I took that picture book from deep in the drawer
to view you in your finer days
then felt my heart and hope begin to swell
a realization of the waters come to take your place
Venice, that trembling relic of dreams, stands suspended between its waterlogged glory and an inexorable dissolution. Its ancient palaces and labyrinthine canals, so rich with the music of time, are no longer a monument to triumph but to fragility. The city wears its age like an ornate mask—cracked but dazzling, as if to distract from the truth rising beneath it.
In tarot, Death is not the end; it is the clearing of the old to make space for the new. Venice, too, may succumb to the tide, but it will not vanish. Instead, it will transmute—its spirit flowing into something yet unseen. The ghost of the city will linger in whispers, in the swirls of water, in the echoes of its songs. Venice reminds us that nothing, no matter how beautiful or eternal it seems, escapes the hands of time. But it also reminds us that endings are beginnings, that even as the sea reclaims its streets, the story continues—less a drowning than a baptism into a new existence.
Now, Minneapolis ethereal-darkwave trio Autumn unveils their haunting tribute to transformation with Venice, a standout from their forthcoming album, Songs About Dying. Neil McKay’s shimmering guitars and Jeff Leyda’s pulsing bass weave through hypnotic electronics and a driving drum machine, conjuring a soundscape that mirrors Venice’s slow descent through time—a city on the edge of a watery oblivion, yet rich with its own history of change.
Venice offers a poignant farewell to a once-glorious entity, embodying the city’s fading beauty and inevitable decay. Yet, within this lament lies a resilient hope for renewal, drawing parallels to the rebirth of Pompeii from the ashes of Vesuvius. It’s a powerful meditation on impermanence, resilience, and the enduring worth found in transformation.
“Venice is on one level about the death of a city, in that nothing remains unchanged,” says vocalist Julie Plante. “Everything we experience in this world, all that we create, it is all in a constant state of transition, whether we realize it or not. Venice is a striking example of slowly drowning under the weight curated by our actions and inaction. Venice is also one of those iconic places that we hold a romantic hunger for, a celebration of decadence in spite of everything going on around it. We want to immerse ourselves in it, even as our collective hunger creates the environment that threatens its survival. So, for that reason, this track is also about resilience, and that beauty, once created, can never truly be destroyed. Its continued existence gives me hope for my own.”
The performance video, directed by Corey Benson, shows the band’s stage presence and camaraderie – and their beautiful synergy as musicians. Watch below:
Listen to Venice below and order the song here.
Autumn began as a collaboration between bassist Jeff Leyda and guitarist Neil McKay in the summer of 1992, solidified by the addition of vocalist Julie Plante in February 1994. With Julie’s soaring vocals over a rich array of intricate guitar and driving bass rhythms, they have gathered a loyal following over three decades.
After some early cassette releases, they signed to Tess Records in 1995, embarking on a long partnership with William Faith, who co-produced their debut album, The Hating Tree (1997). Sharing stages with Clan of Xymox, Faith and the Muse, Switchblade Symphony, Lycia, The Wake, and Sunshine Blind, they released their second album, Return to the Breath (2000). Autumn has shared stages with Clan of Xymox, Faith and the Muse, Switchblade Symphony, Lycia, The Wake, and Sunshine Blind, among others.
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