2020 initially promised to be a busy year for Pete Jones, with an album already recorded in January and various gig commitments with Tiger Moth Tales, Red Bazar, Francis Dunnery's It Bites and his usual pub & club gigs. But, Covid-19 put paid to a lot of plans, as it did for most musicians.
‘Still Alive’ is Jones's take on the lockdown situation, and will no doubt appeal to the mixed emotions felt by many of us throughout these difficult times.
"This is not the album I had previously planned to put out, as I’d already recorded a collection of new songs at Fieldgate Studios in South Wales which, for various reasons beyond our control, is not ready for release yet. But like so many other things this year, this new mini album came out of the blue as a response to the times we now find ourselves in. There are different moods in the songs, inspired by my own alternating feelings. From visions of a doomed world and a growing tone of madness, to a desire to see the positives and the spirit of endurance and survival.
Hopefully the message is ultimately an uplifting one and will resonate with others." (Pete)
We're also happy to announce that this release will include a new bonus DVD featuring the Tiger Moth Tales band, filmed live in front of an intimate audience at the fabulous Rockfield Studios in 2018 as part of ‘The Quite Room’ sessions. www.quietroom.tv
Includes unlimited streaming of Still Alive / A Visit To Rockfield
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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lyrics
No lyrics, but here’s a rough description.
The scene opens with a wood made of trees, but you can't see the trees for the wood.
A dolphin, loping along the track, is pursued merrily by a pack of artichokes driving a Ford Steinway.
The smoke clears to reveal a group of keyboards playing each other at tennis. This goes on for some time and really gets quite predictable, but the duck in the deckchair sucking a strawberry doesn't seem to mind.
The scene changes, with alarming dis-consideration to a deserted street, which is quite empty.
(Enter, The Masked Pipes and Drums of the loonies from Lullworth)
"WEEEEE! A doh doh doh dohdly doh, a doh doh doh dohdly doh and a shop shop shop shop shop shop shopity shop. Alright, I'm goin' down the shop!"
(Exit stage left)
(Tom Crentonville), You What?"
(Nigel Prontconk, the band leader) "I'm goin' down the shop!"
(Tom Crentonville) "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
(The Band) "Alright!"
They dance wildly to a jig, played by a wood sprout with a vocoder.
The duck abandons his strawberry and joins in.
Ever they spin, in ever decreasing circles, before finally disappearing up their own sense of pretentiousness.
(St. Francis of a C word) "’Ere! I just want more drones and birds meart!"
The onlooking and hither too un-present crowd cheers, and the dance re-commences.
Shards of light sparkle in the scented breeze, revealing a world of magic and wonder, which fades almost as soon as it appears.
But wait. What in the name of sanity is this?
The mad Mothster enters, riding his reputation in a careless (some might say downright irresponsible) manner.
His innocent, yet satanic laughter echoes through the night, as he sails up the palace steps on mischief bent.
The guards attempt to stop him, but they are as broccoli stems to a determined pig.
In the ensuing preamble, Big Ben clones itself and plays merry hell with Old Father Time, while some nesting cuckoo clocks, startled by the fracas, take to the skies adding their voices to the din.
Peace almost descends, but can't quite bring itself to bother.
Somewhere, a phone rings. The Mothster, now clad in his leopard skin dressing gown, eventually picks it up.
(Mothster) "Allo!"
(The Voice of Everyone) "SHUT UP!"
Things generally limber on, dwindling their way to an unsettled yet definitive halt.
Much too late, the powers that be arrive to put a stop to this whole thing. And as the Mothster drops his clangers, the duck looks on, wondering what all that was about.
Concluding, such is life. And back he goes, strawberry in hand.
supported by 101 fans who also own “Whistle Along”
In the wake of buying the Welcome To The Planet I also went for this older "EP" (clocking in on 70 minutes a rather big big EP...) as a final farewell to a very bright bright star that sadly doesn't shine anymore. Carsten Pieper
supported by 101 fans who also own “Whistle Along”
The album takes off nicely with David Longdon's "The Strangest Times", but then gets into immediate free fall and deeply underwater for the next few tracks, quite unexpectedly. Fortunately, it recovers with Nick D'Virgilio's "Apollo" (hey, this guy CAN write good music, although he hides this ability most of the time) and the remaining three tracks, one of which is another Longdon masterpiece. So in the end the final impression is somewhat in the positive range. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
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
This is a fantastic live statement from Magenta.
The Setlist is awesome. It’s hard to pick a fav.
Christina‘s vocals are outstanding.
The musicianship is top notch.
Go get yourself a treat of Magenta live 🙂 Boris Stalf
