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Last Days of Magic

by North by North

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Lute FP
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Lute FP Unusual alternative garage pop rock. A bit bluesy, a bit psychedelic; very groovy, very good songwriting, lots of heart. Reminds me a bit of early Portugal.the Man, one of my favorites in the pop rock genre.
Igor Podolsky
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Igor Podolsky An amazing followup from North by North. The "purple haze" vinyl is absolutely beautiful and plays like a dream, more great riffs on top of a surfy guitar blend with powerful vocals. Do yourself a favor and pick the album up! better yet go see them live, they put on a killer set Favorite track: Mr. Bedlam.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Pressed on durable 160 gram black vinyl. White dust sleeve w/ black & white center label.

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Last Days of Magic via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
They was glowin' in the night. Like an ember was loose from the devil's firelight. Shadows return to their feet. The trio's dying, but not from the heat. And all them canyon walls; a palisade. A mortuary in the shade. Bidding the traveler to rest. Take a drink of his last dying breath. Siren was first. Her hair shone, was gilded with gold. Hoodlum and savant were riding the flanks, Two specters of old. And on the city below, The desert alight. The thirst they had known, It was quelled at the sight. The riders approaching, The city is set to ignite.
2.
Mama Gold 04:26
Chilled glass, warm thighs Cocaine shadows round the eyes And as we cavort around in the garden of jewels We take them from the necks of debutantes and fools And Mr. Bedlam conducting quite a tense refrain The Pistol craves a diamond symphony And if you're leaving dear She says it with a two-carat smile Your charity won't be refused So open all your hearts and pocket-books wide Oh and do tread lightly babes, for if you wish to test what you've been told Just know that your bodies will break, under the spell of Mama Gold Blinded by the blade, the glitterati frowned and froze, The men then help themselves to coffers deep, beneath the candelabra's glow And if you try your luck, a fool would only be so bold For greed will never die, and neither will she... Mama Gold Black heart, cold eyes Pistol lusting for their cries In the night, the organ churns a gothic lullaby We'll do a favor, he crudely speaks We'll take the dough and there's no need to grieve And Mama, she takes a bow and makes to leave A gallant had to go and make a scene You're never leaving here, He says it as he goes to bar the door I won't let my dignity go and walk across the Tuscan marble floor Now if you leave quietly, Beretta shaking loosely in his hands Surrender your plunder and go, and you won't have to test this man Now, my dear, please move aside We have no souls, we lived, we died. He fired once into her silken thigh, No blood. No Pain. She said, "Alright." Wave of her palm and, the cold metal feeling Wells up, it started in his toes And seeing his new body, he cries out, "NO!" before he turns to gold And say now, my dear honey, I think you'd serve better, a monument of old And to you others and your money, I hope you're happy, you lived through Mama Gold
3.
Pistoletta 03:08
Sleepy town, the magic came in '95. Give me a little sugar dear, he's talking with his bloodshot eyes. Breaking the gaze she thought she knew, a toy cap gun on the floor. Seeing that silver barrel gleaming bright against the green shag carpet floor. Picking it up and spinning around, though a hollow threat, she knew. But the boy just cracked a smile. He was pushing through. Where the pop should have been was the biggest baddest boom. Bang bang, in the neon lights She's feeling hot and heavy when the hammer strikes With the looks to kill, and a steady hand Pistoletta heeds no man Bang bang, they hit the light But she's a quick draw kitty on the prowl tonight From the sleezy clubs to the promenade Pistoletta comes out to play Fled the scene. The girl had fire in her eyes. She's running past the county line. She commandeered her boyfriend's motorbike. The mountain trees were creeping in under the lone fluorescent light.. A hulking man approaching her from out his cab with a dead look in his eyes. His wicked hands around her neck but she felt both sure and true. Her little brother's daisy gun had followed too. Where the pop should have been was the biggest baddest boom. Bang bang, in the neon lights She's feeling hot and heavy when the hammer strikes With the looks to kill, and a steady hand Pistoletta heeds no man Bang bang, they hit the light But she's a quick draw kitty on the prowl tonight From the sleezy clubs to the promenade Pistoletta comes out to play
4.
Mr. Bedlam 03:29
Sunday. Train it came a rollin' through the crescent city yard. Girl was hoppin' on a freighter in the deep, hot, foggy dark. Always looking for a place where she could lay that head at night. As the neon haze left her far behind. Maybe a fever had struck in the night. The engine stops now. The Earth was a twinkling stage. Creature was sitting across from his fire. Oh the vulture was cooking up his prey. Sweetest child, you look just like you woke up from your funeral. This old bird needs a creole chick like you. In the night your dreaming eyes can break the ones around you. The same curse has afflicted me all my life... Cause bedlam's on my mind. Wide eyes, Tremble in her voice as she gathers up her things. Grinning, Feathers turn to flesh and his eyes did fade to green. Bedlam, now a regal gent. Silver hair and crimson tweed. He said darlin' I got the things you need. Faustian covenant made in the dark. Dreary eyes now, they witness quite a sight.. Flick of the wrist, the old carriage approached. Violet curtains and a kerosene light. Sweetest child, you look just like you woke up from your funeral. This old bird needs a creole chick like you. Thought you was born under the worst kinda sign. But girl the dream that afflicts you is a blessing divine. So take a step in the fire, leave the shadows for good... yes it's time. Cause Bedlam's on your mind. Last days of magic are dim. When the scavenger's singing the hymn. So you got to cling to the crack in the ship. Cause the hurricane's pulling us in.
5.
Dastardly 02:15
Crimson trickles down Old Mare creek. Taught the Johnson boy he wasn't ever to speak. Found a stone with gold in it's veins. But no mortal hands were to claim. Something in the trees. Haunted summer breeze swirling in the air. The forest breathes from the deep ravine. Where them four boys had found the curse breaching from the Earth. Stoking up the fires of dastardly men. The secret's never stay dead. Sneakers made a miniature home. Woods are built upon the twigs and the bones. Years, they come and go like the breeze. Brothers traded blood for their greed. Something in between fear and jealousy swirling in the air. The furnace breathes. Held up to the heat. So them three boys had pushed the curse back into the Earth. Stoking up the fires of dastardly men. Something a boy don't forget.
6.
Finger on his belt, she's wearing perfume and nothing else. Sizing them up, pageantry in pastel. Deep within the woods a couple miles from the club. The Old Mare ravine, ghastly light does erupt. Curse raised his bones, the lost boy came home. Held within his clutches, the infernal stone. Crashing through the doorway with a sinister hand. The Earth it kept him warm but spit his body back to the land. Wolves cry like children. Let 'em howl, let 'em moan The stone was too sour... The damage is done. Dirt upon his face. Revenge was percolating on the brain. For fifteen-odd years in the ground he had stayed. Boys who sealed his tomb had grown, themselves, quite untamed. The blood that was spilled, it must now be replaced. Curse raised his bones, the lost boy came home. Held within his clutches, the infernal stone. Crashing through the doorway with a sinister hand. The Earth it kept him warm but spit his body back to the land. Wolves, they fight like children. Let 'em howl, let 'em moan The stone was too sour... The damage is done.
7.
Breathing fast. The jangle as the chain link snaps. Came so far. No time to stop. Enchanting, yet macabre. The tunnel faintly glows. A story every child knows. The locket sealed by fingers gossamer, Would usher he and her. Grinning cave before them, so far from the mundane. Above the town where men conceal the little intrigue in their veins. Under the humming lights of the five and dime, Where she grew up all her life. She felt the power in his eyes. He's not afraid to let it shine. So bow down. The whispers start to roar. The locket falls onto the ground. A burst of flame erupts from the powers held deep in its core. Shaking, the clock was stopped for good. Marked to stay eternal, they're forever as babes in the wood. Watching him. The whispering was cold and grim. The cavern sealed by rock and bone. No place to call their own... Descending cautiously, the sliver of a voice speaks. "On the day you find mortality... the last days of magic will be." Moon paled against the lights. The colors were sublime. Bathing across the lovers' eyes. They drink the rain and mountain wine. And though the days they were keeping, The locket still beating. A clock of strange design. A hundred tiny moving hands and every one slowing in time. So bow down. The whispers start to roar. The locket falls onto the ground. A burst of flame erupts from the powers held deep in its core. Shaking, the clock was stopped for good. Marked to stay eternal, they're forever as babes in the wood.
8.
Red sun sinking in the valley tonight, o'er the city of neon haze. Rolling up the mountain in the tangerine light is a perfidious cavalcade. Perched upon the carriage is a driver deceased, oh disciples falling behind. Whip cracks on a skeletal steed and it rises up into the night. Cunning creature, the leader presides. Priest of the deadly, the mortals beguiled. The lamplight through violet curtains she's sleeping behind... It reveals the silhouette of a creature biding his time. Deep in the valley of fluorescent sin, oh a thug finds his lady gone. something of a conduit for magic within, he's gonna find where they're traveling on. Straight six revving like a howl in the night, roaring up from the twilight hills. Cigarette was burning, curling whispers of white. Yeah his pistol's got time to kill. Brakes be damned, the killer became. Blood on the windshield and blood on his blade. His heart it beats oom pa pa oom pa pa dealing such pain. The man steps out his cab, his look as cool as the grave. Tie that binds the chosen few, a pact most serpentine. Where god-fearing men would just walk to their graves. Well we burn like kerosene.
9.
Fever Bells 01:32
Fever bells ringing in her head. The Dreaming Queen is very much asleep. Let us speak In voices like the raindrops dripping down from silent weather-vanes But still a voice rings out the same... Wake despite the servant's mind, she walks in sleep, her word divine. She wears a crown of hollyhocks and bower vines. Oh yet, far away, the dreaming land, the trio holds her light. Waking people never find the girl who lives inside her mind.
10.
Running faster, the soul residing in the dusky lines. The shadow-play reveals a small tattoo. A serpent glowing in the pale moonlight. Running faster, his rifle tied up on a leather strap. The denim jacket, dirty at the seams, the stitching on it said his name was Mack. Darling he knows the two of you are one and the same. The denizens abound, witnessing a deadly game. Cut through a path, the circle in the skeletal trees. A vessel to the man. A finale to the beast. Place the candles round my dear, speak the words and purge your fear. Evil's on the trail and hot to burn the witches for the girl he wants. A mind of jealousy with dreadful eyes, he'll never see the warning signs. Mack had cut a good man down. He never knew he was a afraid to die. Spitting venom, the hollow promise of a man denied. A locomotive on a deadly path, his engine running on a fifth of rye. Girl was panting, she knew the madness had to end tonight. Unnaturally shouting out "HEY HEY!" A voice that rumbled through the flat-leaf pine.
11.
Shaking water soaking ever deeper to the bone Taking off his leather jacket eyeing the family home Hamilton was a cunning son and he planned a sweeping coup Say what you will, but nobody is killing it quite the way she do Entering the picture room, calling out her name Eyes they come to rest upon, her daddy's sterling blade Upon the wedding day all of his dreams they would come true He's taking the girl for all she's worth and running when he get's through Thunder began to howl Darling can you hear your man calling now? Darkness in this empty house The fire is smoldering out Girl, though timid as you'll find, Sure enough her shadow had a different mind, When the spirit knew what he had come to take her shadow took delight in making him pay She don't believe in what he's telling her But there never was a time without the family curse And in the night the specter haunts the family home A creature with the evil streak, you need to break a few bones send the pain home by breaking some bones Shadow fingers turn the key, sealed within these halls, Shattered glass and bloodied eye, the saber in his paws The lady of the house she fancied ornamental trees Now something wicked watches him from underneath the leaves. Lightning did crackle loud Darling can you hear your man falling down? Darkness in this empty house The fire is smoldering out Girl, though timid as you'll find, Sure enough her shadow had a different mind, When the spirit knew what he had come to take her shadow took delight in making him pay She don't believe in what he's telling her But there never was a time without the family curse And in the night the specter haunts the family home A creature with the evil streak, you need to break a few bones send the pain home by breaking some bones
12.
Cool cat, king of the pack. Cigarette was turning to ash in the tray, like his soul, it was burning away. Quick look at his hair in the chrome, Fresh grease through a dirty comb. He was cold to the touch, she was bad to the bone. Silver Tooth and Shadowplay, ages old, would serenade. As Mama said, the fire was burning bright, The hour has come to pass, it's time to die. Driving like a man insane. Lightning running through his veins. While just a boy, he'd long forgot his name. Lady in a silver dress. She walked around like a baroness. The girl would take it all and nothing less. Racing fast with his baby beside. Saw the devil on a Saturday night. Now the power within resides. The Silver Tooth was glowing bright. Little Nina was a girl at the time. Growing up with a sinister mind. In a silk silhouette of a dress, that was it. Found a friend in the darkest of times. The lost boy, who could stop on a dime. They could find a better life.
13.
Dark Star 02:57
Passing along by the gold city lights. A girl at the edge of 19. Black of the night clashed upon her facade. A vision in tangerine. Her only true friend was an old set of tires. The night that she christened the car Was the same that she left her old life far behind. The Tangerine Kid and Dark Star. Looking out a window through the dust and the debris. Fires dying out among the stones. Bid a little farwell and shift it into gear, and drive into the den of the wolf. Chasing the unknown, the wilderness where we will belong. Bid a little farwell and shift it into gear, and drive into the den of the wolf. They ride on the edge, but dark star is ready for the plunge. Tonight she won't race but later would make A pilgrimage unto the sea. Where the air feels electric. The power to spark both fear and ecstasy. The stones they were rising from the edge of the Earth. A place where a spirits reside. The echoes of engines on a clear desert night. A high octane lullaby.
14.
Quick Rick 03:56
Under the pale moon, the turning of the key. The radio's gentle glow lighting up her body. The red upon her lips, portending wrath upon them dirty little boys. Here she c-c-come. She's alright. And in the desert, the boys refused to show. Two haunting lights, grinning bright through the spire stones. Boldly met on the moonlight plane, A black wager was in the darkness made. Said darlin' what you think you know? Well you know we're not alone. Cold hands grasp the wheel and hold on tight. But she knows the creatures rule the night. So go, you might not make it home. But you know that you were born to run. Darlin' don't let your title go. Specter is calling you to roll the dice in the devil's own home. Little filly is pushing to the limit around the pass of the spire stone. Baby don't stop, I know you won't. The people found her, slumping upon the seat. The sharpened tips of her nails painted tangerine. And with a crooked smile, she said, "It's all been fun..." Stiletto on the clutch, Well here she c-c-come The kid was shaking, and Ricky closed the gap. The flickering of the needle upon the dash. Misjudging on the second turn, the crown was lost and it could not return. Oh darling what you think you know? Well you know we're not alone.
15.
16.
Carriage carries far from home. Queen dreaming up the perfect storm. Wrapped up in a silk dress with motives dark and cruel. Thunder is rumbling underneath their boots. And it's a golden and violent day where devils and scavengers play. The animals picking their teeth in the dark, Magic is dying today. Out in the desert the well was run dry. Engine was singing a high octane lullaby. Oh the whispering wind, breathing heaviest sound. The golden, the pistol, the creatures were shutting it down. Heroes creeping on their scene. Dark Star, The Babes and Tangerine. Riding up the backside, shadow and his host. The last days of magic were so very close.
17.
Open Door 02:14
Midnight mass as the sun went to bed. Red like a summer jewel. Cactus priest and his choir of wolves were praying right up to the moon, Be my open door tonight. Battle ground was quiet, serene. The queen was left in her bed. Eyelids they flutter as she knew what it meant. The dream was all she had left. Be my open door tonight.

credits

released October 14, 2016

Nate Girard - Vocals/Guitar
Kendra Blank - Bass/Keys

Drums on all tracks - Dylan Andrews
Cello on tracks 5 & 15 - Rachel Schuldt
Trumpet on tracks 1, 2, 4 & 16 - Michael Jones

All songs written & performed by North by North (ASCAP)
© 2016 Double Hex Records - All Rights Reserved

Engineered and Mixed by Don Bates
Produced by Don Bates & North by North

Tracking at Minbal Studios, Chicago IL
Mastered at Yes Master, Nashville TN
Artwork and design by Nate Girard

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