"Echo" is a very significant song on the new record. This album was different than our others not only because we were processing the difficult emotions that accompany a breakup, but also because we were no longer sharing the same physical space. When we lived together, writing songs was how we spent our time in the house. When we broke up we were careful to give each other the space we needed to move on, and that space resulted in a lot of emotionally charged individually-written songs that all ended up on the album. It was like we were writing letters to each other with those songs. After touring to support and a one, and a two, we immediately headed back to the studio to work on Breakup Shmakeup. I think there was this unspoken goal for us to really prove to ourselves and maybe even our fans that we could stay together as a band and continue to put out great music as a unit despite the fact that we were dealing with ups and downs of getting over a breakup. The album became the "big picture" - something we could tether ourselves to and focus on whenever we started to lose perspective. We were really proud of all the songs and continued to collaborate with each other via harmonies and instrumentation, but a question lingered in the back of my mind: 'Are we ever going to be able to write songs together again?' I was afraid to share that sacred space again with Veronica. Would it hurt too much? Would the magic be gone now that we're not in love?

Enter "Echo." Veronica came over to my house one day for practice. I was fumbling around with a ukulele riff and she instinctively grabbed her guitar to play along. The music she added had this echo effect, so we immediately were drawn to the idea of echoes for both the lyrics and vocal style. The lyrics came quickly and easily, line after line. I didn't really notice it at the time, but when I step back to read the words I know that they are a direct reflection of everything we learned from our relationship and our breakup. The song reminds us to appreciate our past, be hopeful for our future, and truly accept the present as the exact place we're supposed to be. It also speaks to the idea of creating space in order to become closer, which is exactly what V and I had to do in order to continue with The Lovebirds. Finally, it is a song about forgiveness. The whirlwind of a breakup can cause all kinds of ugly and uncharacteristic emotional reactions - we both had our fair share of those. But through it all, we allowed each other to feel our feelings and showed an unrelenting compassion to each other.

To me, "Echo" is like a big sigh of relief. On a personal level it proved that we are still capable of writing songs together, which makes my little heart happy. It was the last song we recorded and I'm so glad it arrived in time to play that role on the album. In a broader context, we really want our music to be a light that helps lead people out of darkness. I hope listeners are able to find a similar sense of comfort in this song for whatever struggle they may be facing at the moment.