1. |
Message of Distress
02:52
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I’m sending out a message of distress
My patience has run thin
And as a consequence, I guess,
As has my conviction
I’ve been seeing visions of a Revelations nature
And I’d wager that we ain’t about to make it past the Rapture
And I sought refuge in stormwater drains
Unlearned the old traditions
That have acted as an anchor attached to our ankles
Found the angles that project our lines to intersect
If only for a second
Read the wisdom left embedded in the remnants, said
If we weaponise this pain
We may lay waste to a hundred of these guilty men
Restore the ship before we sink
And start again
When we laugh we get more sick
Oh, so it goes, so it goes
When we laugh we get more sick
So if those guilty men
Remain amongst the living
Things will never change
When we laugh we get more sick
And if things stay the same
When we laugh we get more sick
Then throughout all our days
We will laugh and get more sick
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2. |
Every Week, Autonomy
02:59
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I gotta say, your indignant cynicism is a little bit contagious in its own way
And I can't help but tell myself that it's okay
That I've slipped into this unexpectedly lengthy bout of indifference
Once upon a time these slumps would come and go
Lately though, I've been losing hope
Where's it goin? I don't even know
Blown out with the gear and cones and durry smoke
Or stuttered out between uncertain words one of the times that we last spoke
Can't shake the feeling that I'm pissing away my time
With every week, autonomy looks more like just a life of crime
I used to write about the privilege of apathy
Used to have a million different ways of phrasing
My disdain for lack of action from the ones that talk the talk
Now fucked if I recall the last time that I bothered trying to walk the walk
Or even the last time that it bothered me that I don't give a fuck
Can't shake the feeling that I'm pissing away my time
With every week, autonomy seems more like just a life of crime
It's not that I'm not happy
It's not that I'm not content
Just never thought I'd grow complacent
And become all that I resent
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3. |
Chemical Waste
05:16
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The seams, they start to split
Submitting to an inconceivable stress
But somehow, I don't think the stitches are gonna break
Cos there's a benefit
To being down for as long as the likes of us have
You figure out the rough amount of heat you can take
And there's no telling from which way the flames will come sometimes
And bitterness can come naturally as breath once it takes stride
And that fire can stay alight
Till well after you die
Your maledictions scrawled around you while you try to rest
They confuse most, but those who understand will clutch their chests
Hang their heads and say they feel the same
But you're not sure they do
What we thought was manna
Was their chemical waste
And I get the feeling we'll be in this awful place
For far, far longer than forty days
They built their borders round the Earth and round your mind
And as much as you decolonise and deconstruct
The fence stays just as high
I know you're trying to quit
But I'll oblige if you ask for a cigarette
I get how it gets when the temperature drops
We all expected so much more from this
Than feeling burnt out by age 22
And only growing thinner by the minute
Yeah if the shoe fits why the fuck does it slip?
I can't put in but if you're racking up I'm down to join
Or come round for a pip if you're on and you feel inclined
The comedown won't be shit and we'll confirm whether we're still alive
Beneath the cheap disguise
You know salvation is a rich man's game
There's no saviour for you and me
As kids we dreamt of going to space
Cos we all crave what we can't reach
We paint our marks onto their architecture to wile away the hours
We etch our names onto their architecture so we won't forget what's ours
We etched our names into the architecture so we won't forget what's ours
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4. |
Fitzroy Playground
01:38
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I haven't slept in about twenty hours
I haven't eaten in roughly thirty-six
Can't get the temperature right in this room
I'm sweating bullets but it's still just as cold as that Fitzroy playground
Where every word we said brought another tear to our eyes
Before then I hadn't cried since I was twelve when my grandmother died
You said you wished that I could've been an asshole
Then it'd be easier to say
You didn't feel in love anymore, couldn't explain it
But ain't that just always the way
And just that day I'd cleaned my room
And changed the sheets as a surprise
Just an awkward attempt to break the rut
You said had formed before our eyes
Now the sun's rising somewhere near Belgrave
And I have no idea where you are
Never thought that'd feel so strange
I fucking miss you but I know that there's no way round it
I know if we had our say
I doubt we'd let each other go
But as it is, I guess it's like I told you, word-for-word:
You'll always be welcome at my shows
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5. |
A Tab of Acid
03:24
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A tab of acid refuses to kick in
And I'm sitting round and flipping out again
Cos I ain't got no serotonin left
To push away the intrusive thoughts and overthinking
Sinking into winter doubts again
I'm dreaming about getting out
I'm getting sick of faces around me disappearing
My brain's steering me down eerie back streets and factory districts
To trap me in abandoned lots
Where all the stimulation I need is in the form of lines shooting from a phone screen
Through a makeshift straw and up my nasal cavity
You wanna watch me fly, just wait and see
So take me for a ride someplace nice
That you think might remind me why
I don't go to work at nine or come home at five
And spend time trying to decide what to eat tonight
Open your eyes wide, stare into mine
Spit the words like fire: "it's too early to die, so be alive"
It's too early to die so be alive
Make me believe it
It's too early to die so be alive, be alive, be alive
Be alive
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6. |
Stitch
04:35
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There are whispers of corruption in the government again
Urban development's infecting the street I grew up in
Under party thumbs I struggle to care and just get stoned
And there are pigs parked next door all the damn time
I'm not afraid of the impending doom, I'm desensitised
Part of me would give my life for the destruction of mankind
So every time I kiss you, I'm conflicted on being alive
Cos you remind me that life is worth saving
You give me something to love in a nightmare
So let the walls of the cages lose opacity
So every person on this Earth can catch a glimpse of living free
Might be a jungle out there but it's a dog fight in here
And we're finding our escape route tonight
The world outside this house is falling down
We're doing things most people wouldn't ever do if they knew how
Let's light em up and send our declaration of war
And just sing Erik's songs till the sun dawns
In search of all that cannot be monopolised
Away from prying hands, tobacco taxes, disregard statelines
Burning down the highways, all our love, all our rage
You touch my hand and baby, everything's okay
You're by my side so everything must be okay
So let the walls of the cages lose opacity
So every person on this Earth can catch a glimpse of living free
Might be a jungle out there but it's a housefire in here
And we're finding our escape route tonight
The world outside this house is falling down
We're doing things most people wouldn't ever do if they knew how
Let's light em up and send our declaration of war
And just sing Riley's songs till the sun dawns
And you'll sing along as the sun dawns
I'll see the light touch your face as the sun dawns
I'll know I'm really alive when the sun dawns
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7. |
Ongoing War Program
02:26
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We sang songs penned by our fallen mentors that we'd never met
It was a temperate late December day and there was guesswork on our breath
Cos this unrelenting sense of raw uncertainty was tugging at our sleeves
And anything was welcome that could set our wretched minds at ease
Alas, my head was bedlam
You weren't much better off
There was something in the air
It felt peculiar and it made you choke and cough
If a softened countenance is all that we can offer one another
Then have we already failed each other?
What with the lack of recognition for submission that we have
On a collective level, of course everything was fine
There's an ever-present ebb and flow you have to follow
Joy relies on sorrow
I thought about that every waking minute
Until my chest turned numb and hollow
Now I'm unfazed beyond each moment as it passes by
Is it balance or suppression?
That's anyone's guess, can't say I really mind
If a carefree countenance provides cause for concern between one another
Then have we already failed each other?
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8. |
Frameworks
05:00
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May we never be caught dead saying we ain't got friends
Cos the patches that are stitched to an array of fabrics
From Melbourne to Toronto go to show
That this woe-is-me mentality you get wrapped tight in is bullshit
It's hard-wired into your circuits
It's in your bones when you feel so alone
A community in which each individual's convinced that they're on their own
It's how the bosses thrive, you hand over your life cos nothing else felt right
When are we gonna get to a stage
In the frameworks that connect us to our friends
Where when we say "they're in a better place"
It doesn't mean that they're dead
And may I never be caught dead saying I'm restless once again
And running rampant in the repetitive roundabouts as they occupy my head
Every now and then, as I embrace sedation
And wonder why I'm numb
Cos once the feeling comes back I'm underprepared
And scared of what's to come
And what's become of the shred of light we still get from the Sun
Optimism swapped out for alarm at the cancer risks
When are we gonna get to a stage
In the frameworks that connect us to our friends
Where when we say "they're in a better place"
It doesn't mean that they're dead
So when the city's sold us out
And the comedown's snatched us up
What's left to do but spectate
And say "maybe it's just all fucked"
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