Mission Statement aka “The Collage”: If you’ve ever played the game Exquisite Corpse, you’re half way to how this song and group done got made. The initial challenge, before anyone had even committed to being a Spine Reader, was to cycle thru short, multi genred compositions and tether them together in the tradition of a “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” or a “Paranoid Android.” Like, “I’m going to the picnic and I’m bringing a South African polyrhythmic chant section, a 90’s eurotrash piece, oh Todd just taught a unit on Enka music in his class so we’d better add some of that, and, and, and, and...” When we finally unfolded the picture and started playing the whole composition start to finish, we all liked what laid out before us enough to officially start a band together. Personally, it satisfied my attention deficit (or perhaps inspiration surplus) in ways no previous musical ensemble I’d participated in could. So naturally, we had to write another one...
lyrics
get hung my guardian
on the death movie drugs
they copycat their young
my smaller self jumps up
full from praying to your womb, woman
I’m November sick
that’s some narcissistic talk x4
kids kept in cages
audit their wages
it’s on the front page
quarreling ponies shoot Dilaudid
shout out to the deaf
birthday girls hold their breath
passed out on the floor
left in the morgue waiting room
fake tears for cameras
baby bottle of Viagra
white suits on crusade
out to spay the last mermaid
sticks beat seagulls
in the game of stealing trust
discovering magic
with the help of dead Stardust
time goes slow
scream marvel slow
crack 13 locks on a dead miners heart instructions read drag two back to justice
by their throats
and leave out door six
what sets the killer off on a blood fuck reveal like a blank check fed to the dead zodiac
trapped in a small Monday
Guà wò de jiānhùrén guānyú siwang dionying de dupin
A no-people crew dig their own Graves middle powered mutants still got to get paid Alice follows Floyd into the selfish room
the floorboards are stripped
by the light of the moon
ghost in flight pop Jackfrost thoughts
the USB blade wipes the accent clean
adult wig people all cease their hammer talk
while the family cabin killer’s bumpin everybody off
trapped in a small Monday
The money man hands me a faulty key
my god his fingers dissect memories
Rhymin and stealin and stealin and rhymin the snowman apocalypse nervously turns English red
disapproved of everything he said
highway and the woman
hope in the injuries
Eye witness tapes carjacking
stop moving Frank
inside the department Mendoza picture texts the girl
scars from movies
still drive you five dreams deep
if these keys are found by killers
shrink into my wife
keep your motives on silent
in the jigsaw introduction
credits
from Recorded Instruments,
released January 1, 2020
Sean Meyer: Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, manual FX pedals, keyboards, sampler, percussion.
Todd Smith: Electric guitars, acoustic guitars, banjo, zither, vocals, keyboard.
supported by 7 fans who also own “Mission Statement”
Mind and heart expanding avant-prog that's creatively off the charts but ultra catchy as well. The musicianship is excellent but never overshadows the joy it sounds like everyone had while creating this awesome album. Can't wait for Part 2! Thomas Gelfer
supported by 6 fans who also own “Mission Statement”
No one does music quite like Camille and Xavier do. I see their music as being akin to soundtracks for unfilmed movies. In this instance it is a movie about explorers of mountainous terrain, perhaps the terrain of our lives. Merci pour cette musique si intrigante. :-) sumbuk
supported by 6 fans who also own “Mission Statement”
The sibling in spirit to Zopp's Dominion, at least from my point of view: It, too, has been on the wishlist far too long and I'm more than glad that I finally bought this. And also a cornucopia of good things prog, past and present!
Strictly musically speaking this is a little harder hitting affair than Dominion, though. Carsten Pieper
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
Each zodiac sign gets a theme song on Ben Katzman's latest record, featuring members of Illuminati Hotties, Potty Mouth, and Colleen Green. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 11, 2021
Sustained by seismic psych riffs, proggy shifts, and vivid sci-fi storytelling, these Milwaukee cosmonauts command respect. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 29, 2023