The world event of the pandemic has taken us deeper into the extensive estates of our thoughts and feelings. The otherwise seasonal inward house cleaning of soul searching has become a nearly nightly ritual for many of us; sorting through the ferocity of Kafkaesque fears (both latent and conscious), the pangs of being isolated and alone, feelings running the gamut of every polarity imaginable and the eternal doom scroll of the mind. Even when it seems as if we have exhausted every thought racing base running game of what if, we long for that human connection. The human touch. To be and feel whole again. We miss our loved ones, both near in the same city/provinces and as far as halfway to completely across the world. And even though we have already persevered through so much, the daunting threat of new deadlier variants and strains keep us guarded, vigilant, on our toes and largely distant from others and things we once enjoyed doing without much thought. Much of the calm that we once took for granted has been filled by the vacuum of anxiety and degrees of distrust where our cautious and sequestered lifestyles prevents both threats to our well being as well as keeping us apart from the kismet bonds we used to enjoy regularly. Nightly we lie restless, searching for that panacea to rage against the dying of that light in need of substance to lift us upward, high up to the heavens above. And though short term vices supplant the oxytocin and endorphins that a truer euphoria can bring — we toss and turn in our humble quarters and pray for the new dawn in which we can again frolic and roam about carefree and joyous with fellow kindred spirits.

These scattered, scared and complex sentiments are further echoed in the debut of River Hooks & Haunted Continents' (alias of James A.M. Downes) collaborative track "Can't Stay Sober". Mutual admirers of one another’s works from Hooks’ 11:11 EP and James’ Prison Font release respectively; River described their kismet creative connection to us with the following origin story:

James and I have been working together in the music industry for some years now, as I've been his music publicist. I've had the pleasure to work on his first solo project as James A.M. Downes, Haunted Continents and currently his co-founded band TEOA (The End of America). We've become great friends through the years behind his music. When James discovered my self-produced debut EP, he took the time to send me a charming text, which in short blossomed into a new creative relationship between our two sonic worlds. We have come to the conclusion that our friendship was destined through the love of music and respect for each other's music paths. This is just the beginning of something that feels far greater than a one-off single, but the branch for a sound that both of us have been yearning for and is now finally on the surface.

The result is the sleepless mind wandering wonder of River Hooks & Haunted Continents "Can't Stay Sober". As represented on the cover art, it is the feeling of falling and floating in the stratosphere throes of the longest perpetual night. Glimmering, star twinkling chords shine like that maudlin space that occupies the sunless spaces between the dusk of twilight to the breaking beams of morning's hazy-eyed calling. The midnight 3am guitar strums, calm collection of keys and atmospheric vocal dub harmonics connects the two artists like a cinematic, sleepless duet across NYC tenements singing half-awake lullabies of languid and latent longings for something greater. River and James muse over the feelings and sensations desired, left in the in-between like the flickering emanence of public utility lighting that fulfills the void between sundown to sunrise. The movement is to feel something, the sensation of something greater than the self, the power of a special kinship and the quest to leap out from the constraints of the mortal coil in the quest of a spiritual experience. At the heart and center of "Sober" is the somber core of separation, the sentiment of absentia, being apart from the people and things that make you feel whole, complete and more alive while dealing with the stifling pains of the present situation.

Both River and James introduced the single with the following preface:

“Can’t Stay Sober” is that late night feeling of being alone and wanting to escape through the motions of being inebriated. Whether you are sedated or not, it’s wanting an uncontrollable itch to be scratched, but the feeling is constant. The “high” is for the listener's interpretation, as it could embody a person or any vice one might be dealing with. To achieve that high you’d do almost anything to feel something humanly possible and when you do feel it, that moment of embracement is euphoric.

River Hooks and James A.M. Downes of Haunted Continent provided some candid thoughts on their collaboration “Can’t Stay Sober”:

River Hooks

This song and collaboration is everything that I could’ve dreamed of and I couldn’t have imagined a better artist to create it with. It’s a sound and feeling that I needed to get off my chest and it happened in such an organic way. As James said, it came at the right time and I felt my purpose again in life.

“Can’t Stay Sober” has been a breath of fresh air for me. I’m also an avid fan of James’ work and admire his talent. I think what we’ve made in this song and will continue to do so in others, will be music that feels timeless. Songs that might never see the light or day, if not created with the same ingredients, care and honesty. I’m very thankful for this song, as it was much needed in my life.

James A.M. Downes

For me, this collaboration with River came at the perfect time. The pandemic was in its twelfth month and my tiny house in the Bronx was starting to feel like a cave. I was deep in my own head, as I’m sure many of us were, after a year of isolation. I needed to create something with another artist in order to feel like I could breathe again.

I’d known River for years through the NYC music scene but it wasn’t until I heard her 11:11 EP that I knew I needed to propose that we work on a track together. I knew we were on the same page as soon as she showed me the opening chords and vocal hook for this song: “I can’t stay sober for less than twenty four hours.” Her idea captured the reality of being tethered to the earth while battling with the desire to be lifted. The honesty and rawness found a home right in the center of me. We needed some musical therapy to work some shit out… twelve months of it.

River Hooks & Haunted Continents’ collaborative single "Can't Stay Sober" is available now via Internet & Weed/The Orchard.