Illustration by Pam (new work).
Thirty tracks. Two discs. A love story that goes badly—and the work of finding a life on the other side of it.
On February 10, 2017, Mike and I released The Summer of the Cicadas through Invisible Library Records. The tenth anniversary is February 10, 2027. This is your way into the record: the songs, the stories, the artwork, and the things that grew around it.
New here? Start with a song. Know the record already? There’s more to hear.
Start with the record
Listen on Bandcamp · Apple Music · Official YouTube album · Spotify · The Waitress Song · These Things Remind · Cicadas revisit on YouTube (BBS Ep. 75)
Fans helped fund this double LP on Kickstarter. Most of the vocals and the mix happened at TWLVS in Fort Worth with DJ Sean P; KRUM coached and helped produce the vocals. Much of the collaboration ran through Dropbox between Austin and South Florida.
The guests include Pigeon John, Eligh, Bonafide, ManChild, CookBook, Joey the Jerk, Spoken Nerd, Jeremiah Dirt, and Krum. But there is a story holding the guest list together.
Disc one—The Life Cycle of Periodical Cicadas, tracks 1–15—tells a love story that goes badly. The good times matter. So does the unraveling. “Girl, We Got A Good Thing Going” and “These Things Remind” catch different ends of that relationship trajectory, with the latter looking back from disc two.
Disc two—Rebirth: The Lone Gunmen, tracks 16–30—is the aftermath: living with the dissolution of that relationship, finding healing and peace, moving forward, and finding community. There are detours. It’s still Royal Ruckus.
Another way into the record: the DJ Sean P mixtape
The Life Cycle of Man and Cicada deserves a place beside the double LP, not a footnote underneath the leftovers.
Released December 3, 2023, it’s a mixtape by DJ Sean P, revisiting some of the best songs from Cicadas. It opens with “Punch up from the Bottom,” then takes a different route through “Never…,” “Still…,” “Departures,” “Burn It to the Ground,” and “Lost Boys.” The essay Joshua Gibbs and I wrote is there too, as an epilogue.
This is a real DJ mix, not simply a list of songs you could have put on shuffle. Start with the complete Bandcamp edition, which also includes the long bonus “Cicada Got a One Track Mind.”
Listen to the mixtape on Bandcamp · Apple Music
Thirty songs, one page at a time
Pick a song for its story, lyrics, credits, and listening links. For a straight-through listen, the official YouTube album above has all thirty tracks.
Disc one: The Life Cycle of Periodical Cicadas
Disc two: Rebirth: The Lone Gunmen
Album guide and credits · Music videos
The cicadas, and the cicada man
Joshua Gibbs and I wrote “The Life Cycle of Man and Cicada”, an essay about waiting underground, waking up, and wondering whether you’ve really begun to live. It belongs with the music.
Seventeen Cicada Notables takes a closer look at the very loud insect behind the metaphor. The essay is a poem’s way of looking at an insect; don’t mistake every sentence for an entomology lesson.
Interviews, reviews, and radio
Interviews, reviews, radio appearances, and other coverage offer a few more ways into the music. Look for individual posts over time in the Royal Ruckus section.
More from the Cicadas world
There is also The Summer of the Cicadas (Bonuses & Extras), released December 25, 2016. The current Bandcamp edition has one track: “Resolution (The Third Man Record Booth Version).” It’s a separate companion release, not another thirty-track album—and not the DJ Sean P mixtape.
Keep exploring: Monique Sarkessian and the artwork, the band story, the thank-yous, and the shows from 2016–2019.
What’s next
The current 2027 plan is the place to check for changes:
The Summer of the Cicadas—10-Year Remaster: date to come. The anniversary is fixed; the remaster date isn’t.
The Wisdom of Fred (Vol. 3): Friday, March 19, 2027, with Friday singles in December, January, and February leading up to it.
Grateful Dads: an EP for Friday, June 18, 2027, Father’s Day weekend, following Vol. 3 and a bridge single. Track list when it’s public.
The Electrolights: fall 2027, date to come—a side project with Peter Daily (The Royal Band; Pigeon John’s band).
For now, press play. The cicadas have waited long enough.
Royal Ruckus · Discography · New in 2027
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