Good Grief, by Bitter Calm

Good Grief

by Bitter Calm

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Debut album by Bitter Calm.

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1.	The Big Day 00:38	lyrics	buy track
"On the second of August, 1980, in the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta, GA... and this is the big day."
2.	Night Stand 04:20	lyrics	buy track
Safe and silent, I'm the pilot. In my bed, there's no room. I'm facing forward, hushed and painless. In my head, there's no room for us to be together. Looking for the weakest points. She's reaching for the knife inside my night stand. Sheets cry out the crime of innocence. One night stands; days go through. Facing forward, crushed and limitless. Twin size bed. There's no room for hearts to beat together. I can find your weakest points. She's twisting at the knife inside my night stand.
3.	The Great Event 00:18	lyrics	buy track
"The bulletin board at the Marriott announces the great event: August 2nd, 1980, at 10am in Salon D."
4.	Don't Look Down 06:19	lyrics	buy track
I'm the same as I ever was: fixin' to change. Like the real thing was happening just out of frame. I could fool myself into laughing out loud at the pain. I can hardly wait for the rest of my life to begin. We're running into circles, following the line. We're running into circles, following the line. If I could ever focus, color in the lines. We're running into circles, running out of time. Out of sight, out of my mind. I'm afraid of heights -- I forget that. We're falling into love. She's swimming in my head, unafraid of death -- Don't forget that. Oh, I won't. (You will.) We're running into circles; following the line. We're running into circles; following the line. If I could ever focus, color in the lines... We're running into circles, running out of time.
5.	Welcome 01:01	lyrics	buy track
"Hello, my great-granddaughter. I'd like to welcome you with lots and lots of love to our family and to the world. I'm going to sing some songs for you that I used to sing to your grandfather Paul, his brother Charles, and his sister Emily. And they enjoyed them. Then, I sang them to your mother, and to her sister Marla and her brother Darren, and all her cousins. I sang to them and told them stories because they brought me joy, and now, you will bring me joy. The first few songs are lullabies."
6.	Summer Camp 06:37	lyrics	buy track
You can fall into faith for a few final weeks. You can follow your process and lose all this sleep for good now. We're stuck to the pages of a book that you read when you were young. It spoke of this too. Son, don't forget– your place is right there in the sky now. Fall down– you couldn't believe if you tried. To find you, sift through this pile of postcards from summer camp, bearing the weight of the world as we separate into the parts that never add up. Now I must recreate who I am. In search of a lighthouse, we've run up aground. And how perfectly fateful– we've never been found, I guess. I've been thinking about all the times you left your own head– never left mine. There's room for you too. Son, don't forget– you're losing your place in the sky now. Fall down– you couldn't believe if you tried. To find you, sing me the songs that you learned back in summer camp, bury the weight of the words as they separate into the parts we could never add up. Now I must recreate who I am. They always told me– no matter how bad it got– you were too stubborn to die. They said we were too stubborn to die.
7.	Gone 04:32		buy track
8.	Outsided 03:36	lyrics	buy track
Outsided without you, and when I'm through, I'm through. Always sleeping without you. Always eating without you. Always driving without you. I'm not thinking about you, but when I do, I do. And when I'm through, I'm through. God fill me with infinite memory.

about

Purchase 12" vinyl LP:
www.earthlibraries.com/catalog/bitter-calm-good-grief-12-lp

Bitter Calm is a band whose beginning is marked by endings.

Following the death of his father, the end of a relationship, and the dissolution of the band Velouria all in a month’s time, Michael Harp’s life was irreversibly shifted and stripped of all familiarity at the age of 19.

The outpouring of music that followed sought to document this new reality, while searching far into his family’s past for answers to questions he never had the opportunity to ask.

Good Grief – Bitter Calm’s debut LP – is as ethereal as it is immediate, telling a story that is so intensely personal that you can't help but find yourself somewhere within it. This is a record that was painfully wrought and meticulously shaped in a years-long process that helped transform Bitter Calm from a hesitant solo recording project into a stunning live band that is quickly amassing a lengthy procession on its never-ending funeral march through the US.

credits

released August 16, 2019

All tracks performed by Michael Harp, Meg Ford, and Alex Guin with the special help of our beloved friends:

Yitzi Peetluk (drums): Tracks 2, 6, and 7
Stephen Wills (drums): Track 3
John Denton (drums): Track 8
Lori Cheng (cello): Tracks 6 and 7
Kaleah McDaniel (viola): Tracks 6 and 7

Tracked and Mixed by Brad Timko
Mastered by Dan Coutant

This the big day.

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