B-Side Guys

In the same way a painter knows when to leave negative space on canvas, Michelle Bond understands the power of silence in “I haven’t prayed since my mama left me here.” The San Francisco-based visual artist turned songwriter creates an alternative rock confessional that’s as much about what’s missing as what remains.

The track builds its narrative through stark imagery that could have been torn from a church fresco: a cross, a coffin, “little ones get buried in the church / the church right next to my school.” Bond’s background as a visual artist reveals itself in how she constructs these scenes, each verse adding another layer to a portrait of fractured faith and maternal absence.

Her vocal delivery transforms straightforward questions into profound confrontations: “Would I love Jesus / Should I love Jesus / Can I love Jesus” becomes a descent through stages of spiritual uncertainty. The arrangement supports this journey with deliberate restraint, allowing Bond’s raw emotional honesty to occupy center stage while instrumental elements frame rather than overwhelm her performance.

The production captures the intimacy of someone thinking aloud in an empty church, with each doubt and declaration given space to resonate. When Bond sings “I still see her laying in that coffin in front of Jesus,” the specificity of the image creates universal resonance – a moment where personal loss and religious iconography become inseparable.

What elevates the track beyond simple spiritual questioning is how it explores the generational nature of faith transmission. Bond doesn’t just mourn her mother’s absence; she examines how that void shaped her relationship with belief itself, creating a complex meditation on how we inherit – or lose – our connection to the divine through those who raise us.