The physical manifestation of the Church of the Lost, Get your CD today with all sorts of extra goodies included in the mail just for you.
Church of the Lost is a concept album recorded entirely in quarantine in the spring of 2020. An agnostic gospel journey through life & death, the search for meaning, love & heartbreak. A soulful nihilism siren song for the forgotten & the lost.
A quick note on listening to a concept album in the modern age:
While all of the parts of this record could stand alone as individual songs, the album is meant to be listened to from beginning to end, preferably in one sitting. And to borrow a quote from the back of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, played at “maximum volume”.
Another brief note on “songs” verses “musical movements”:
There are two ways to separate the music on this record. The first, and most logical for the current marketplace (since the album has been pronounced dead repeatedly) is to look at it like this: A nine track EP featuring an intro, followed by one of four recurring interludes which serve to break up three longer songs. The whole piece ends with a coda that brings us back to the beginning. That is probably complex enough and is the way the album has been presented here.
The second way to listen (and the way I envision it as the writer), is to look at it as a single 24 ½ minute piece of music broken up into in 16 movements. It was written that way, one small piece at a time, with recurring themes musically and thematically meant to fit together and tell one story.
Movements:
I will attempt to describe the motivation and inspiration behind each movement. Please keep in mind that the meaning I glean from this piece is just my opinion. The best any artist can hope for is for their work to be interpreted in ways they've never dreamed of. If I'm lucky, these songs will mean something powerful and personal to you as the listener, that has nothing to do with me.
(Descriptions of each movement in each song description)
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Church of the Lost trilogy - Part 1 (Ghosts of Yesterday's Feast)
The Church of the lost opens at 6am. The neighborhood dive bar, a temple for those who carry the triumphs of yesterday and the cold regrets of today in equal measure. This is the prayer of those who live near enough to the gutter to see the beauty hiding there. This church is about grabbing those moments as they roll away, like condensation on a glass. Finding the magic in one second of time, even as it soaks into a stained beer coaster. A sort of Charles Bukowski vision of Rastafarianism.
The shambling congregation raises their glasses together, with the demons of the past and present, to sing a song for all those who are lost.
Church of the Lost trilogy - Part 2 (Song for the Lost)
This is the song that rises through those open doors, into the dirty street. It is picked up on the wind by a wayfaring stranger, out there on the road, trying to find his way home. A melody for those who have passed on from this life. A requiem for those of us who have loved so deeply we've burned ourselves blind staring at the sun. Those lost loves exist now only in the deep silence of nostalgia, circling us like cold moons.
“Don't wait for me” the stranger sings to those further on the road as they look back. The song we sing is the beacon. A flag in the sand. Our voices rising, we bring those who are lost back to us, even if just for one magic moment. As the condensation rolls down the glass.
Church of the Lost trilogy - Part 3 (Lay Me Down)
A chorus rises in answer to our lament. The voice of those who are gone, singing back to us, not in sorrow, but in a harmony, assuring us that they are okay. Telling us with each line that there's no shame in laying them down, burying the guilt, the regrets and all the things left unsaid. Here they sing back. The mothers, the fathers, the friends and the lovers. Through our throats and lungs they sing. To tell us we can put down their burden, bury it with them. Even if only in our own hearts.
lyrics
Doors swing open
petroleum leather seats
a place to hide from the break of day
for a cold piece of tenderized meat
Shake off the winter
with measured ounce of heat
The pews fill up with vagabonds
looking for a square foot of peace
dead teeth smile at the poltergeists
the ghosts of yesterday's feast
Jukebox screams,
howling out the morning hymn
Something from Exile on Main Street
Something about whiskey and sin
Drowned all my angels
spirits soaking their wings
raise a glass to our demons
searching for a voice to sing
We hold each other tight
singing for the lost...tonight
...and the song goes
I'm not dead, I'm just
Ugly and tired
Last bus to heaven got pulled over
Tags were expired
If you leave it all up to me, I'll find my way
But might not get there tonight
Just need a little fuel for me and my angels
before I pick up the fight
Chorus:
Heeeheeeheee...yeeeeyeeee
Don't, don't wait for me
cause I'm lost
but I can still hear you sing
Too old now
to live fast and die young
Slowing down might kill me
Stay an old man on the run
If you leave it all up to me, I'll find the grave
I might not get the names right
Spill a little wine for me and my angels
Before we step into the light
Lay me down
In the cold cold ground
Make my bed
Lay me down
credits
from Church of the Lost,
released June 25, 2020
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