B i o g r a p h y (by Marcy Donelson)
One-third of moody, minimalist keyboard trio Au Revoir Simone, Long Island native Annie Hart makes dark, lo-fi synth pop of her own as a soloist. When her band was featured onscreen during the 2017 revival of TV's Twin Peaks, Hart released her solo debut, Impossible Accomplice. She doubled down on its brooding post-punk inspirations with her third full-length, 2023's The Weight of a Wave. Beginning with 2006's Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation, Au Revoir Simone -- Annie Hart, Erika Forster, and Heather D'Angelo -- released four LPs over the course of a decade, making a fan of director David Lynch in the process. He featured the band onscreen in two episodes of Twin Peaks' 2017 third season, in which they performed "Lark" and "A Violent Yet Flammable World," both from their 2007 album The Bird of Music. The same month their second episode aired, Hart released her solo debut album, July 2017's Impossible Accomplice, with arts collective and label Uninhabitable Mansions. The sparser, more bittersweet self-release A Softer Offering followed in 2019, shortly before her new wavy soundtrack for the teen comedy Banana Split combined songs and keyboard-heavy score material. An EP dedicated to keyboard instrumentals, Everything Pale Blue, was released on Orindal Records in May 2021. Her debut album's mix of overcast, punk-damaged synth pop and brooding keyboard balladry appeared in a reinforced, more energized form on The Weight of a Wave (Uninhabitable Mansions) in August 2023.
Click HERE for Au Revoir Simone Complete Lyrics Section
IMPOSSIBLE ACCOMPLICE I Don't Want Your Love You gave me what you wanted I gave you what you asked me for You got it I don't want to harden anymore I don't want to go on as a copy of a copy I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore Make me one in four, maybe one in five A sleight of hand, out of time I cut you off, you breathe me back in Wear me down, weathered gray worn away, away, away, away I don't want to melt away, away, away, away I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore If I could give you up, you would give me up You take me down I'm too complicated, it's too complicated On and on and on and on and on and so on (And on and on and on and on) I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore I don't want your love I don't want your love anymore Hard To Be Still I never loved anyone like this It's so hard to be still Come around again And meet me on your way back home I understand you now For the first time in years For the first time in years You gave me what I want You gave me what I want You gave me what I want You gave me what I want I got nothing left to ask you for And I'll never give you up I'll never give you up I'll never give you up I'll never give you up I made a promise But it's more than that Now, now, now, now Run To You You tell me everything Except what I wanna know About who you love And why you're hanging around Don't bring me closer Don't bring me closer to you 'Cause when you walk in the room I want to run to you I want to run to you I want to run to you Run, run, run, run, run, run, run I want to run to you, you You, you People are noticing I'm hanging on to heavy unsaid words Don't bring me closer Don't bring me closer to you 'Cause when you walk in the room I want to run to you I want to run to you I want to run to you Run, run, run, run, run, run, run I want to run to you, you You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you When you walk in the room I want to run to you I want to run to you I want to run to you Run, run, run, run, run, run, run I want to run to you I want to run to you On The Way Down The first time that I tried it I could tell that you were lying You told me I could have you, then you'd deny it I don't want you to come here and I don't want her to cry But I told you I would have you and I don't like to lie Out on the sidewalk and then underneath the color A photographic power, I told you to love her But you come with me again because you're dying to be free And I come with you again because it comes so easily Meet me under the water Then you meet me on the way down First you meet me under the water Then you meet me on the way down Don't give me that because I deserve more Don't give me that because I deserve more My Heart's Been Broken I never sighed relief Uncatchable in restlessness Those dark waves are pushing me, pulling me My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken, too A scattered life waiting before No substitute for sleeping Your stone gaze is reaching me, hear me My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken, too My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken My heart's been broken, too My heart My heart My heart My heart Breathing Underwater When you leave I can feel the feeling of your face On my cheek Don't leave it there I go to sleep Hoping you're there It's no release I had a taste of a word I can't pronounce You made its shape in lines across my mouth I'm on a broken border Pull me in, I'll make your move my move And when you leave I can feel the feeling of your face On my cheek Don't leave it there I go to sleep Hoping you're there It's no release You tear me up and then fall dark I want it all, I fall apart I fall apart I've been breathing underwater, underwater I've been breathing underwater, underwater I've been breathing underwater, underwater I've been breathing underwater, underwater I've Been Seeing You In My Dreams I've been seeing you in my sleep And I've been seeing you in my dreams Where it's easy to know and it's easy to know you like Where it's easy to know and it's easy to know you like You were mine You were mine They were gone Driving around We just stayed home 'Cause I want to hold, I want to hold you like And I want to know, I want to know you like You were mine You were mine Come to me, come closer Come to me, come close 'Cause I want to know, I want to know you like 'Cause I want to feel, I want to feel you like You were mine You were mine You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round You've been running round Softly I want to know where you're going 'Cause I want to know where you're going to be If I called you Would you answer me in the night Once more around on your arm But I don't mean to follow you home If I called you, would you answer If I wanted to hear your voice In the night
A softer Offering
Wilderness Hill Long nights on your lawn Warm air isn't warm now Cut back across the parking lot No one waits for me there So I wander around when I'm walking around Wilderness Hill Are you awake before dawn I'm thinking of you still Hardened in your ways Offer me to stay You looked around, you took a breath You took a walk and I seconded your opinion Feet on the street and a cigarette Wine in a paper cup Could I be in your dreams While you're waking up I wander around when I'm walking around Wilderness Hill Are you awake before dawn I'm thinking of you still
Longing To Care Less I see what I see I know what I know I walk where I want to But I don't know where I go Follow me down As I move through the crowds Swarming the beach Where your home used to be Golden and velvet But dry to the touch The hills of California Are shaking their dust I only drive when it rains Wear a sweater indoors Dry my clothes in the sun Though it's hardly enough You take it in stride As I go partly blind I see with the eye In my mind And I ought to confess That I'm longing to care less I hate watching clocks In the night But I cease to exist When I'm feeling complicit I want you to be happy But you're wrong I'll dream what I dream I'll know what I know If you don't what to help us You'll go where you go Wandering Free Every time I try, it never turns out right I heard a little word swallowing my pride Walking on a wall, following your stride I wondered where you were, you were in your mind Wandering, wandering free Wandering, wandering free Wandering, wandering free Wandering, wandering free Don't Breathe For Me Caught in a lie, pack up your act, sand the soles off your shoes When you expect to listen for birds who never seem to you Like they were sideways in intricate time change, changing you Why would you breathe for me If it's not me you're breathing for Why would you kill for me If it's not me you're living for Following stride, take me alive, take me as far as you Out on the edge, a tentative best I could admit to you But you're falling backwards, stretching and shattered I'm shattered, too Why would you breathe for me If it's not me you're breathing for Why would you kill for me If it's not me you're living for Why would you breathe for me If it's not me you're breathing for Why would you kill for me If it's not me you're living for Clean Floors Your floors are so clean, but what does it mean in the end I had a dream that he came to me in my bed You don't like it when I see him, there's a reason for that If I told you all my secrets you would never come back on the line Call it a crime, call it a trap I left my lover in London because I never loved him like that "This party's too tame," I coldly complain, unconvinced I'm getting to break, but I'm trying so hard to live I can tell I'm uncompelling because you're always keeping track The Mefloquine made me crazy, but I swear I'm coming back I never did, but you wanted to dance I never did, but you wanted to dance I never did, but you wanted to dance It doesn't matter at all Critics complain that I'm still the same, but I won't I'm getting upset at the littlest things (so what) Like, why did you do it like that Tell me, why did you do it like that Why did you do it like that It doesn't matter at all Phoenicia No Coffee I'm caught in your line, I'm caught in traffic Too eager to share the shape of static I'm lying I'm alone Never speaking with conviction Convincing myself I'm not the victim On the bottom Long forgotten Everyone's up in Phoenicia or out in L.A. I'm carving myself a place But there's nowhere to stay You've seen the unseen, it seemed unseemly Whitewash the scenes that seem uneasy You're trying You've tried Everyone's up in Phoenicia or out in L.A. I'm carving myself a place But there's nowhere to stay Embrace The New Age It could be any other morning You whisper softly to me "I'm leaving" It could be any other morning You whisper softly to me "I'm leaving" Again The Paper Pull I'm at the starting line But you, you, you're at the finish I'm at the starting line But you, you, you're at the finish I'm at the paper pull And my, my, my hands are so full I'm at the paper pull And my, my, my hands are so full When we start We make our moves in the dark When we start We make our moves in the dark I'm at the starting line But you, you, you're at the finish I'm at the starting line But you, you, you're at the finish On and on and on and on and on...
THE WEIGHT OF A WAVE Boy You Got Me Good You took the hard way out I remember thinking subtle Stories all over town We were stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel You were holding the phone I was holding my own while you were going on about the trouble with this city, you were getting out You got me, boy, you got me, now you got me good And if you're thinking what I'm thinking, now you've understood I had a harrowing thought This could really be forever 'Cause more often than not You were leaving me unaffected If you caught me, I could We were up to no good when you said You were one and I was one and we were two and together we were heaven Boy, you got me, now you got me, boy, you got me good And if you're thinking what I'm thinking, now you've understood Boy, you got me, now you got me, boy, you got me good Boy, you got me, now you got me, boy, you got me good Boy, you got me, now you got me, boy, you got me good And if you're thinking what I'm thinking, now you've understood Boy, you got me, now you got me, boy, you got me good And if you're thinking what I'm thinking, now you've understood A Crowded Cloud There's a storm on the sea waiting for me, I know It came to me in a dream I could see Swirling in water I see what's before I leap And the crowd underground can't believe all the sounds going down, down, down Down, down, down And the lines on my face show I haven't slept in days And I haven't slept in days for a while And I went all this time believing you're blind Though I saw all the signs in my mind I'm going down a dark way A parkway leads me home in the night And the flight, am I right Is leaving from Philly, how silly And the lines on my face show I haven't slept in days And I haven't slept in days for a while And I went all this time believing you're blind Though I saw all the signs in my mind Hear me out, hear me now, hear me loud You're climbing a crowded cloud Hear me out, hear me now, hear me loud You're climbing a crowded cloud Hear me out, hear me now, hear me loud You're climbing a crowded cloud Hear me out, hear me now, hear me loud You're climbing a crowded cloud I Never Do Why do I keep calling you Why do I keep giving you chances that you never ask for I think I've got something wrong with me Like shadows are amazing when there's dust in the air I keep thinking that you care But my friends, they tell me, ignore you Well, I think they know something, I know it, too And I really would like to seek the truth, but I never do I thought I saw you on First Avenue But I guess it was just hope or face blindness Does it matter My friends, they tell me, ignore you Well, I think they know something, I know it, too And I really would like to seek the truth, but I never do A Lot Of Thought Everybody tells me they know better Everybody tells me that I'm wrong But I've given it a lot of thought But I've given it a lot of thought While you wallow in the waters with the hunger of a bear And you follow in the footsteps of another wasted year Well, you got me where you want me, but I'm not even here Oh I've given it a lot of thought Well, I've given it a lot of thought Everybody tells me that they know better Everybody tells me that I'm wrong But I've given it a lot of thought Yeah I've given it a lot of thought While you wallow in the waters with the hunger of a bear And you follow in the footsteps of another wasted year Well, you got me where you want me, but I'm not even here Oh I've given it a lot of thought Well, I've given it a lot of thought You try and try You try and try You try and try and try Waking Up You stood behind the scenery, you gave it all you could I remember you told me something along the lines of, "It'll do no good" Waking up is never the same when I'm not waking up to you I'm calling your name, but I can't seem to stay to explain to you Because it's so plain to you I'm not coming back I'll go another ten days without washing my hair The quality of verse is bound by something in the air I've got nothing but notebooks Waking up is never the same when I'm not waking up to you I'm calling your name, but I can't seem to stay to explain to you Because it's so plain to you I'm not coming back Waking up is never the same when I'm not waking up to you I'm calling your name, but I can't seem to stay to explain to you I couldn't betray that I wouldn't be tied or just tied to you I tightened a lie when I tried to decide that I'm not going to cry Going to cry Going to cry about you What Makes Me Me What makes me, me I am too ordinary I have nothing more to offer than my wide-eyed wonder at the world Curved moss, birdsong, the soft skin of birch bark The kindness of strangers, pink stones and warm sand Why, why, why You're always wondering why I, I, I have to stay strong To smile anyway "It's not that hard" You tell me, they say I don't wanna have to tell you I remember one winter You told me my Pollyanna views were disquieting and Why, why, why You're always wondering why I, I, I have to stay strong To smile anyway To smile anyway Stop Staring At You Word on the street is you're off of your feet Walking margin lines Working a crowd while you're thinking aloud Often we find you're fine Sayings for the sake of it Silence is the shape of it I can't go on talking If you don't feel like taking it You, stop staring at you, baby Fame is what you're chasing But you just go on wasting it Sacrificing answers with Satisfying space in them You, stop staring at you, baby Give it some time It will be undefined But what is on your mind Searching for signs In your sparkling wine Cagey, unkind Well, fine You can feel the weight of it Burning with the shame of it I can't go on faking 'cause You don't feel like taking it You, stop staring at you, baby I am not afraid of it But I don't have a say in it I can't go on talking If you don't feel like taking it You, stop staring at you, baby Sayings for the sake of it Silence is the shape of it I can't go on talking If you don't feel like taking it You, stop staring at you, baby I am not afraid of it But I don't have a say in it I can't go on talking If you don't feel like taking it You, stop staring at you, baby Falling Tending to tangents, I turn with the tide So everybody thinks that I've got nothing to hide But, baby, you're different, you know my whole life Baby, you're different, you know my whole life So, baby, if you're falling, will you fall down with me Baby, if you're falling, will you fall down with me Tangled in daylight, I know just the type So everybody thinks that I've got something to hide But you, yeah, you're different, you know that they're right You may be different, you know that they're right So, baby, if you're falling, will you fall down with me Baby, if you're falling, will you fall down with me I can see the colors washing in the gray Walking hollow, hard, I let it fall away If I wouldn't try, I'd never let you go down, down, baby I'll never let you go, no, no, no, no I'll never let you go, no, no, no, no 'Cause, baby, I'm falling, will you fall down with me Baby, I'm falling, will you fall down with me Baby, I'm falling, will you fall down with me Baby, I'm falling, will you fall down with me Nothing Makes Me Happy Anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore I got a phone call from my old best friend, Robbie And I got a phone call from my really good friend, Keith And then, you see, another sweet Keith came to visit me And my dear, dear friend Jenna invited me out for a drink But nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore I tried eating chocolate I tried making watercolors with the kids I even tried talking honestly about my troubles But nothing, I mean, nothing seemed to stick And nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore Nothing makes me happy anymore While Without I've lived without you for a while I've lived without you for a while I've lived without you for a long, long time And I live without you now Once a word remained unspoken Like a promise remains unbroken You've been hiding, I've been seeking What's left unsaid is my heart's still beating I've lived without you for a while I've lived without you for a while I've lived without you for a long, long time And I live without you now