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Head First Into Solid Ground

by Paul Cathro

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1.
sitting listening to the river in the forest and the rain drips through the roof in the corner i'm devising a plan to make it through the year without spending any money but then out of nowhere on my way to the practice room i saw you and you looked deeply into my eyes and you said "there's just no way i'm afraid" but i spent all my time streaming all of your videos and i spent no time listening to your music but i changed my plan from fixing the roof and now my plan has changed to you i drop off flowers saying "come on baby that wrecking ball represents my life" and when i'm inside i lose all my time on you sitting drinking my morning coffee the rain drips down on new sheet metal i'm devising a plan to make it through next year
2.
Telescope 03:30
you should have seen it coming as you claim to be so bright it was bigger than a sun much more significant than life but she couldn't tell you not in a conscious state of mind how all these years that start so slowly well they end so short of time she's been waiting for you to turn around and face it she tells you she's going to leave this stupid planet makes claim to a galaxy that is twenty two light years from you now she's blowing your brain she cautioned you again threw those years out the window when she took the kids without your name broke her oath of many colours made it all black and white now you stare into the sky from your lonely place you're looking through your telescope and all you see is empty space she's been waiting for you to turn around and face it she tells you she's going to leave this stupid planet makes claim to a galaxy that is twenty two light years from you
3.
Ostracised 03:05
you watched her walk away screaming all of the things she'd wanted to say and you stood with a frustrated look upon your face and you thought to yourself "i think she knows" so you sit inside somewhat alone wait for your mother to call your phone it must have fallen down the side of the couch again but who cares you no longer have any friends you ostracised yourself the day you slept with someone else you asked your friends for a favour but they are her friends too they hadn't picked you for a player but well neither had you so they told her now she knows and you sit inside somewhat alone wait for your mother to call your phone it must have fallen down the side of the couch again but who cares you no longer have any friends you ostracised yourself the day you slept with someone else and it was your longest relationship yet and you stomped it out like a cigarette and the whole town took a deep breath it seems no one will ever forget you ostracised yourself the day you slept with someone else
4.
Mann Europas 04:46
it's eleven hours ago i'm asleep and i don't know they've sent a message to my new home i've borrowed deeply this life's too easy down the rabbit hole you need me to pay my loan but i'm afraid to go home you'll have to catch me if you can because i have become a european man i can't get out i'm in too deep i'm a barely functioning human being i followed a girl to berlin because i loved her so you need me to pay my loan but i'm afraid to go home you'll have to catch me if you can because i have become a european man
5.
Do It Again 04:01
you don't want to go home he doesn't want to either as he watches you shiver at the thought of it so he brings up that one from around the block she'd been sucking on that drink he'd bought and you just have to walk away and leave him alone and we know that you are sick of it but you knew from the last time when he said that he'd cheated but you're calling him a hypocrite and he just loves to contradict himself they said he was fine when he went out he would only talk about it when he saw someone he liked that reminded him of you but sometimes he'd get chatty maybe flirtatious if he was feeling lucky and most of the time they would turn a blind eye and maybe once or twice they caught him around the corner playing catch up with an old friend and we know that you are sick of it but you knew from the last time when he said that he'd cheated but you're calling him a hypocrite and he just loves to contradict himself and this won't be the last time when he says that he's cheated but he will never do it again here comes the night where you show him right you introduce him to phillip his fists clench up like jelly and his balls drop they all turn around and isolate you but we still don't think you're done with him because you knew from the last time when he said that he'd cheated but you're calling them all hypocrites and they just love to contradict themselves and this won't be the last time when he says that he's cheated but he will never do it again she will never do it again no they won't ever do it again
6.
he watches tv while you're wasting away filling his head with such ludicrous ideas but he's alright to stay for until he tells you what he did with the rest he saw one on monday they found her body on tuesday she was fine at the casino on high street she's the mother of some of his children she loves them she will do anything to keep him happy so pale, thin and washed up he took the colour from your face and now you want to get revenge so you'll stay out late on wednesday but he's good enough to stay for so void, nought and empty he's good enough to stay for so drunk, sad and obscene he's good enough to stay for though he makes you feel lonely he's good enough to stay for and you're good enough to stay for he saw one on monday her kids went hungry on tuesday she must have caught the intercity to nelson she's the mother of some of his children she loves them she'll do anything to keep him happy and you will do anything to keep him happy she's always panicking he's gonna find her now..
7.
Solid Ground 03:58
you are digging trying to reach solid ground you want to get it right this time meet a girl you really like this time don't wait around for her to come to you you have never shown certitude 59 years later and you're sure you really hate her so you wait 'til you're born again then you're born again you are digging trying to reach solid ground you want to get it right this time have children that you like this time but she has grown sour by the hour she shows plenty of uncertainty by your daughter's 21st you are long of the earth but then you're born again what's the point in trying and trying and trying when you never get it right each time you should be over traveling through the dirt with your body spread so far apart what's the point in trying and trying and trying when you never get it right each time this colossal life you've tried to lead has thrown you completely but you're still digging trying to reach solid ground
8.
from one human to another all this junk is ruining our lives that baby spider ate it's mother and we all laughed until we had to cry it's been a while since i saw straight went outside or even socialised i analyse the room around me and try not to look you in the eye carnivores or are we not sometimes i wonder what we are and why as i watch you lay down i hope that you wake up because tonight might be the night oh will we ever speak again and then the morning rolls round and you flicker your eyelids and you ladadadidum oh i think i might have drugged myself dumb
9.
hey what long locks of hair and they've been dreading since your birth you skate around all day and all you think about is her but when you're back down to earth and your flat is a mess you know that life is just fine but then your stereo broke and that zeppelin cd got stuck inside you should have been born in 1974 because your taste is so obscure and modern music has ruined your life you emailed all your songs to try and get with e.m.i but that girl you thought was wrong well it turns out she was right when she said that your songs were way behind the times and your hair is a disgrace and your stereo broke but that frampton cd just shows you have no taste you should have been born in 1974 because your taste is so obscure and modern music has ruined your life
10.
Back To Life 05:34
we had a night out together once again and you drank yourself to oblivion you thought that you were the star of it but we swept our remarks under the carpet when he came to he had no memory of you oh he was gone he had a girl that liked his messy hair and she said "who's that tipsy hippie over there?" they pull him down without blinking an eye and tell her to stay away from that guy when he came to he had no memory of you oh he was gone you drove your car off a cliff and you died but then we brought you back to life you flew your plane into a mountainside but then we brought you back to life you went headfirst down the hydroslide but then we brought you back to life

about

written by Paul Cathro and band

Alex Vaatstra - Violin
Paul Mclennan-Kissel - Drums
Theodore Francis - Bass
Henry Francis - Guitar
Paul Cathro - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion
and
Louis Smith - Percussion, Pronoun Consultant

recorded by David Craig and Louis Smith at Van Shark Shed Studios on July 27th-28th 2014
overdubs recorded by Paul Cathro, Theodore Francis
and Chris Miller at Liberty Growers in Katikati
mixed by Andrew Straight
mastered by Jonathan Pearce
Produced by Louis Smith & Paul Cathro
with David Craig, Andrew Straight & The Band

Artwork by Sam Caldwell

Enormous gratitude is extended to Independent Records for devoting time and energy to no useful purpose, to Chantal for everything and more, to Bugs and Jess for the space and to the whole snarling pack of musicians and collaborators who, against their better judgement, have allowed this music to happen.


Long, long ago (in 2014) in a galaxy very near at hand (Ravensbourne, Dunedin, New Zealand) Paul Cathro, frontman of alternative psych-pop troubadours Alizarin Lizard, co-frontman of melodic shite-pop upstarts Fat Children and bassist for thoughtful indie-pop darlings Ha The Unclear was preparing to leave Dunedin for the brighter, more terrifying shores of Auckland. Actually 'preparing' might not be the right word.

Not long before the aforementioned northward move was decided upon The Cathro had assembled around him a gaggle of Dunedin's finest musicians
as a performance band, and, as one does, had junked most of his previous material in favour of new songs and arrangements these luminaries had cooked up between them.
Before leaving, these songs must be etched on the school-desk of posterity. Only just before leaving.

So it was that, in the 48 hours prior to his flying north never (frequently) to return, Paul Cathro (guitar, vocals), Theo Francis (bass), Henry Francis (guitar), PMK (drums), Alex Vaatstra (violin), Louis Smith (pronouns) and David Craig (recording engineer, sound wizard, common sense) assembled to carefully and lovingly commit these precious songs to the digital record (and in no way to unceremoniously bash them out at breakneck pace pausing only to congratulate themselves on it somehow all still sounding fine).
[was that where the full stop was meant to go? ah there but for the grace of giving a toss]

The location for these frantic sessions was provided by the fabulous Chantal Van Schaik, the gear by the fabulous David Craig and the ability by lord alone knows..
It was all so fast and so crammed together that not a great amount of actual memory survives from the.. oh let's treat ourselves and say 'ordeal', so alas
description of the recording itself is necessarily brief:

They started with drums and bass, as musicians are wont to do, and overlaid all manner of essential and discarded guitar and vocal tracks, alcohol was burnt as fuel, an incredible fry-up was made, lyrics were written out longhand five times before they figured out the original version had been fine except for just one single bloody word..
but perhaps the most sensible and carefully thought out part of the process was starting tracking the violin at five in the morning, eyes the widest that exhaustion-narrowed eyes can be, ears fuller than a teacup with a shark in it.. at the time it all sounded bloody incredible.
You know what, I still think it does.

So there it was, we had a record, perhaps one of the best any of us had worked on. Shouldn't take too long to .. and to.. and.. but..
overdubs, lost bits, cities moved, more overdubs, mixing, remixing, mastering, remastering.. you know how it is..or, if you don't, that's how it is

but here we are, two years later, with a great record, cool cover art by Sam Caldwell, no real idea how to release it to any of our advantage
but a burning desire to get it heard. Give it a spin, give it a like, give it a share, give it a dollar.. do whatever it is people do down the other end of the headphones.
- Louis Smith, June 2016

credits

released November 22, 2016

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Paul Cathro Auckland, New Zealand

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