The second full length record from Portland, ME's Leaf Peeper.
The follow-up to "Hitties Grande."
Marieke Van Der Steenhoven - Theremin on 1
Aleric Nez - Guitar, trombone, saw, vocals on 1; guitar on 11
Dave Noyes - Vocals on 2; trombone, synthesizer, vocals on 3
Emily Dix Thomas - Cello and vocals on 6
Alice Asteroid - Guitar on 9
Burdie Burd - Vocals on 11
Recorded at The Hit Factory and The Om Zone - Portland, ME - between 3/13 and 4/14.
Cover photo by Hannah Bureau / Ethan Parcell at Hewnoaks.
Digital release only.
Free download - donations welcome.
_________
GOLDEN, OLDEN
Some say ecstatic relationship
Binds everything in the whole wide world
The beasts of the ground and the birds
Don’t divvy up their days
And my father said something
Well, he said nothing at all
He was pointing at a basketball
Meaning, “Son, let’s play”
So I don’t believe in those golden olden days
Don’t believe in the golden olden ways
If you want it, you can find it right here
To every moralist his ax to grind
And in this I am not without sin
Every time I speak my mind
I have to learn how to shut up again
I go check in with the rowdy boys
We all feel about three feet tall
And the woman in the window watching squirrels
Is one up on us all
TRUE BELIEVERS
Dead leaves in a dirty pissoir
Is something management can’t hide
And a man fast asleep on a living room couch
Is something women can’t abide
Don’t hang your hopes from a haunted tree
Every act is a form of belief
So if I’m a believer, baby
I don’t mind
Just let the river run
At least on Saturday
And if disaster comes
I’m a-gonna go my way
Stop and frisk on the Casco Bay Bridge
No club drugs allowed!
But for $15 you can’t buy yourself a mantra
In an up-and-coming coastal town
Don’t let them tell you what you wanted to be
Where there’s joy, there’s always belief
So if I’m a believer, baby
I don’t mind
Just let the food stamps run
To the 31st day
And if disaster comes
I’m a-gonna go my way
SLOW DOWN
Love, you better slow down
You better stop running around this town
Love, you’ve got to slow down
You can’t just play—you’ve got to get inside the sound
You signed a petition when we were on holiday
To lament the very tenement where the children were at play
Love, you better slow down
Got your head in the clouds—can’t parallel park downtown
Love, you’ve got to slow down
The mansion won’t fall with a hatchet job now
Yes, I know they want men to emulate machines
And yes, I bounced a check for twenty drops of gasoline
RICH PEOPLE
Rich people love to talk about community
And when they die they give most generously
They start the wars that send our boys away
Then they build the bombs so they’ll have a productive stay
Where would we be without such beauty, such class?
Rich people built the world and it’s built to last
Child of God
This one’s not a child of God
Rich people love to go on holiday
Where the natives are restless but always kept at bay
They go to meetings and hurry to debrief
Their souls are troubled by the assets they must leave
14 CHAKRAS IN THE MOONLIGHT
Baby, turn the lights down low
Civility’s a thing too narrow
Can’t keep up with the pulse of a Ritalin Nation
A data plan to talk about my generation
Here we are tonight:
14 chakras in the moonlight
Baby, put a log on the fire
Turn the lights down low
Love exists outside of France
I’ve heard of ancient forms—let’s give ‘em a chance
Can’t keep up with the kind of men who feel no doubt
They work forty-seven years while the verdict’s still out
I was made precisely in the form of a mystery
I can feel it crawling right through my family tree
And up to me
POISON THOUGHTS
Mama, some men are so ready to die
Lifting 400 pounds, swearing in the middle of the night
I know I’ve got the bad thing too
Looks like ordinary beerlust when I bring it on home to you
Mama, some men have light in their eyes
Some say they’ve perfected prudence, others hint at animal disguise
Well, I know I’ve got the good thing too
But I’ve never known love to be perfectly simple and true
I was told that trouble never wears a shirt
And it’s true in limited ways
But a poison thought can come to you
Even on some sunny day
Some sunny day when the tide is in
And the moon is high
And the sea is black
And all you’ve theorized
Is washed away
And carried back
MYSTERIES OF THE ORGANISM
Dear Dr. Reich: I dream mostly of waterfalls
My mother knew the back roads to the mall
Joining up with gangs—well, sure it pays
When you’ve only got one acre to learn forest ways
There’s more to time than what they say
The shortest line at the DMV takes three days
They don’t want you to play—no excess levity
“Better make with the paperwork, kid—better make with sobriety”
“Well, no, ma’am”
FEMININE ARCHETYPE
My feminine archetype looks a lot like you
Playing in the snow on some forsaken afternoon
Sometimes I’m inconsolable and I know the reason why
I was born but she will never die
I won’t come down from the mountain of a sovereign and indomitable will
But, girl, it’s 31 degrees in here—I’m right to feel little bit chilled
I see the tired and the hungry are so often made just to roam
I’ve got six Bud Heavies, so it’s hard not to stay at home
They say that:
Some dreams are better left unspoken
Nickel and dimed, cast out, beaten, broken
I wouldn’t stand against the dreamers myself
Because I never wanted to be anything else
FORNICATE OR FIGHT
The word is in: the census lied
Depression can’t be killed in a drive-by
Oh, but don’t take it from me
I’ve spoken to the doctor in the armory
You know he’s always seen worse
You’re high or low, fornicate or fight
I wear a helmet after midnight
But then I keep hearing these love songs
Who’s singing these love songs for dirty old me?
I wanna know: where did it go?
The sun only shines on frequent flyers
Oh, but don’t take it from me
Study the playbooks of history
And find a way to kill the king
I’m through with latency, I learned how to fight
My Valium kicks in at midnight
But then I can’t hear all these love songs
What force upholds these love songs for dirty old me?
Many fond memories of this album coming together. Truly a psych pop masterpiece from one of my best dudes - so many good songs, so inventive, deeply weird and yet totally accessible at the same time. Leaf Peeper