1. |
Walls Come Crashing
03:10
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I find
There's never been a good defense
For my mind
Against the world we're living in
I find
Everything just makes it worse
How are we supposed to get by?
Some say
Forget that which you cannot change
I thought
That maybe I could be that way
So I ran
But I could not escape
The feelings that were locked up inside me
But now that they're free
She says are you alive and I say barely
She says are you ok and I say rarely
I find I can't feel fine
Because I can't rewind and turn back time
'Cause look I
Never smile on my own it kills me
I've been around the block and nothing thrills me
It's rotten to the ground now
So you can call me when the walls come crashing
Down
We can stop ourselves but we'll never stop the world go round
You can call me when the walls come crashing
Down
Call me when the walls come crashing
Call me when the walls come crashing
You can call me when the walls come crashing
She says are you alive and I say barely
She says are you ok and I say rarely
I find I can't feel fine
Because I can't rewind and turn back time
'Cause look I
Never smile on my own it kills me
I've been around the block and nothing thrills me
It's rotten to the ground now
So you can call me when the walls come crashing
Down
We can stop ourselves but we'll never stop the world go round
You can call me when the walls come crashing
Down
Call me when the walls come crashing
Call me when the walls come crashing
You can call me when the walls come crashing
Down, till the walls come crashing
Again and again they will keep rehashing
The same old fights they had back then
The same old tired arguments
Down, do we all deserve rights?
You'd think they would have picked a different fight
But here we are again
So you can call me when the walls come crashing
Down
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2. |
Reckon
03:42
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There is so much to know
And the most of it just makes you go
Burn it all and start again
So the past will come to reckon
What's right about the situation?
I was lost but now I see
It's gonna take some mediation
To tame the flock of Phareses
It's like we're learning how to drive
And learned to speed up but we can't slow down
What does it take to feel alive?
All these children laid to waste
All these memories erased
And we're told to soldier on
Focus on ourselves alone
We're caught in the middle
There is so much to know
And the most of it just makes you go
Burn it all and start again
So the past will come to reckon
There is so much to see
And there's so many things each of us could be, so
Burn it all and start again
Cause the past will come to reckon
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3. |
Be Natural
03:25
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Did you hear?
There was a fire
And everyone was trapped inside
They said there’s nothing we can do for them
So they’d better find a place to hide
Oh...
Though it’s not easy to remember, it’s harder to forget
But this is just the world we live in now
And our leaders want us dead
Oh…
Remember those who won’t be seen again
It could be you, it could be your best friend
Can’t run away to your old treehouse
Can’t run away at all
Oh…
Though it’s not easy to remember
It’s so much harder to forget, to forget, don’t forget, no,
That this is just the world we live in
And they all want us to forget, to forget, don’t forget, no
Oh…
Oh!
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4. |
Everything We've Done
03:39
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Do you remember who you were
Before you were told what's normal?
Were you a kind and loving soul?
Do you remember who were
Before you were told who's worthless?
You couldn't have been very old
When you were told
Now our minds, colonized
Stricken of faith and virtue
So many times have we died
Waiting to recall
I've been ruminating
And I don't think
Can come to terms with it
Honestly
Everything we've done
Can't move on without it
But I don't know what to do about it
Honestly
Everything we've done
A child, raised in this
Grows up bitter, and depressed
Hungry, searching for the truth
Hopelessly alienated youth
Those who look around will find
That we're much greater when combined
Yeah we're much greater when combined
Yeah we're much greater when combined
Now our minds, colonized
Stricken of love and meaning
So many times have we died
Waiting to recall
I've been ruminating
And I don't think
Can come to terms with it
Honestly
Everything we've done
Let's just talk about it
And maybe we can start to unravel it
Honestly
Everything we've done
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5. |
TIRO
04:05
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Feels like we've been here before
But I'm distracted by
Everything that's new about it
Everything that's new about it
On and on they say this is the way
But I've got thoughts about it
Every time we talk about it
Every time we talk about it
And I can't relax
Everything's moving too fast
Do everything right to stem the risk of
Slipping through the cracks
And I can't relate
To the people filled with hate
But I feel like I can't get out
A million mile view
No matter what, somebody will lose
And what I'm saying is that
They want that someone to be you
So bring the fire burn some tires and let's put up a fight
Because we're running out of time
And what's killing me
Is the fact that I could see
Clearer as a child
The way that things should have turned out to be
And I asked about
All the people left without
And was told that I should grow up
Feels like we've been here before
But I struggle to remember
And I struggle to imagine
What we'd do after the fall
Feels like we've been here before
It's just hard to come to terms with
The reasons why (God we're backed up against the wall)
We're even here at all
Why are we here at all
Why are we here at all
And what's killing me
Is the fact that I could see
Clearer as a child
The way that things should have turned out to be
Can we free our minds
Of their influence with time
Cause time is running out
Cause time is running out
Cause time is running out
Cause time is running out
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6. |
Erase
02:51
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I wish I could erase myself
From memories of those who’ve felt
The worst of me and all the shit
That seems to go along with it
A part of me is different now
A part, I fear, it sticks around
To never get the best of me is all that I can do
I’m thinking oh
When did my life go to waste
Feels like I’ve been lost in space
Set my sights on something large
Feel I don’t deserve it, oh
You have an amazing mind
I was blessed enough to find
How many more still trapped inside
Prisons of their own design
For all those who feel the same
It’s no good living life in shame
But I haven’t cracked the code
All that I can do is sing
How can I forgive me when I don’t know how they would feel?
How can I move on when I’ve proven I don’t know what’s real?
How can I abstract this, learn from it, and move along-
When I’ve spent my whole life living life wrong
I wish I could erase myself
From memories of those who’ve felt
The worst of me and all the shit
That seems to go along with it
A part of me is different now
A part, I fear, it sticks around
To never get the best of me is all that I can do
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7. |
Little River
03:07
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Little river’s overrun
Been flooded ever since the
Rainy season left us feeling glum
Littered with debris
How has it been eternity since
We’ve felt even just ok?
Most days wanna run away
But look around, there’s nowhere we can go
So
How long can it be
We’ve waited an eternity but
Everybody only wants to
Take a look and kick it down the line
How long will we wait
To be the ones who choose our fate cause
Everybody only wants to
Take a look and kick it down the line
Little river’s overrun
Been flooded ever since the
Rainy season left us feeling
Tired once again
And if the river floods out
Well then we're all out of luck
But way too many folks say
That they just don't give a care
But that's neither here nor there
Cry, little river
Flow into the ocean
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8. |
A Little Comfort
03:08
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9. |
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When you'd text
I'd feel blessed if I was drunk enough to call you
And depressed that's what it takes
You broke me out that homemade prison I was in, yeah
I'd like to tell our story to our families
But I wouldn't know just where to begin, ooh
I can feel that a part of me it fills you up
'Cause that's the feeling that I get when I give you love
You can feel that a part of me it turns away
I get so nervous and I can't quite think of what to say
I can feel that a part of me it fills you up
'Cause that's the feeling that I get when I give you love
You can feel that a part of me gets turned around
Have to remember to appreciate the light I've found
The light I've found
To appreciate the light I've found
The light I've found
To appreciate
A vision
Of a future we could have a couple kids in
Of a world where all our sins have been forgiven
Where it wouldn't all depend on raw ambition
Hell, and maybe we could start our own religion
Where we're not so fraught with guilt and indecision
Maybe we could fuel the fire of abolition
And even if we go to prison for sedition
I'd love you still, I'd love you still, I'd love you
I can feel that a part of me it fills you up
'Cause that's the feeling that I get when I give you love
You can feel that a part of me it turns away
I get so nervous and I can't quite think of what to say
I can feel that a part of me it fills you up
'Cause that's the feeling that I get when I give you love
You can feel that a part of me gets turned around
Have to remember to appreciate the light I've found
The light I've found
To appreciate the light I've found
The light I've found
To appreciate the light I've found
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10. |
Don't (Need to) Try
04:35
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I don't need to try
I just need to find
To find where I started
I don't need to try
(I don't need to try)
I just need to
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
Wasting time
In the afternoon
Searching for a piece of advice
I thought that'd be nice
And who should it turn out to be
But noted asshole Bukowski
Whose words would come and echo through the years
On his grave it said don't try
And that is just what I needed to hear
Oh darling let me be clear
Oh honey
I don't need to try
I just need to find
To find where I started
I don't need to try
I just need to
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
"Somebody once asked me, what do you do?
How do you, create?
You don't, I told them
You don't try
That's very important, not to try"
Wasting time every day
Waiting for that perfect moment to come my way
If I want to find what I'm looking for
I guess I'll have to look inside
I guess I'll have to look inside
I guess I'll have to look inside
(I don't need to try)
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
I just need to fly
Ba-dah-dah-dah-dah
"We work too hard, we try too hard
Don't try, don't work
It's there
It's been looking right out at us, aching to kick out"
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11. |
One More Season
02:34
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I walked along the river bend
And thought about the world we're in
And I couldn't
Look past it
How we clothe ourselves in sin
My heart's beating
(Tells you that you're still alive today)
So I'm breathing
But unhappy
There must be another way
It's been so long
Haven't seen my friends since
I started writing this song
And what's important
To remember
Is we owe it to the children not to surrender
It goes on and on and on
It doesn't stop for anyone at all, yeah
So we keep moving forward
And we'll watch Goliath fall
If you're breathing
(Tells you that you're still alive today)
Find a reason
To believe in
(To believe in!)
So the pictures
They remind us
Of the leaky raft we used to have to rely on
And what's important
To believe in
Is we've been renewed for one more season
Please can we be better this time?
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12. |
Kick It On Down the Line
03:45
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As the sun begins to rise
Tell me where your beauty lies
Tell me where the beauty lies
In letting other people die
Telling us not to bemoan
Spoiled food and empty homes
And it’s hard just to get by
See familiar faces struggling just to say they survived
And so many people die
While they all wonder how they’ll spend all of their money this time
And the leaders they don’t mind
They’ve been led to turn their heads to the side
Time and time and time again they
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and call us sinners
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and who's the winner
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and call us sinners
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and who's the winner
And it’s hard just to get by
See familiar faces struggling just to say they survived
And they watch so many die
While they sit in their castles wondering just how they’re gonna spend it this time, they
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and call us sinners
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line
Kick it on down the line and who's the winner
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13. |
Jubilee
05:25
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Up at night
The mistakes of past lives threatening
To undo my mind they're beckoning
Not to make the same mistake and on and on
Heroes to
Some but not to all
We're watching them
One by one they fall
Will we admit
that the prosperous will never speak for all?
And oftentimes I feel l
Don't know what to do
It's hard to think that they thought
Any of this through
Who can we be when all our
History is clogged with broken bones,
And we put them on display?
The past is beckoning
Will we receive the message?
So many yet to learn
To understand the lesson
They'll say try all you want
They'll say no one can save you
But why can't we try
To help each other save ourselves?
Hey
To start it off
Just remember it's all fables
From unjustified crusaders
Who we idolize as if they cared at all
It's not enough
To repair your past transgressions
It's a system of oppression
And we transgress just by
Saying nothing's wrong
And oftentimes I feel l
Don't know what to do
It's hard to think that they thought
Any of this through
Who can we be when all our
History is clogged with broken bones,
And we put them on display?
The past is beckoning
Will we receive the message?
So many yet to learn
To understand the lesson
The signal's strengthening
And we can read you clearly
For those who just woke up
Come on and hear me
They'll say try all you want
They'll say no one can save you
But why can't we try
To help each other save ourselves?
Hey
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14. |
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Where can I go when no one knows
What's right?
When I have almost lost the will
To fight?
Well I'm not much of a dancer
Though some might think that's wrong
But if you go to the ska show
Well, I just might come along
I know a place where people know
What's real
The ticket price is always quite
The steal
Now I'm not one for dancing
Though some might say that's wrong
But if that ska music's playing,
Well, I just might sing along
Bwa dah dah dah dee
Bwa dah dah dah doh
Bwa dah dah dah dwee dadi dadi
Dum bah dee dee dum bah doh
Yeah
Bwa dah dah dah dee
Bwa dah dah dah doh
Bwa dah dah dah dwee dadi dadi
Dum bah dee dee dum bah doh
Yeah
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Atlas & Oracle Boston, Massachusetts
Filling in the blanks between ska and pop.
Start with Jubilee. The demo EPs are
mostly midi instruments.
Synth ska, ska adjacent, sometimes familiar, always fresh.
Modern messages that get stuck in your head.
Lyrical observations on life in America.
Do you believe that ska can save the world?
... more
Atlas & Oracle recommends:
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This album takes a traditionally rooted but definitively modern approach to ska with an anti-racist message that's refreshingly political. One of the best debuts in ska, and there's stiff competition.
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My Checkered Future
by Eichlers
Each track introduces brand new sounds to ska. This album makes me excited to be alive for this era of ska music, and even more excited for the checkered future.
go to albumIf you like Atlas & Oracle, you may also like:
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supported by 5 fans who also own “Jubilee”
Joyous, upbeat, comtemplating big things with skankin' joy! And as queer as 2023 should be!
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Hear y'all on the ska against racism comp and had to have the whole albumn! Love It!!
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From the first deadened cowbell to the last dissonant guitar interval, Dutch quartet Geo's new record is shaped for impact.
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