first single, demo released December 18, 2020
Take a seat
I have something to say
I'm wondering
If these problems go away
It seems to come back every year
I work through the sweat and the tears
I don't want to see you act like me
So don't worry
Why can't you see
I haven't talked yet
I don't wanna be
Melodramatic
Fading away my dreams of bliss
I can't recall times of happiness
I don't want to see you act like me
So don't worry
Have I drank today?
I don't think I've slept
But what still remains
Is the memories that I've kept
All of my friends and family
You held me against the gravity
But just let me go, I'm falling free
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry
Don't worry (Don't worry)
Don't worry (Don't worry)
Don't worry (Don't worry)
Don't worry
So don't worry
second single, demo released February 20, 2021
Even after dark
I saw you
I saw you
I saw you
An ocean apart
I saw you
I saw you
I saw you
Ten months it has been
And all through
I saw you
I saw you
And underneath your skin
I saw you
In my view
I saw you
You're not where I belong
A film without a star
That's life, just my eyes
Even though for so long
It's all been from afar
It's hard to say goodbye
In everyone I met
I saw you
I saw you
I saw you
I could never forget
I saw you
I saw you
(I saw you)
But I can't take it
It's hard to grab what I can't feel
It makes you wonder what's real and true
True in you
You're not where I belong
A film without a star
That's life, just my eyes
Even though for so long
It's all been from afar
It's hard to say
Goodbye
Streetlights
Drifters' parade
Lights my window
While I'm trapped in sorrow
They can live
Like no tomorrow
Lost for purpose
The light's dimmest
It's not the insignificance
It's just the repetition
They say
"There's a tomorrow"
No, it won't work
'Cause I'm focused
On the long term already
Every day seems to be
Worse than before
How could I ignore that
It's not easy
Things are bigger than me
Guess that's what I have to believe
They swear
There's a tomorrow
Winter
Is no longer my favorite season
Winter, at least this winter
Is not the same
Perhaps all that was lost in youth
Perhaps I didn't know the truth
Perhaps I just avoided it
Then it's been too long
It's been way too long
(Been way too long)
(Been, been)
Maroon
Is no longer my favorite color
What is it now
I'm not sure
Perhaps all that was lost in youth
Perhaps I didn't know the truth
Perhaps I just avoided it
Then it's been too long
It's been way too long
(Been way too long)
(Been, been)
I'll find new things
And until then
I'll be ok
The answers to
These questions aren't
So easy anymore
I guess these things
Aren't who I am
But reflections
Ever changing
Like the seasons
It's not so easy anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
The non-nostalgic flavors
Permeate my room
Nothing left to want
Nothing left to prove
Caught in webs of reason
Of silk I've drawn myself
Optimism fails me
Without a map for help
Anything
I'll do anything
Anything
I'll do anything
I've been chasing feelings
But those memories are gone
Not sure what I want
Really, does anyone
I think I've been blinded
Of past lives I've been told
Robbed of simple pleasures
Lies held by the old
Anything
I'll do anything
Anything
I'll do anything
At all
I've been crafting this EP for three years now. To give you an idea of the timeline: the first remnant of this project is a voice memo featuring my original ideas for Take a Seat on January 4, 2020 — though before that, I worked on songs that would be rejected. The EP was such a long time coming in part because it was a one-person production: I wrote, composed, recorded, produced, and released this project all alone.
Evening Rumination tells a story of the worst period of my life, when I battled with depression, complicated love, an identity crisis, and emotions only expressible through art. Following the busy days of student living, the evenings I spent alone brought the calm that sparks the most potent experiences. Creating music was my outlet — one that would later give me a purpose that allowed me to escape this period. You'll hear my worst thoughts as you travel through this reflection of my journey of recovery.
Like all pieces of art, Evening Rumination is a distortion of reality, manipulated through melodrama and convenience. This is why I am releasing it not under my own name, but under an alias: Plain Henley. However, the EP is not one-dimensional; in fact, I'm proud of how it details certain nuances of my experience (and hopefully others' experiences) in a way I haven't seen anywhere else.
I've moved beyond Evening Rumination, but it will also always remain a part of me.
I'm excited to share this part of me with all of you — on Friday, November 19.