To sophomore Cal Jett, known musically as Athen’s, making music is a way to both be recognized and remain enigmatic, becoming an entity in their art apart from their person. Their name was taken from a song “very close to [their] heart” and is meant to brand them as anonymous, dissociated from their identity outside of musical artistry.
Though Athen’s started making music a long while ago as a self-taught musician, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that things really started to pick up for them. Around that time, they and a friend formed a band called Protect From Light. However, bad blood began plaguing the two around when the band broke up, leading Athen’s back to making music by themself. It was right after this time that they picked up a guitar for the first time and began writing their new album, drawing inspiration heavily from their band’s — and their friendship’s — dissolution. “Watch Out Because Sparks Talk,” released on Friday, Sep. 27, is comprised of three parts that Athen’s had released as EPs earlier in their career and a section of new music. Each part is comprised of three songs, ranging from just under two minutes to nine minutes long, and follows what they considered to be a learning experience. Each part catalogues how their production changed over the year they wrote the album — their first year at Lawrence. Change was inevitable in the album’s creation; as the first full-length work they produced, “Watch Out Because Sparks Talk” was a chance for Athen’s to experiment with different factors such as song length, lyrical or instrumental dominance and songwriting structures.
The four parts that make up the album follow a timeline parallel to but far more personal than just productional change. “Aimless” opens the album’s narrative during a “tumultuous” time in Athen’s’ life, where they grappled with existential anxieties, such as the fear of growing up while still young. Additionally, they cited the “molding” experience of seeing the ashes fall from wildfires which were wreaking havoc on their home city of Los Angeles. As the impact the fires had on them and the album’s name suggests, the motif of the wildfire is strung throughout the album. Following “Aimless,” they explore their experience with disembodiment and the warped feeling of being separate from themself in “Teleopsia.” They continue to delve into this theme in the third part, ironically named “Part 2,” as they reminisce on losing some of their friends the summer before college and all the mental strain that came with it. “Object Permeance” is the fourth and final part and the only one that was not released as an EP before coming out on the album.
There is a shift between the first and second halves of “Watch Out Because Sparks Talk,” both lyrically and sonically. Aside from the second half being more focused on the fallout between them and their friend, the album’s first half is mainly electronic but transitions into being more guitar heavy as they became more confident with their skills on the strings. Drawing inspiration from both post-punk and lo-fi rock, Athen’s describes the tracks to be either airy and dreamlike or punchy.
When asked about their favorite song on the album, Athen’s didn’t have an answer; instead, they said they prioritize overarching themes and acoustic sequences in their albums over standalone works.
“I didn’t write any of the songs in a void — I’m not a ‘singles artist’ […] which is why I made the album the way I did,” Athen’s declared.
They did, however, consider “Hibernation Season” as their “go-to” in terms of the best songwriting on the album. They also named their first complete song on guitar, “Summer’s End,” as the track that they had the most fun producing.
With everything said and done, Athen’s began thinking about their future. They were very receptive to the idea of a live performance, revealing that they and their band are already practicing and perfecting each song for a tentative on-campus showcase in November. As for new releases, Athen’s said they don’t plan on anything for the immediate future. However, they also mentioned that they’ve begun working on two more long-form works in the same spirit in which they created “Watch Out Because Sparks Talk” — with their love for the craft driving them.
“I’m not a rockstar,” Athen’s claimed. “I make [music] because I want to make music.”