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THE THRALL

by Lubec

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  • Limited Edition Cassette
    Cassette + Digital Album

    Side A: Tracks 1-5
    Side B: Tracks 6-11

    LY039

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1.
Almost Vince (free) 04:00
Through the trees And wayward briars Knotted weeds They'd slash your tires At a house party (Where are we?) With only fools to see Yet here we are I'm almost Vince Almost Vincent Time to see Who joins their choirs A violent spree To feed the fires At a house party (where are we?) With only fools to see Pledged with a scar I'm almost Vince Never womanized Or threw my fist in fights I wondered if You'd see to that But I did
2.
I've been wasting all my time Punching In Eager to please No, the stars they don't align It's just a man Playing us like scales And then I didn't feel so well (Straining to make out) These things, you never can tell (Straining to make out) Actions from words Behold, the liar in a web Sinking fast In teeming seas Dead horse, beaten on the head He'll be locked up Soon, for sure What if you made it out to some island home? Scared, dripping and wet from scrambled rows? Then deposit those checks, a real con man's high Never to be so sure that you made it away Did you make it away? Did you make it away? Actions from words!
3.
Hid out From the street lamps at night Bandana over her face again Tempted To reach up and try it Never caught by the cops they said Join us Come see what it's like In the dark you can rally a friend Allies To acknowledge your spite How will they know you if it cannot be read? Answers tagged right on trains and stairs Answers etched tight on signs who dares? Just write it on the wall! In graffiti! (Reds, greens, tangerines, greys, and blues) Before you are ever too old And on the other side Of the fence
4.
Gold Protege 02:59
Everyone's a winner 'till we're all knocked down Then there's only those that might care They ran me through the ropes 'till I was tossed around Then had the nerve to say I don't belong here I get by On listening I get by Just working the crowd I get by On less callow things So that now, you never could tell (Gold Protege) Now, you never could tell (Gold Protege) Now, you never could tell What I once was (Hanging) By a thread Deserted their codes and how to wrest the crown Since everybody cheats or had an affair Success isn't something 'till you're dead in the ground And history asks why you dared (Hanging) By a thread
5.
I awoke for no reason Then clenched my hand Stress to be sure Don't remind me again (The early bird's not a failure) Well, I've heard that a lot (Catch the worm, you're a savior) But I'm losing sleep, and What sets me apart (All work no play) The Morning Beatdown! What sets me apart? (All work no play) The Morning Beatdown! A time-honored tradition Of killing the spark It worked for your dad Quit being so smart The Morning Beatdown!
6.
7.
The static Hurts my eyes It's painting pictures Though without your contacts It's just a bunch of lines But I don't really mind Is it fun and games? Over the hum of the fan We'll recite the names of The greatest times we had In twenty-oh-five (Press Rewind) We'll watch your favorite episodes At night The curtains close And you just look up Expecting something That I can't define Press rewind
8.
How long has It been? A dance through meadows Charade from the start Such a bright tint of rose To seem a bigger part, Of our days (Pale as a ghost) When memories fail to agree (Pale as a ghost) When the portrait's not what others see (A film in your mind, Reel-to-reel, But it's all wrong) Nostalgia A one-way street Nostalgia A lover's quarrel Air-brushed from the heart Such a bright tint of rose It takes a certain art, Fearing change How long has It been? How long has it been?! Since you lived on a whim?! Since you looked at him?! Or around the Room?
9.
Sunburn! (free) 03:50
SUNBURN! Amidst the waves And the beach tans Matters of a different heart He flew to the edge Of the horizon And bought it Some people go sailing Others date a lot But how can you relate To someone whose Wings melted off? (Basked/Baked/Charred/Enflamed) And even glad They're even glad! What do you chase? What do you harbor? A dream What comes next when nothing is enough? What do you waste? What do you offer? A scream What comes next when nothing is enough? SUNBURN!
10.
Local Celebrity (free) 03:36
(You stay at home I'll see the world Kid yourself Only I will know it) Low-cal Waving your right hand Celebrity Low-cal Looking down on them Celebrity I heard there was once a time That to be a man in his prime One had to search for the truth And you didn't And now that times have really changed There's still some facts of life Much older than I am I read of trial by fire A lift from the country's mire One had to search for the truth And you didn't
11.
The Thrall 05:14
It's different from how I thought it'd be No montages Or garland wreaths Since one can't grasp perfection until it's over (Deranged and better) Yet there was a sense This year for me That distress might will A harmony So why can't I have these moments forever? (Deranged and better) Now we're haunted Now we're haunted Now we're (deranged) haunted By what's possible (and better) At night While I'm out and feel the shudder of The Thrall With life's limitlessness The Thrall Can't hold it back

about

Now available in cassette and digital formats courtesy of Like Young Records - store.likeyoungrecords.com

"The Thrall presents the band's striking songcraft and bright optimism within a shifting aural landscape that brilliantly balances clean, jagged leads, crystalline reverbs and thunderous percussion and fuzz. The band refers to its sound as "basement philharmonix," and in years past as "sculpt-rock," but we'd suggest "elegant cacaphony" as an equally suitable alternate. Whatever you want to call it, and although its core members migrated to the west coast years ago, it is undeniable that Lubec has finally arrived.

The Thrall is like the beautiful girl in the room whose feet don't seem to touch the ground. It's a diary that captures fleeting moments, and the inherently tragic beauty of impermanence. The narratives therein confront coming of age, aspiration, nostalgia and even disappointment, and are constructed from remarkably literate and thoughtful prose that is as nimble referencing classical mythology ("Sunburn!") as it is describing the incalculable hugeness of life and its possibilities ("The Thrall"). Fronter Eddie Charlton sings with devastating poignance in the climax to the stunning late album track "Another Ghost Song:" "how long has it been? since you lived on a whim?" Indeed, the album's emotional payload is largely driven by the pairing of Charlton's airy tenor with pianist Caroline Jackson's ethereal backing vocals (Ms. Jackson's piano, interestingly, anchors the band's low end, but makes tasteful forays into its upper register to splash more color across the band's already colorful sonic palette). The pairing of the voices follows a formula that worked for fave indie legends Lilys on its early singles and first LP two decades ago, and it works immaculately here within Lubec's smart and dynamic compositions, especially the driving album highlight "Gold Protege."

But The Thrall is so much more than affecting vocals, too. The set thrills by pushing a relatively conventional four-piece band to overachieve. Where indie titans Spoon dazzle by imposing a certain stripe of minimalism onto amazing songs, Lubec's aim is decidedly maximalist, instrumentally, although never redundant. All of Lubec's moving parts really move, and move with purpose in complementary cycles that all support central melodic and rhythmic ideas. And all of it supports the record's wide-eyed, full-hearted and still partly innocent appraisal of the bigness and odd magic of life. The Thrall marvels, and it is marvelous."

- Jay Breitling, Clicky Clicky

credits

released September 21, 2014

Caroline Jackson - Keyboard, Organ, Vocals
Matt Dressen - Drums, Vocals
Eddie Charlton - Guitar, Vocals, Electronics
Nick Laurich - Guitar

Engineered and Produced by Robert Komitz at the Frawg Pound in Portland, OR. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering, Portland, OR.

Artwork by Matt Dressen

"Nothing is enough!"

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