“Alone” has The Ruse’s signature creamy Irish coffee feel. Warm, rich vocals, and searching, melancholy but hopeful lyrics make this one a future classic.

Tell me about “Alone”. Is it about a girl?

John: Actually – and that was written a while ago, so I'm a little shady on the details but I believe what I had in mind was – one of my best fiends is a Marine and it was right about the time he was first getting deployed. I was thinking about how it must be to leave your loved one behind. Having little or no connection to that person for an extended period of time and what a tricky game you’re playing to leave for that long. Not knowing exactly what you are going to come home to.

Now I'm confused.

John: Why?

You said that writing songs is a collaborative effort, but you just said "I believe what I had in mind was". Who wrote this song?

John: Well generally the lyrics are mostly mine. I gave you the general… There have been songs that I have been the only lyricist on and there have been songs that Jim has written the lyrics in their entirety. For instance on “Alone”, Jim wrote all of the music, and I took all of the lyrics that he initially brought me and rewrote the song about something entirely different. It really is a process.

“Hold Tight” is a poetic and succulent ode to someone special. Dauer’s almost Celtic vocals are sumptuous and the lyrics are dynamic and passionate.

Okay, how about “Hold Tight”? The lyrics on this one throw me. It seems to meander a bit.

John: What you're feeling is a major change in the theme of the song. Initially the song was about something different than it is now, but some of the old lyrics still worked as we were working on new ideas for the song and so we kept them.

The song was written after we had come to L.A. for the first time to play a New Year's Eve show. Some of the imagery in the song comes from that trip. "Standing on this ledge with a bottle and a notion", that was an image from The Viceroy Hotel balcony, where they had put us up. And a line Jim came up with by the way. As we were reworking the song, it took a whole new shape and meaning. It became a sort of tribute to our fathers and our various relationships with them and what they have sacrificed for us. The cycle of father and son in a way