I have held my tongue for far too long. The Lumineers released their much-anticipated second album Cleopatra 10 days ago, and I’m in love. I hadn’t listened to anything but their two hit singles, “Cleopatra” and “Ophelia,” until yesterday, because I didn’t have the time or energy until then to listen to it in its entirety. But when I did, The Lumineers did not disappoint. What you’re about to read is a caffeine- and adoration-fueled haze of conspiracies and proclamations that flooded my mind when I was listening to this album for the first time. Proceed with caution, and preferably after listening to Cleopatra at least once beforehand.

Cleopatra - Track Listing

1. “Sleep On The Floor”
2. “Ophelia”
3. “Cleopatra”
4. “Gun Song”
5. “Angela”
6. “In The Light”
7. “Gale Song”
8. “Long Way From Home”
9. “Sick In The Head”
10. “My Eyes”
11. “Patience”

The first thing I noticed was the symmetry. The first track, “Sleep On The Floor,” has a perfect segue into “Ophelia,” and the penultimate track, “My Eyes,” blends right into the start of the final, instrumental track, “Patience.” The first segue carries the same tune as the intro to “Sleep On The Floor,” with the only difference being the addition of a strong drum beat. The second segue is so delicate and seamless that at first you don’t even realize that “My Eyes” ended. I was 30 seconds into “Patience” before I noticed anything distinct. Segues are my thing, and I always listen to new albums in order so I don’t miss any. The fact that this album had two, one at the start and another at the end, pleased me so much that I had to write an article about them. The other component of this album’s symmetry is the presence of “Gun Song” and “Gale Song”, which serve as internal bookends of sorts. Besides the obvious twin titles, both tracks follow ¾ time at the exact same pace.

Now, here’s where I become a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Believe what you will, but bear with me for a minute. There are some interesting similarities between this album and The Lumineers’ first self-titled album. I’m not saying they mean anything, per se, but it’s just interesting to notice them. In The Lumineers, the track “Slow It Down” mentions a woman named Angie who has moved on from a past relationship with the singer, who is still battling with the loss of his lover. He warns Angie to be careful out in the spotlight that she always wanted so much, and pleads with her to “come back to bed” and return to their relationship, the one thing with meaning and truth in both of their lives.

However, by the end of the song he admits that they both knew there were irreconcilable differences between them, and sings that he is proud of her “st[anding] tall” despite all that she has been through. In Cleopatra,the track “Angela” tells the story of another woman with almost the same name; Angie is a common nickname for Angela, so it’s even arguable that the names are one in the same. Angie left town one day “running away” to look for something better, but ended up encountering nothing but manipulative strangers and the own “distant war / in the corners of [her] mind.” Could it be that Angela is the Angie that was introduced in “Slow It Down”, and she was running away from her old relationship that the still holds onto in her warring mind?

The singer in “Slow It Down” claims that Angie is putting on a tough front by “lift[ing] up a red high heel,” “lock[ing] up [her] doors with steel,” and “st[anding] tall.” Angela seems to be putting on the same front with her “coat of arms” and “fingers in a fist.” The difference is, Angela does what Angie does not: she goes back to her lover. “Oh Angela, it’s a long time coming”, he sings before repeating over and over, “home at last.” My thoughts are this: the Angie that we were introduced to four years ago in “Slow It Down”, which happens to be my favorite song of all time, has been brought back to life in “Angela” and has decided to return to her old relationship. The nail in the coffin is from 0:50 to 1:17. Listen to “Slow It Down”, and then listen to “Angela” and pay special attention to these 27 seconds: “But you held your course to some distant war / In the corners of your mind / For the second time around / The only love I ever found / Oh Angela it’s a long time coming / Home at last.” Do with this information what you will. I’m just saying.

The similarities between The Lumineers and Cleopatra don’t end there either. Both albums (not including the deluxe editions) have 11 total songs. The Lumineers also has a small symmetrical framing effect with “Classy Girls” and “Flapper Girl” that is reminiscent of the placement of “Gun Song” and “Gale Song”. The starting chord of “Morning Song”, the last track on The Lumineers, is the exact same starting chord on the first track on Cleopatra, “Sleep On The Floor”. Moreover, the first 10 seconds of “Flowers In Your Hair” off of The Lumineers is almost indistinguishable from the first 10 seconds of “Sick In The Head” off of Cleopatra. And most importantly, both albums have the kind of poignant, acoustic sermons that you can’t listen to without picturing yourself and a few close friends huddled around a campfire or sprawled out on a wraparound porch somewhere way up north.

The Lumineers took their time to craft Cleopatra, and I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t waiting very patiently for their return.

I can admit, though, that it was well worth the wait. Surprisingly, my current favorite off of the new album is “Patience”, which is an instrumental song that’s less than two minutes long. It’s the perfect track to close out an album. The tinny piano melody makes you feel like you’re on the cusp of something beautiful and sad; like you’re about to dive into something new and wonderful, but before you do so you have to say goodbye to something achingly familiar. I’d like to imagine that’s how The Lumineers felt as they were diverging from their first album to start writing this one, and I’m so glad that they finally did.