Origami Ghosts’ Sonic Youth adjacent alt-rock “Heaven’s Gate” has a big triumphant vibe with heavy-driven guitars, a propulsive drum beat, and is brought to mystical heights by Wulff’s ethereal flute. Here Scesniak interrogates his near-death experience after a stroke: “What’s it like on the other side?” Scesniak asks. “Will people be able to see me? Will I be felt? Part of the horizon? Part of Earth at all?” He embraces the concept that you can’t take your voice with you once you’re dead. This is where the album gets its title as Scesniak sings, “Heaven’s gate / it’s a fine time to talk about nothing / when it’s on the horizon,” repeating the lyrics like a mantra.
“I believe when you take your first breath, that’s when the soul moves in,” says Scesniak. “And when we die, the spirit moves on. Your energy field moves on to a different place, another journey, different work to do. That might entail Earth, or maybe other galaxies. I do believe in ghosts. I had this dream when I was like 24, where I was sucked into a jack-o-lantern and then woke up. I couldn’t move, but I felt weightless, like I was floating above my bed. I came back down, heavy, and saw this white, humanlike body in my closet. I was scared. Also, Cassie [Wulff] used to work in a haunted movie theater with bathrooms stalls locking on their own, spectral hands on the projectionist’s back, furniture rearranging itself. It was an old woman’s suffrage meet-up spot with lots of history.”