"Nothing beats a cold swim on a hot day / Last night you woke up in the hallway / Piss and vinegar soaking through your jeans / You must’ve had some peculiar dreams / Janet Jackson / Jim Jones / Souvenirs stolen from the dark..."
I remember, will always remember, when my philosophy teacher in community college sort of annexed my fear of death by soberly telling the class that once you are born, you start dying. That life itself and getting older is dying, in the sense that your cells begin the decaying process right away but ever so slowly. Now, as I have gotten older I learned that he was not exactly correct but still the exalted truth that life is precious from day one stuck with me ever since, so much so that I have hardly have ever partaken in recreational things that numb my connection to my life because I want to feel every part of it, good or bad. While I still don't fear death, I do mourn the lives of people who drink themselves quite literally to death and others who do everything to escape at all costs.
The beautiful melancholy of "At The Lake" by Bristol UK's emotional folk indie Langkamer feels sobering too, philosophically and actually. The wallowing bass lines, rushing guitar picking against a stoic beat, crying guitar's like whale songs and drummer / lead vocalist Josh Jarman's forlorn exquisite vocal performance (held up with a sort of alien mirrored vocal, a low grumble of surreal seriousness) pulls you in close to listen to Such a formidable piece of work as a scratched old mirror full of past regrets and bowtied caveats deserves an explanation in the band's own words. Here they are.
LINER NOTES in red:
“At The Lake is a song about the fallout of binge drinking culture, and the prestige that we attach to the idea of the poète maudit. The way we romanticise unhealthy behaviour in the name of ‘creativity’”
Recorded at The Cornish Bank in Falmouth, ‘At The Lake’ offers the second teaser of upcoming album Langzamer (Dutch for ‘Slower’) in which the band, seasoned by three years of frenetic writing and recording, and afflicted by great personal loss, move to tackle some of life’s weighter issues, namely Death and God.
The lessons learned here feel so goddamn real especially for artists and maybe really especially for songwriters, bandmates and all. I did that thing, have been around it as a fan and writer and self destruction via all sorts of external poisons (and some strictly internal ones, familial or otherwise) feels like part and parcel of the band, music thing. Suffering as part of art is lionized or, at least, glamorized just like the 27 club. Fuck that.
"Janis Joplin
James Joyce
Swimmers from the puddle to the pond.
Nothing beats a cold swim on a hot day
In the water where you hoped you might belong.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change."
James Joyce
Swimmers from the puddle to the pond.
Nothing beats a cold swim on a hot day
In the water where you hoped you might belong.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change.
Something’s gonna have to change."
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://langkamer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/langkamerband
https://www.facebook.com/langkamerband/
https://x.com/LangkamerBand
Langkamer’s third album ‘Langzamer’ stands tall as their most restrained, mature, and sincere album to date. Produced in the dusty vaults of the Cornish Bank by Ben Woods of The Golden Dregs, the album takes Langkamer’s heart-on-sleeve slacker rock to new heights. Rich with wry reflections on life and loss, Langzamer jumps between buoyant pop singalongs and mournful folk balladry, propelled throughout by dexterous, infectious melodies. Prodigiously gigging over the last three years, the Bristol quartet have played sold-out rooms across the UK and Europe, as well as playing support slots for Mystery Jets, Jeffrey Lewis, Juan Waters, Ratboys, Willie J Healey, Fenne Lily, and Opus Kink. The news of their third album comes following press and radio support from the likes of Uncut, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC Radio 6Music (Huw Stevens, Mark Radcliffe, Steve Lamacq, and Tom Robinson), Radio X (John Kennedy), So Young, Rough Trade Counter Culture, Blogotheque, Morning Star, Wax Music and Clunk.
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://langkamer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/langkamerband
https://www.facebook.com/langkamerband/
https://x.com/LangkamerBand
Langkamer’s third album ‘Langzamer’ stands tall as their most restrained, mature, and sincere album to date. Produced in the dusty vaults of the Cornish Bank by Ben Woods of The Golden Dregs, the album takes Langkamer’s heart-on-sleeve slacker rock to new heights. Rich with wry reflections on life and loss, Langzamer jumps between buoyant pop singalongs and mournful folk balladry, propelled throughout by dexterous, infectious melodies. Prodigiously gigging over the last three years, the Bristol quartet have played sold-out rooms across the UK and Europe, as well as playing support slots for Mystery Jets, Jeffrey Lewis, Juan Waters, Ratboys, Willie J Healey, Fenne Lily, and Opus Kink. The news of their third album comes following press and radio support from the likes of Uncut, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC Radio 6Music (Huw Stevens, Mark Radcliffe, Steve Lamacq, and Tom Robinson), Radio X (John Kennedy), So Young, Rough Trade Counter Culture, Blogotheque, Morning Star, Wax Music and Clunk.
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