The hidden Auburn Lull suite
On the last Bandcamp Friday I bought a bunch of ‘old’ albums, mostly CDs but a few LPs and digital-only releases. Not finding much excitement for new releases in 2026, I have instead put time into listening more closely to already somewhat familiar things, releases that I missed years ago, and suggestions from trusted cool people that I’m lucky to exchange with.
In the category “listen more closely”, a small stack of my recent CD purchases consisted of Auburn Lull re-issues from Darla Records. Auburn Lull is a band that I became aware of in the late-90s through college radio. I think the station I was involved with was lucky to receive Burnt Hair releases and other gems from the Michigan scenes of the time, though WUNH also had a reasonably well respected reputation in the rodeo known as college radio. As I often remark, music moved much slower then. You couldn’t easily buy or download a copy of something, especially independent releases. Indie labels and artists sent promo copies of releases. I would make mixtapes of things that I liked in the studio at the station. Limited DIY releases did not travel far without some effort. Luckily there was effort. Some people became pen pals. Connections between bands, labels, fans, clubs, radio, and like-minded scenes in faraway places were made over space and time. Tight or tenuous, intense or spare, the connections related to music were meaningful – at least to me they were and still are.
I never owned copies of these Auburn Lull albums until now, so it makes me quite happy to have them. Although I have spent time streaming them, it’s always interesting to have notes, images, and dates to connect with what you’re listening to. It was in this process of comparing what I had been listening to on Apple Music with the CDs that I realized there are two 10-minute tracks, each titled “Untitled”, at the end of the albums Alone I Admire and Cast from the Platform. Having come across other small details of difference on Apple Music, I wondered if these were actually the same or what the story was. Only one of them is listed – on the CD version of Alone I Admire. The other seemed to be a twelfth mystery track on the Cast from the Platform CD.
So, of course I had to ask about these two hidden tracks… and come to find out, there is even a third!
Below is my micro Q+A with Jason Kolb of Auburn Lull about the “Untitled” tracks, as well as links to each album and my listening notes.
“Untitled” from Alone I Admire (1999)
Distinctive from the other two, this one has a distant, muted drum beat. A ticking, or tocking, sound emerges amidst ribbons of drone, first in the left ear then another, on its own time, in the right ear but only momentarily during the last quarter of the song.
“Untitled” from Cast from the Platform (2004)
Drones slowly whirl with faintly sparkling guitar riff and synths.
“Hidden3” from Begin Civil Twilight (2008)
A sense of place is established with the sound of distant road or transportation at the start of this one, with drone then sweeping through before an acoustic guitar enters. Angelic piano and/or strings contrast with stark synth sounds and a distant ghostly, but content murmur. Strings enter mid-way through, overtaken by a frosty whir. The acoustic guitar continues until the end and a piano caught in repeat reveals itself in closing.
Q: Cast from the Platform and Alone I Admire both end with tracks titled “Untitled” though this track is not listed on the CD of Cast from the Platform. Were these mystery tracks at the time or is there some other story about these two 10-minute whoppers?
Jason: At the time, those tracks were meant to be untitled mysteries. We had this grand plan that all three (including untitled 3 from Begin Civil Twilight) could be played on different stereos at the same time because they’re all in the same key. However, it doesn’t really work. I envisioned this Eno-type installation one day where we could try it, but that was just youthful dreaming!
If there’s anyone out there who has put the hidden Auburn Lull suite to the test on three stereos, I’d love to hear about it! Otherwise, perhaps someday there will be a listening party that brings together these three mystery tracks and Auburn Lull fans for ten (or thirty?) minutes of audio bliss.
You can find Auburn Lull on Bandcamp and follow along on Instagram for insight on related current happenings.