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Alter English

by The Psychic Alliance

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1.
Soldier’s Honour (Lee/Dunbar) Remembering those memories Of photographs and dreams from some other day They’re all gone, they’re all gone There’s nothing left behind these whispering eyes All that you can do Is laugh about it When there’s nothing left To cry about The memory fades away oh yeah But you never love Anybody else. Love strays and your hair grays Soon you find the days Have fallen behind you All gon, they’re all gone You wander through a maze With no one to find you ‘Til all that you can do Is laugh about it When there’s nothing left To cry about The memory fades away oh yeah But you never love Anybody else and on that sunny day, she went away and never came again Nothing else remains but a photograph You’re far too gone to cry But you can laugh The memory fades but ahhh… A soldier’s honour It’s like an armour for the fight He’ll win every night To remember a love That withered and died before The second World War
2.
McDonaldland 02:13
McDonaldland Hey wow, it’s such a tasty kind of madness That draws us on through those Arches, golden glowing And it’s said, by the wise and kindly prophets That you can’t outrun the sun (but if you could then time would stop, and you’d be bored completely, nothing changing, nothing growing, nothing living, nothing dying) Attention s'il vous plaît! Liberté, égalité, yeah! I wanna be your chauffeur! I wanna take you over! I’ll set you free McDonaldland! I wanna pay your pension! I wanna ease your tension! I’ll heal the wound McDonaldland! Because hope, it’s such a funny kind of feeling When you had all you can take of all their “You have no bread, but we’ll let you eat cake!” Hey, wow! But that guillotine sure swings, When those heads go rolling (and if they ever said the past was dead they never read the writing on the wall before the saw the gilded curtain fall upon them) Attention s'il vous plaît! Liberté, égalité, yeah! I wanna be your chauffeur! I wanna take you over! I’ll set you free McDonaldland! I wanna pay your pension! I wanna ease your tension! I’ll heal the wound McDonaldland! I wanna be your Captain! I wanna make it happen! I’ll set you free, McDonaldland! I wanna do it today! I wanna fuck your pain away! I’ll heal the wound McDonaldland! I’ll set you free! McDonald Land.
3.
Strange Mutations (Gunette, Lee) There have been changes In my behaviour Strange mutations I've got no saviour It seems like ages I'm rearranging I've gone through stages There's no escaping And it grows and it grows and it grows And it keeps on growing Let it roll, let it roll,let it roll Rolling on the radio It feels like paradise come tripping off my tongue Don't let it roll Out of control I've got addictions but no restrictions I've got obsessions That I'm suppressing Too fast to follow Some pills to swallow Too good to pass up Now I'm enveloped There have been changes In my behaviour Strange sensations That aren't familiar I've lived in cages In open spaces Now I'm waiting To be overtaken
4.
Punch the Sky (Lee) Could it be that they dragged you through the mud? Stole your blood, took your name, Brought you to the brink of shame? But there’s a light inside your eyes The could not recognize it, you disguised it But how they must despise it When you feel your heart is broken You may find you’ve just awoken So stand up tall and punch the sky When you feel you’re about to die Draw a breath and take the kiss of life From the jaws of death Punch the sky When you feel that everything’s a lie Oh, no, you must be dreaming Cuz you’re bound to be receiving Everything, you’0er the King Of your destiny now, and everything is free For the taking Don’t you be mistaken No, no. Was it you, That they scarred and blistered through and through? Oh no! You were nowhere to be found When their nose was to the ground That light they couldn’t claim Your dignity, your name And your soul Are incorruptible! So when you feel your heart is broken in two You may find you’ve just awoken too So stand up tall, man, punch the sky When you feel you’re about to die Draw a breath and take the kiss of life From the jaws of death Punch the sky When you feel that everything’s a lie Oh, no, you must be dreaming but you’re bound to be receiving Everything, you’re the King Of all destiny now, and everything is free For the taking Don’t you be mistaken No, no.
5.
Sisters and Brothers(Lee, interpolating "Let My Baby Ride" by RL Burnside) I love making a plan Oh, with sisters and brother To reconnect the telephone The bills are paid, the lights are on Among you So why’d you go and leave me All alone? Cuz maybe, if you’d like a conversation after hours Then I’ll see you again Quite literally I can say that Lately I’m sublime, My mind is fine, but still I find That I’m crying all the time Lay down your arms And if you listen, I’ll be there for you It’ll be so very nice To be the ones who Say the same thing twice
6.
Golden Boy 04:17
Golden Boy The patterns of the world Are buried ‘neath the weight of diamonds and pearls Like shadows in the night We never knew something so wrong or so right And anyway you go, it’s just a gimmick or a show You take your pills and wrestle with your conscience While they tighten up pressure Measure by measure Well, I’m a Golden Boy, oh boy! There ain’t no question! That the patterns of the world Still buried ‘neath the weight of diamonds and pearls Are like shadows in the night Who never knew something so wrong, or so right Ah! But the inimical feeling! A poison of the process Whereby they tighten up pressure Measure by measure But I’m a Golden Boy, oh boy! And there ain’t no question! I’m Harriet Beecher, Pleasure to meet yer! No more cardinals, for the old souls We know Which way to go So cordon off the scene, man, lock up the green room Come lay your body down beside me We’ll go and take a walk outside Commit your career suicide With eyes open wide Way down past the trees With the people upon their knees Let the magic strike Prove the might of Right Ahhhh The patterns of the world Where buried ‘neath the weight of diamonds and pearls Lie the shatters of our lives Let’s put the kids to bed and turn out the lights.
7.
Don’t Kill Yr Friends (Lee, Dunbar) It’s hard when you discover That another lowly brother’s played you For a fool And all those things you thought were sacred now are jaded, faded Black to blue Because everybody’s got their own agenda All the liars, and pretenders Fashionistas, pimps and scensters Businessmen and people pleasers It makes me wanna shoot somebody down… But don’t kill your friends! Make love to them, and while you slumber They may increase in number And you’ll meet someone who’s gonna Love you for yourself! That’s your friend! Hang on to them, though you’ll be parted You’ll never be broken hearted! And when you’re dead, someone will weep over your grave That’s why you need friends! All you Nazis, Christians, punks and homies Intellectual cultured phonies Poets, politicians, lovers All you fucking useless others Who think your feeble lives have meaning In some grand and cosmic scheming It’s a rhetoric so self-esteeming Jesus Christ, you must be dreaming! It makes you wanna shoot somebody down… But don’t kill your friends! Make love to them, and while you slumber They may increase in number And you’ll meet someone who’s gonna Love you for yourself! That’s your friend! Hang on to them, though you’ll be parted You’ll never be broken hearted! And when you’re dead, someone will weep over your grave That’s why you need friends! Cuz oh, it’s such a wicked, cruel world! So hang on to your friends!
8.
SUV 01:29
SUV (Lee) Guy, on the day that you were born The angels blessed your name And they blew their shining horns into the sky for you And guy, on the day that you will die No one will wonder why There’s a twinkle in your eye Well, you hit me with your SUV, You broke my bike, you hurt my leg I hope the sun has shone on you today! She is coordinating quality Down at the I.M.V. StatOil SAG Hydro Facility Mihaela, oh my Consuela From Venezuela I’ll never fail you, I’ll confess in rhyme You hit me with your SUV, You broke my heart, you stole my life I hope the sun has shone on you today Poor people work hard too I hope The Man is working hard for you I gotta confess, I love you In a very simple way And I hope the sun has shone on you today. I hope the sun has shone on you.
9.
Dandy Man/Hill St Blues (Lee) The Dandy Man is stringing you along Like, he says he wants to be there But will he be there... tonight? Out of mind, out of sight? Tangled up, getting strangled on your lawn If you show me how to be there I’d be there tonight Out of mind, out of sight I’m just a criminal in my mind So fucking wasted all the time I climb into the elevator Up where the sun is situated And all this common earth can’t take me on When I’m so turned on The angels on your shoulder all have gone now No more will they be there You’re free tonight Out of mind, out of sight Just a criminal of the mind I come on wasted all the time I climb into the elevator Where the sun is situated And all this common earth can’t take me on God, I’m so turned on! So put a criminal on the cross… Your cause is wasted, all is lost… Whoah! I don’t know If crime is something you can solve You get the Hill St Blues It comes in twos to your door When you don’t wear sandals On your naked ankles anymore Cock Robin, Cock Robin! Where have you been? Have you seen the light? ‘Twas the sparrow, shot the arrow! He fired with all his might He got the Hill St Blues, It comes in twos to your door When we don’t wear sandals On our naked ankles anymore Whoah! I don’t know, If crime is something to be solved Cock Robin! Cock Robin! Will it ever be Resolved?
10.
Dave 02:45
Dave (Lee) The show can’t wait another day You’re lost inside of yourself And I’ve been waiting patiently To see you But you’re not coming out You’ve got a bad case of the Gout But I’ve known you a hundred years today You’re cradling your grave, Dave! So light another cigarette Prepare your victory march This English heart will shine anew To see you Hey! Mister Twist n’ Shout! When all the little lights go out The Hand of God will strike you down today For cradling your grave, Dave! (Sister Ray says “love is lazy,” oh how delicately lays it down…) Alone, in dreams we’ll walk alone In spite our brave designs And all our crimes will creep in time To see you! Well, I’m not running out! Oh, cast away all doubt! Cuz I know you’ve got nothing left to say Go cradle in your grave, Dave! I can’t wait until the end You’ve lost your little mind But I could wait a million years To see you… In dreams In dreams, I’ve walked through your heart In dreams, I’ve smiled through your eyes In dreams, I always Die
11.
Forever Tonight So laissez-faire you come on dear tonight Forever tonight Forever tonight Don’t shy away from excessive force You can’t outlast what you can’t endorse, All right? Forever tonight. American me Dreamt while fame was only fleeting Yet scarcely believe In a foe more fully beaten We fade into the light of a renaissance Your presence haunts me still And it’s waiting in the wings just like an old, familiar feeling Seems to be the ceiling’s caving in on you again And you’re left without a friend, kind companion, Or a lover by your side Set down for the ages on those long forgotten pages Written by the sages when the world was just A twinkling in your eye A fiction and a lie So lies and fears, come, come on down tonight Forever tonight Forever tonight Don’t burden me to burn my bed I’ll eat a pomegranate in the land of the dead instead Forever tonight Abandoned we meet In the spaces between sleeping Soldiers in need Freed while wounds are slowly weeping We drift into the light of our own renaissance Your presence haunts me still And it’s waiting in the wings just like an old, familiar feeling Seems to be the ceiling’s caving in on you again And you’re left without a friend, kind companion, Or a lover by your side Set down for the ages on those long forgotten pages Written by the sages when the world was just A twinkling in your eye A fiction or a lie So come on, money man Gonna wipe away the voices on the sidewalk Cuz you can’t afford the revenant you’re coveting You took it all back for the sound of crucifixion on the radio My God! Come on and take me to the fields where I used to roam I know someone’s waiting on the telephone My soul is calling out to you… And it’s waiting in the wings just like an old, familiar feeling. Seems to be the ceiling’s caving in on you again And you’re left without a friend, kind companion, Or a lover by your side Set down for the ages on those long forgotten pages Written by the sages when the world was just A twinkling in your eye A fiction or a lie.. So laissez-faire you come on dear tonight Forever tonight Forever tonight

about

Our fifth and (possibly?) final album, as we currently have no more songs in the canon unrecorded. If we ever do another it'll probably be hastily written pablum that we slap together out of some odd sense of obligation, but nah, given the option, I'd like to think we're all adult enough to call it a day having put out what is conclusively our best work. Maybe we'll knock off a live LP at some point to remind you all that we're still the best fucking band in Canada (although by that time we might just be a bunch of flabby old fucks who can barely hold it together). Whatever. This album was recorded, like most of our others, in way less time than it takes most bands to decide what t-shirt they want to wear to the gig tonight. I owe Felix Fung a debt of gratitude for having a studio where you're allowed to smoke inside. It was insanely hot on the day we laid the bed tracks down, which lead to most of the tracks being cut at about 20 BPM faster than usual. We gave ourselves three takes to get each track done, which really keeps those costs down, but also means we had to be pretty shit hot. The songs were written over the course of ten years, the earliest (Punch the Sky) before the band itself existed, the latest (Forever Tonight) completed days before tracking. That's a hell of a lot of memory and experience packed into the breadth of an LP, and when I read the lyrics for the first time the other night, it really hit home just how much was contained in this little half hour album. It'd take me a month just to break down every personal reference, in-joke, memory or insight contained here, so hopefully it'll just mean something to the listener within the context of their own experience. Lastly, this album quite literally couldn't have been made without my dad, who left me enough money when he died to put the finishing touches on a bunch of recordings that I had assumed I would never get to make due to lack of funds. I had the pleasure of working out the final pieces of this album while touring around England and seeing his hometown of Skipton, Yorkshire, and the last song you'll hear on this record is a tune he used to sing to me that him and his friends wrote about the evacuee camp they were sent to during the Battle of Britain. Anyway, like all good albums, this one is about loss, confusion, heartache, triumph in the face of adversity, and the persistence of memory, and we hope it fills whatever cavity there might be in the current annals of human culture.

credits

released May 1, 2020

Produced by Felix Fung at Little Red Sounds, New Westminster
Production assistance by Kyle Schick
Mastered by Evan Matthiesen
Drums by Matt Van Slyke
Guitars, backups, lead vocal on Strange Mutations by Marc Guenette
Keys, backups by Dani Fournier
Bass by Kyle Cheadle
Guitars, percussion, lead vocals by Shaun Lee
thanks to Alisha Weng for photography and Renee Pasula for cover sigil
To Sergeant Gerald Raymond Salmon, who funded this album, and whose tales of misspent youth in WW2 era London informed much of the subject matter thereof.

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The Psychic Alliance Vancouver, British Columbia

The less you know about this band, the better. Rumor has it that they're very bad people, paranoid, misanthropic, frequently given to melancholy and intellectual dullards to boot. Stories of vicious infighting and naughtiness follow them like a black cloud, and the threat of immediate collapse is constant. Fortunately they look cool. ... more

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