Cos I will have you Any phase you’re in I’d be vapor I’d be freezing Just to find you In every season Draw near, nearer still Cos I want to Be sure you’re listening Cos the word bank changes Only to say the same old things At new depth of meaning Cos our love is Our love is water I don’t have any illusions That I’m the one to save you I’ll just be watching your yellow Parachute descend Like a retriever I’ll be there When you land I wanna make your sky open In blooms Of borrowed hues from The blueberries We’re gonna pick in South Haven When we’re full Of years and all the ways We changed Just to stay the same So come crystallize with me In living memory All we do to keep Ourselves bonded Cos our love is Our love is water (So draw nearer still) Baby I don’t want the truth of us To always be Liquid I want a vow to keep So draw near, nearer still I will seek you To the furthest end I’d be vapor, I’d be freezing Just to find the bride Of my youth again Cos our love is Our love is water And our life is a vapor And time is fleeting So let’s rehearse Heaven and earth Meeting
8.
Do you still remember The driver We met from Denver With the ouroboros tattoo? He said that everything Will recur Until we all dissolve in time (We all dissolve) That's the kind of vaguely spiritual thing You can get away with saying to strangers But he really didn't like you Telling him how to drive I had a perfect circle and I tried to paint it all black But then I couldn't decide if I should paint it all white Or in perfectly balanced halves And my eyes are acrobats Leaping out, desperate To catch sight of something real That can bear a human face I need something that can break Through to me And break through My false infinities But here's yet another Ex-pastor In Warby Parker Glasses without a prescription He said we're star stuff And baby, we are enough And the Kingdom of Heaven is within (It's all within) And the capital U-universe is here to guide us Toward our own inner light Well ok But just saying that sort of thing Never got anyone crucified I had a perfect circle and I tried to paint it all black But then I couldn't decide if I should paint it all white Or in perfectly balanced halves And my eyes are acrobats Leaping out, desperate To catch sight of something real That can bear a human face I need something that can break My arms are acrobats Flying out through emptiness To lay hold of hands That have borne our human weight I need something that can break I was a self-referring circuit of positive inputs But nothing electric ever struck Nothing could judge me Oppose or conduct me And therefore not love me that much But you found me going nowhere just Circling the parking lot Reciting slogans to myself Like "we're just drops in the ocean" It sounded pretty deep But it didn't help Cos our hearts are acrobats Leaning out across a gap To be one with you Even now in time and space Cos a sacred heart can break And we need something that can break through All our false infinities But between you and us Is a wire And the tension remains a crucial thing Just meet us up there dancing Above trees that go branching Beyond all our false infinities
9.
Doxology 05:03
Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Praise God beyond what words can express Praise God who has spoken to us nonetheless Praise God in language long confessed Praise Father, Son, and Spirit blessed Praise When we turn back to you You return us to ourselves When we praise Because you need of nothing We can leave nothing withheld When we praise The heart is an archer Rising up to take her aim When we praise We become what we behold It's a risk we're meant to take To praise you Praise God who sees us after work At home, un-consoled, alone, and uncorked Praise God that the salt fails to meet our thirst Praise God who yearns to meet it first Praise God baptizer Dancing in the womb Praise God thrice-denier I am weeping too Praise God through firelight With His eyes on you Praise God the one Who will see us through Praise When we turn back to you You return us to ourselves When we praise Because you need of nothing We will leave nothing withheld When we praise It's the sound of waters flowing Down the mouth of suffering When we praise We become what we behold It's a risk we're meant to take To praise you Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
10.
Millefleurs 05:16
Did you come out here to find me Crawling the far hills naked? Cos even your reproach clothes me in A millefleurs raiment You fed me daily From your windowsill I kept it vacant So you hung around Like suet in the snow Even then, you were waiting Yours is the heart Ours were meant to be knit to So you wove yourself into The weave we knew At your garment’s edge We were unraveling Every flower in our crown was withering Until you hemmed us in behind and before Back in the embroidery of Your millefleurs (So come on) Bring us back into the embroidery of Your millefleurs (So come on) Bring us back into the embroidery And in overflowing tenderness You've tended The garden we were given charge of We leased it out, and tenants bled it And by rights you could have us die by night Outside its hedges But you’re patient as a fountain in a park Where one bridegroom waits for his wedding Yours are the arms We were meant to fall into Where everything false about us just Falls right through Toward your garment's edge We come staggering Our incurable wound kept us asking For who could hem us in Behind and before back in The embroidery of Your millefleurs So come on Bring us back into the embroidery of Your millefleurs Bring us back into the embroidery So come on, bring us back So come on, bring us back into the Embroidery I was there on the spear tip You were a candle lit Piercing the darkness And that I survived the impact When our lives crashed Like intended targets Is a cause for wonder and Now I rest in beds of obedience And you cast my sins on the winds That blow the very farthest Yours is the voice All the world comes home to You are the Holy One With whom we have to do Around your garment's edge The seas are gathering While swallows and seraphim Are swarming, yet you've drawn near To us in human form Marvelous! Are your works O Lord So come on, bring us back So come on, bring us back in So come on Bring us back into the embroidery of Your millefleurs Bring us back into the embroidery

about

"This is the definitive form of Former Ruins, with lush instrumental arrangements, continued lyrical boldness, and an annoying sense of perfectionism that just happens to pay off...Sikes has painstakingly crafted an album that easily rivals artists of higher stature." - Casey Gallenberger, Indie Vision Music, 5/5 review

For Levi Dylan Sikes, songwriter behind the Indiana-based project Former Ruins, life is heading in a direction toward an encounter. Evidently, there are a multitude of smaller apocalypses along the way.

No Creature Is Hidden, the long-awaited second LP, follows the debut Large Startling (March 2020), the seasonally-themed Fruit of Winter EP (December 2020), and a rollout of singles from April 2022-2023. Lyrically-rich and stylistically nimble, No Creature Is Hidden sees Sikes in collaboration with John Michael Sellers on several tracks, exploring new textures, synthesis, and symphonic elements alongside atmospheric rock instrumentation.

credits

released June 9, 2023

Slow Embrace Records – No Creature Is Hidden

Produced by Levi Dylan Sikes
Recorded August 2021 - April 2023 at home in Muncie, IN
Additional production and recordings by John Michael Sellers in Fort Wayne, IN and Utica, NY
Mixed and mastered by Keith Hartman of Silver Seas Mastering, Charleston, SC

All lyrics by Levi Dylan Sikes, except “Doxology” verse 1 and verse 5 taken from “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,” 1674 Thomas Ken (Public Domain); background vocal refrain on “The Last Thing I Saw” taken from “Holy God, we praise Thy Name,” written 1771 by Ignace Franz, translated 1858 by Clarence A. Walworth (Public Domain).

All songs © & ℗ 2023 Levi Dylan Sikes (ASCAP) published by Slow Embrace Records (ASCAP) except tracks 3, 4, 6, and 9 © & ℗ 2023 Levi Dylan Sikes (ASCAP) / Slow Embrace Records (ASCAP) and John Michael Sellers (ASCAP) / Ear Grass Records (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
Publishing administration by Songtrust.

Levi Dylan Sikes: Vocals, guitars, bass, keys, synthesizers, samples, drum sequencing
John-Michael Sellers: Synthesizers, keys, sample sequencing, sound processing
Jennifer Sikes: Background vocals on tracks 2, 6, 7, 9

===

The production of this album was partially funded by the generous contributions of my Bandcamp Patron Circle. It is in no particular order, but with great gratitude, that I list their names:
Abigail Applegate, Bobby Bennett, Kevin Skillern, Leah Mikesell, Sam Schmidt, Joesph Macklin, Casey Gallenberger, Abigail Hawkins, Jewel Vestbom, K. Albert Little, Thomas Baldwin, Ray Sikes, Linda Sikes, William Carter Carroll, Ben Kouba, Melia Ozbun, Mark Bergren

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Former Ruins Muncie, Indiana

You've shown me your power by where you conceal it.

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