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Heartbreak Rules

by Horse Jumper of Love

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1.
A tune drifts out the window Released into the world I’ll bring it to your house Somehow I already lost you. What gift do you bring me? The gift of a melody. A tune drifts out the window Somehow already kitchen-drunk. What gift do you bring me? The gift of a melody. A tune drifts out the window.
2.
Through the transfer There’s always something lost forever. A picture of my family tree But it don’t look like me. And they speak with such unbearable slowness With such pretty voices But I can’t stick around. One less bird on the wire A couple bucks left on the pass You say you’re just a walking guy But I don’t have the nerve to ask. After, I got what I came here for: The rumblings of disbelief, The calamity I did a trust fall with the streets And the heart plays by heartbreak rules When you come around I won’t be around.
3.
Snake Eyes 01:49
Four and four Five and five Next one he rolls I’m betting on snake eyes The lip reader  Is also a pick-pocket School of life Getting tricked by the solicitors. It feels like a gun in your hand And then there’s a ‘click’ And a flag pops out of the barrel With ‘BANG!’ written on it And damn, we all get a kick We Wanna see it again and again. Bird of prey Stay out of my way The rattlesnake's tail is a pill bottle. Red coat on the back of a black hook You pointed out a birds nest Where they’re cutting the trees down. You said it feels like an hourglass being flipped Before the last grain falls to the bottom When can I see you again? In another life - you gotta roll for it.
4.
Circling the backyard Spirit of the guitar Relic once thrived Empty boat floats In perfect spiral. Tear falls on my cell phone Patience like I’m playing  With the word love We split the tree, Legendary.  He knows one song on piano Did coke with the Hells Angels We fuck while he watched Voyeuristic Fetishes Cowboy in his Cadillac  Looking for a sugar shack. Circling the backyard Spirit of the guitar.
5.
Queenie’s necklace lays on the table  And I’ve been cleaning up Queenie’s necklace lays on the table And I’ve been cleaning up. There’s a note next to it Addressed to no one I know She’s got perfect cursive. Queenie’s necklace lays on the table  And now she’s waking up She’s been jumping in the leaves  Says she likes the feeling of Disappearing and reappearing Oh, what a chore it is To terrorize the neighborhood What a chore it is To be seen with that crew. What a chore it is To disappear and reappear Queenies necklace lays on the table And I’ve been cleaning up Queenies necklace lays on the table And I’ve been cleaning up
6.
An act of no substance Because I just don’t understand The blade crooked and dull You gave yourself a sword tattoo. The treasures of the earth Bluely dancing in your coat I fall asleep to that sound Of swaying crooked and dull Light reflects from the blade Covers my face My golden blindfold Your crooked sword tattoo.
7.
Pendulum 02:21
Pendulums swinging in the watch store all in discord She tracks dirt in and leaves a mess wherever she stomps around Crying over the spilt almond milk And the sun light makes the moss look like gold Well I’ve been throwing that javelin I’ve been tripping over my feet I got the clearest target. Ayyyyyyyyyyy Who’s been dragging that chariot? Memories disappear through my fingers Every payday is like Jesus now. I’m in the presence of greatness Headphones in bed Ambulance All our kids are depressed Quiet as a flex.
8.
I hear you singing by the sink Looking out into the yard Talking to yourself while you look through the fridge Doors closing and opening Voices muffled by the clothes in the closet. What are you looking for? Wind broke the windchime Such an elegant Piece of plastic Displays of vanity  I love you The yuppie smokers Only come out at night While they’re walking their dogs Images of luxury. A teenager cracks a beer in the woods It echoes through your open door A liquid drips from a plastic bag. Performative emotion I don’t need much. I hear you singing by the sink Looking out into the yard.
9.
I poured sugar in your shoes So I could follow a trail of sweetness  I was driving to your house with All the windows down and The heat blasting. You said those are old truths This is a new truth and We like it better that way. But I’m an idiot Collapsing in the street again I pushed myself too far. What do I do? I got my spirit hooked on  A fishline bated with no reason why. Tie me to the bed but I want to sleep instead if That’s all good with you I heard applause coming in From the streets ‘cause that’s what  People do when it feels true. But I’m an idiot Collapsing in your arms again I pushed myself too far. What do I do? I got my spirit hooked on  A fishline bated with no reason why. I poured sugar in your shoes.
10.
All these chariots Where the horses lay dead And a fist Where $30 should have been. I was waiting for Something to hold Thought I heard a bird call. The regional decade. The lilies grow like weeds here. But I love it when you make the bed, The way you come out from underneath. We got food for life. We got trail of slug. Hot sand to sooth my cold feet Your grandma had such young teeth. Wait, no Cross over him again. Or he might never grow. Devil sits in the window Water smacks on the floor below. I wish that he would call me over To feel the weight down at the end of his bed.
11.

about

2022 saw the release of Horse Jumper of Love’s latest full-length, Natural Part, and now less than a year later, the band are back with an unexpected new release. Heartbreak Rules is a mini-album of sorts: a collection of eight completely fresh songs, two reimagined versions of standout tracks from Natural Part, and a cover of The Smashing Pumpkins classic, “Luna.” But the most striking thing about Heartbreak Rules is the volume–or more specifically, the lack of it. This is a sparse, intimate version of Horse Jumper of Love, one that forgoes the waves of fuzz and feedback, and instead highlights the indelible songwriting at the core of their music. 

Heartbreak Rules was written and recorded solely by vocalist/guitarist Dimitri Giannopoulos, but it is undeniably a Horse Jumper of Love release. “When I started writing, I didn’t really know what it would be,” he explains. “I went into it with no intentions.” Seeking a creative outlet during the pandemic, Giannopoulos decamped to the Catskills with engineer and longtime band collaborator, Bradford Kreeger, and the pair spent five days casually recording what would become Heartbreak Rules. “It was really fun, we were drinking heavily and grilling steaks,” Giannopoulos laughs, adding, “We only brought the bare minimum stuff: a practice amp, a midi keyboard, a very spare drum kit. The low key vibe just made the songs sound great to me because I knew I was in a good headspace.”

That laidback and peaceful feeling comes through in Heartbreak Rules’ hushed and unvarnished recordings, making the expert songcraft shine through even more. “As I play music more, I just want to play quieter,” Giannopoulos says. “We’re rehearsing these songs as a full band now and we’re not blasting our amps like we used to–it feels really good. I think it has to do with our confidence level at this point. I used to play loud because I wasn’t confident in my vocal delivery or my lyrics, and now I want to showcase those things.” 

The eight new songs on Heartbreak Rules accomplish just that, with the minimal arrangements and earworm melodies of the title track, “A Tune Drifts Out The Window,” or “Snake Eyes” metamorphosing  Giannopoulos into an otherworldly acoustic balladeer. Elsewhere, “Queenie’s Necklace” and “Pendulum” still manage to incorporate the elements of dissonance and tension that are essential to Horse Jumper of Love’s sound, now only made more effective by the sense of space and distance within the recordings. Giannopoulos provides his surrealist musings on family, friendship, vices, and the unpredictability of life–his voice and lyrics confidently upfront in the mix as he paints pictures with words just as vivid as the melodies that carry them.

Heartbreak Rules ends with the hazy cover of “Luna,” an early Horse Jumper of Love recording from nearly ten years ago. Unearthed from Giannopoulos’ collection of old Tascam tapes, the track is gauzy and relaxed, but also a fitting line between the band’s past and their future. “Recording these new songs sort of reminded me of how I used to do things. It was like a callback to how fun that looseness could be. These songs really just feel like they’re for me because they weren’t written with the studio or playing live in mind. There was no pressure around them.” Luckily these songs aren’t just for Giannopoulos, they’re the essential next step for Horse Jumper of Love and we all get to follow their Heartbreak Rules. 

credits

released May 19, 2023

Recorded in Hunter, NY July 10th - July 15th 2021 at Michael's house
Except for:
"Sugar in Your Shoes (Last Night Version)" recorded by Matthew Rollins on Comm Ave,
"Chariots" recorded by Bradford at Big Nice,
and "Luna" recorded bu Dimitri at home in 2014
All songs written by Dimitri Giannopoulos except for "Luna" written by The Smashing Pumpkins
Performed by Dimitri Giannopoulos & Bradford Krieger.
John Margaris laved piano on "Chariots"
Produced by Dimitri & Bradford
Mixed & mastered by Bradford Krieger

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