There is a kind of enticing destructiveness to staying up late – I mean painfully late – and giving entertainment to our most tangled thoughts.

I was welcomed into Joel Ansett’s newest EP, I Should Get Some Rest, by the comforting sounds of a restless night.

Joel’s first track, “Ease,” builds off of a simple and quick-footed guitar.

It sounds like the chaotic second wind of energy: short tempered, then expanding into the echoing night. Joel describes the self-clarity and ease that he doesn’t have within himself, but yearns to find from another.

I want to see myself clearly
Like when you’re near me
Showing me who I am
How do I keep forgetting?

The art for each song was made by Elle Suko (check out Joel’s instagram, @joelansett, for each image), and the four pieces take us through each track as a different nightscape. For “Ease,” the sky is edging towards dawn, and the full moon is rising over pearly water.

“Just Fine,” comes next.

This song is deeper, and a little more in-your-head. Joel focuses on the feeling of loneliness, and the belief that his pain will always be misunderstood. The brand of “restlessness” in this one is the feeling of being distraught.

I don’t wanna hurt like this
I don’t wanna learn like this believe me
I don’t even know where this started
Can you break through my darkness
And leave it all behind

The image for this one is warm wind blowing through tall grass, and a quarter moon watching from her seat in the sky, surrounded by stars.

Transitioning into a more somber tone, “Expectations” is pensive and self-analytical.

The tempo is slow, and the song shifts from blinking stars to deep space as Joel confronts his reliance on others, and the feeling of disappointment and self destruction he keeps coming back to thanks to expectations that are too high.

Oh, I’ll probably do it again
Oh, wrestling my expectations
Old hope is a stubborn thing
Just a sliver of the light and I’m dreaming of the morning

The picture here has the viewer far away, staring up at a knowing half-moon. You are beneath the big sky over a shadowy horizon.

My personal favorite from the album is the closing track, “Need,” which rocks us finally to sleep.

Through Joel’s search for clarity, “Need” is the acceptance of exhaustion at his point of delirium – tired, worn, weightless, and then heavy again.

Heard your voice in my mind
Talking slow and keeping time
Steady now, breathe it in
Lay down all your worries

The image is of desert solitude, and peaceful loneliness under a sliver of moon. The stars look close enough to touch.

In the company of our insecurities and hopes and in the midst of stillness, we are given the opportunity to see ourselves in Joel Ansett’s work. I Should Get Some Rest, playing through at only 12 minutes long, takes us on a deep-thoughts walk through the night time.

With the moon peeking at us from behind a window framed with billowing curtains, we end with a final illustration from Elle Suko.

And, at last, we make it home.