Noise Ratchet: 1999-2004 RIP

It is with great great sadness that I write this post. I checked my e-mail only minutes ago and discovered that Noise Ratchet, the best band that you've never heard of, has decided to call it quits. My only consolation is that one of their last three shows will be in Phoenix the day I fly back from Louisville. Here's hoping I get to go.

Instead of me telling you about the band, I'll let the band's lyrics tell you about them and their heart. All of these are from their album Till We Have Faces.

"For You I'll Be Forgetting Me"

Decorations fell,
A red and green wives tale.
A silver line surrounds
Rooftops and black clouds
Are on their way to me.

Happy Birthday to me
The forgotten King

Open hand outstretched
To receive their prize.
But I could give you anything,
Yes anything
You’re everything to me.

"The Train" [This might be my favorite]

Dawn is here again.
And I can't save myself.
No I can't.
So can I ride the train
With you to get there?
'Cause I hear it's beautiful
Where this train is gonna stop.

So can I ride with you
Can I ride with you

I step up to get there,
So can I hold on to this.
I step up to get there,
'Cause then it's all bliss.

You can save me,
You can drive the train,
Cause I won't burn the bridge again.
I don't think I could live without one.
Because without one,
We would fall into deep, deeper water.
I do every day.

"My Day"

I woke up today
In a sick, sick world
I opened my eyes to see
It’s just a hurting place

My God can break its fall
In a world of hearts not beating at all
Its chances are leaving with time
Its kill or be killed evolution lies

Day after day has gone by
I try and I try to realize
What I can change
What’s falling apart.

"Till We Have Faces"

In photographs we define ourselves
Beneath the blanket of fashion
The things we fear the most
Are caught by our eyes in a mirror
We will decompose

Until we have faces
Identity abides
In what we claim is the truth,
Till fact and faith collide

Until we have faces
My heart is set on you.
But time and time again,
My eyes believe in lies.

To desire and dread
A war we can’t explain.
One fights to remember
Another to forget himself
A face we own forever,
But our heart can always change.

If you've stuck with me this far, you probably now realize what a gem they were and are, believers living out an authentic faith in the real world. They were not some cheesy antiquated pop band singing songs of week theology to a fat choir. They were artists. And in my minds eye, they were some of the greatest lyrical preachers in ages. May God bless you Noise Ratchet as you go on your seperate ways. Check out purevolume.com/noiseratchet for more.