within it. Tracks 8–11 On "Emptiness pt. 2", Elverum sings "conceptual emptiness was cool to talk about back before I knew my way around these hospitals." During the same track, Elverum sings "Your absence is a scream saying nothing", with the word "scream" drawn out, a raw moment that Greene compared to self-harm. Britt wrote that the song's introspection makes previous dark, brooding moods in Elverum's work seem enjoyable by comparison. On "Toothbrush/Trash", Elverum examines the relation between time and grief. During the same track, Elverum uses a drum kit to simulate the sound of a closing door to recall a moment when he took out Castrée's trash. The lyrics of "Soria Moria" allude to the eponymous painting by Theodor Kittelsen, while the music incorporates elements of black metal. The song describe Elverum and his daughter moving on with their lives. The lyric: "refuge in the dust" is a reference to the Gary Snyder poem "After Bamiyan". It is the only song on the album to have anything resembling a traditional refrain, being compared musically to his 2009 album Wind's Poem. Britt described the song and its use of natural imagery as "one of the most vivid illustrations of Walter Benjamin's concept of 'aura'". A live version of the song was used as the lead single for Elverum's 2018 live album, (after). The final song, "Crow", is addressed to Elverum's daughter and recounts their hiking trip in the Pacific Northwest when they were followed by a bird that seems to personify Castrée. He mentions events outside their family life and—referring to the 2016 United States presidential election—describes the world as and fascist". Elverum elected to include this as to not have "the album to come out and be naive to what was happening in our world". The album's thematic throughlines are concluded in the closing lyrics: "And there she was". Release and promotion Elverum considered not releasing the album at all. He had originally planned a small-scale release on his website but wanted to reach a wider audience as the album took shape. On January 6, 2017, he announced that he would tour and release the new album. The next day, he played his first concert since September 2014, at the Business, a record store in Anacortes, Washington. He played the album in its entirety during the concert's 45 minutes. The concert publicity generated significant interest; as a result, Elverum