Dragonfly is an album by the gothic rock

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 band Ego Likeness

Ego Likeness

Ego Likeness are an American darkwave/industrial rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch.-Early Work:...

.

Dragonfly, released in 2000 on the band's own record label Angelfall Music, is the band's first full length CD. Following up to their 1999 demo Songs from a Dead City

Songs From a Dead City

Songs from a Dead City is an album by the gothic rock band Ego Likeness.Recorded with minimal outboard gear on a fourtrack, 'Songs from a Dead City' was the first recording by Ego Likeness. Released in 1999 on a limited run of hand made cassette tapes and CD-Rs, the album was never officially...

, Dragonfly continued to develop the bands eclectic sound and atmosphere.

Recorded over a nine month period of self-imposed isolation, Dragonfly begins the bands exploration of personal loss, regret, betrayal, growth and change.

Track listing

1. "A Different Kind of Loss" – 1:36
2. "Hydra" – 6:27
3. "Second Skin" – 6:49
4. "Drown Like You" – 6:04
5. "The Ocean Beside Us" – 4:09
6. "The Map Is Not the Territory" – 6:59
7. "Song to the Divine" – 4:52
8. "Blind Arms" – 5:14
9. "Too Many Empty Nests" – 4:10
10. "I Live On What’s Left" – 4:02
11. "Aurora" – 8:17
12. "The Explanation at the Center of It All" – 4:07

Personnel

• S. Archer – Synthesizer, Guitar, Programming, Vocals, Treatments, Cover Art
• Nick Church – Photography
• Michael Fitzgerald – Video Producer
• Shaun Mason – Guitar
• Contributing Musicians – Justin Dingo Sabe (noise), Stephanie Kim (violin), Shaun Mason (guitar).
• Live contributions – Daniel Mullen (guitar), Amanda Mason (keyboards, backing vocals), Jenny Mettee (bass).

Trivia

• The dialog samples
  Sampling (music)
  In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
  
   in 'A Different Kind of Loss' are taken from the David Cronenberg
  David Cronenberg
  David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
  
   film
  Film
  A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
  
   Dead Ringers
  Dead Ringers (film)
  Dead Ringers is a 1988 psychological horror film starring Jeremy Irons in a dual role as identical twin gynecologists. Director David Cronenberg co-wrote the screenplay with Norman Snider; their script was based on the novel Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland...
  
  .
• The versions of 'Second Skin', 'Song to the Divine', 'Drown Like You' and 'The Map Is Not the Territory' released on the CDR demos of the album have no guitar.
• While they did perform a handful of shows after the release of 'Songs From a Dead City', the couple decided it was best to keep the band a studio only project. The positive feedback generated by 'Dragonfly' caused the couple to reconsider their choice and rework the material for the stage.
• Dragonfly marks the beginning of Justin 'Dingo' Sabe's longtime involvement with the band.
• The songs 'Axis', 'Above the Soil (Edward's Version)', and 'The Hanging Years' were recorded in rapid succession over the period of three weeks after the album was completed. 'Axis' was later released with additional overdubbed guitar on 'Water to the Dead
  Water to the Dead
  Water to the Dead is an album by the gothic rock band Ego Likeness. Released in 2004 on Dancing Ferret Discs, the album takes a more rock approach to their established electronic sound. The name Water to the Dead was, like the band's name, taken from the book Dune by Frank Herbert.The album also...
  
  '.
• 'Above the Soil' exists in several forms, the original, 'Edward's Version' appears on the compilation 'Emotional Overdrive' released in 2001. The heavier 'Isabel's Version' was recorded for 'Water to the Dead
  Water to the Dead
  Water to the Dead is an album by the gothic rock band Ego Likeness. Released in 2004 on Dancing Ferret Discs, the album takes a more rock approach to their established electronic sound. The name Water to the Dead was, like the band's name, taken from the book Dune by Frank Herbert.The album also...
  
  '. Edward and Isabel are characters in Donna Lynch's novel 'The Good Mothers'.
• 'The Hanging Years' was re-written and re-titled and is to be released on the 2006 album 'The Order of the Reptile
  The Order of the Reptile
  The Order of the Reptile is an album by the gothic rock band Ego Likeness. It was released on July 4, 2006 on Dancing Ferret Discs.- Track listing :# Weave# Burn Witch Burn# Smothered# Aviary# Save Your Serpent# Severine# World of Shame...
  
  '.
• The sample
  Sampling (music)
  In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
  
   "It's down so low," in the song 'Aurora' was unknowingly provided by Donna during the recording process. The weight of the microphone she was using caused the stand to lower over the course of the vocal take.
• The album remained untitled until the couple settled on a concept for the cover art. While no direct relationship to any specific song on the album, the band felt the dragonfly
  Dragonfly
  A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
  
  represented both universal as well as personal transformation, a central theme in the album.
• Moments after the final vocal take for 'Song to the Divine', the smoke detector in the building rang signaling a fire two floors below.