We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Plumb Drastic

by Al Grantham

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 CAD  or more

     

1.
The sweeping plains of elsewhere Is where we do our dreaming Walking through the fields With a basket full of fleeting Feelings picked from all these different places Out of season Take them to the plains of elsewhere The naughty boys and girls come To find a place of resting Far from smiling faces That belie something depressing They climb the trees To slip away from each and every moment Take them to the plains of elsewhere Far far away To another place Okay They climb the trees To slip away from each and every moment Take them to the plains of elsewhere I swear Elsewhere
2.
I want to be lost in a desert Surrounded by nothing at all It can’t be much worse than this island In place of the old music hall I work in an abandoned building Where the weeds reach the window ledge And the sun bailed for a brighter future And the colour of the brick has left And inside is a busted piano With pedals that stick to the floor But you can still hear the decaying keynotes From a hundred years before Listen (to be a ghost) Meet me At the old music hall Listen (to be a ghost) There is Something other than you (to be a ghost) It’s not up in the sky Or in an afterlife (it’s me the ghost) It’s here alive Right in front of you (to be a ghost) Listen listen listen To your excuse And that’s how she goes It takes some living To be a ghost The rain begged Like yesterday's patience For the flowers in the dew to grow I wish that my soul was contagious Like a kitten or a TV show (nope) Now I’ve made friends With the creaky floorboards And I sit around painting their nails Or visit the snakes in the garden To compare all our favourite scales Listen (to be a ghost) Meet me At the old music hall Listen (to be a ghost) There is Something other than you (to be a ghost) It’s not up in the sky Or in an afterlife (it’s me the ghost) It’s here alive Right in front of you (to be a ghost) Listen listen listen To your excuse And that’s how she goes It takes some living To be a ghost
3.
Dopamine smile Add another to the pile ‘Cause we burn Like the third degree But I only fell in love with you ‘Cause you fell in love with me Tell me it’s time for a nap Or bring me some plastic wrap ‘Cause my legs are like satisfied children They won’t let me get through to them Or stand still Yer classic fat kid's At an intersection Near a strip mall With a dairy drag queen And he only fell in love with you ‘Cause you fell in love with me Show me some more magic tricks Pick a card do a flip ‘Cause my eyeballs Are cartwheelin’ bastards That just long to gaze in your pastures Or roll away Show me your privatest parts Open up from the start ‘Cause my heart is a tree in a forest That falls every time you ignore it Do you hear? Afternoon trains Passing uniform graves Off the coast of some picturesque sea I only fell in love with you ‘Cause you fell in love with I only fell in love with you ‘Cause you fell in love with me But I swear that we burn to the third degree
4.
Someone 04:48
Every little street contains a tune To define you for a time then forget soon The rodeo in Brantford takes me back I never should have left for the race track Now all my personal records are in their sleeves I deactivated who I thought was me And with my special heavy memory bags I walked a ways away with heavy legs Have a heart but don’t fall apart It’s cool that Jesus nailed his art But now everybody wants to be a someone That ain’t you and that ain’t me We’re more than what we could have been Move Along Cuz there’s nothing left to see here The son was shining at the stars With a light that shone all thoughtful brash bizarre I looked both ways then walked backwards again And bumped into my least popular friend He told me what she told us from the start The loneliest of hunters is the heart And in your endless quest to keep it real The only real thing is how you feel Have a heart but don’t fall apart You'll land inside a shopping cart Everybody wants to be a someone That ain’t you and that ain’t me We’re more than what we could have been Move along Cuz there’s nothing left to see here
5.
One day I’ll leave the country And move deep into the country I need no towering tree Just the ground beneath my feet I found my missing lotus She was growing wild beside the road It was a road that had no patrol Those have a way of winding down We planted a little garden And it grew forevermore Ain’t it strange how unlike before We can finally tend away And if you Would just stop And leave us to be What we dream us to be Don’t talk alarm clock And if you Would knock it off And leave us to be What we dream us to be Don’t talk alarm clock You’re all talk Alarm clock
6.
He said he used the map and traveled across The whole main area Saw once flat valleys turn to open worlds Hit all invisible walls Spend midnight at the mall Never needed guidance Nothing seemed too tough But he’s never found a princess And his time is almost up Every year a record’s broke And the team goes all the way Man creates himself then he picks a side And glory follows through He’ll tell you all about it too With a burst of speed And the vigor of a flashing star But he’s never found a princess Though he’s a hero at guitar He’s never found a princess Though he can nail ‘em from afar Up down left right Right right down Why oh why oh why Down down down down Down down down down Why be down Right Now when expectations run too high Things sometimes get delayed It doesn’t matter if you’re a stalker or a duke Your development stands still You can’t increase your strength nor will Your character is hurt You don’t feel content And you’ll never find a princess Though you may find a hundred percent Yes the final stage of stunted growth Is the man that can’t connect Too sensitive to settle on his aims You can see it all around His solution’s not be found He’s a slave to a system of his own control And he’ll never find a princess With good calibre of soul If he’s to find a princess And his hearts are always full He’ll never find a princess If he doesn’t pause with doubt He’ll never find a princess And his time is running out
7.
Some folks are married to an idea Some folks are tied to a cause Some folks just like to get cockeyed Under the blinding moonlight Maybe get some fries? Laker lager Got anything else? Maker a Laker The beer store's open On a Monday night for Jim And he wants to get his buzz on Then twenty paces down the road Is where he’ll go To see Doogy Who’s gaming with no pants on Maker a Laker Go on and take her Lonely nights can be alright Maker a Laker No need to hate her Nothing’s ever quite as right as wrong Has been right before Stay a little more I’ve been a keener When it comes to living large And when it comes to wasting time But in my travels with the wind I’ve never stopped moving And I’ve met some lovely chimes Maker a Laker Go on and take her Lonely nights can be alright Maker a Laker No need to hate her Nothing’s ever quite as right as wrong Has been right before Stay a little more Bottom’s up I’ve been a miner For some sacred heart of gold And I’m unemployed again But for better or for worse I’ll stay this course And hope my returns Equal a small fortune Maker a Laker Go on a take her Lonely nights can be alright Maker a Laker No need to hate her Because nothing Is ever As right As wrong’s been before Stay a little more Passed out on the floor
8.
Cotton spun horses out of old Napoli Streets of sangria and cheap pino gris Then bro yo bro Rosaries hangin’ from a sinner again Gucci sunglasses with a satanic tan She says bro yo bro Chain-smoking babies Baby-faced wannabes Comparing themselves To the powers that be Maybe tonight we’ll see Drake eat for free On the College strip Flies in the basement With the thawing squid Upstairs the sharks are all Circling the kids They say bro so cute bro Vietnamese gamblers flipping Bland pizza pies I’m drinking the bar Trying to turn a blurred eye But oh bro oh bro Corona buckets of Catholic guilt Tribal tattoos on the fancifully built Maybe tonight we’ll see Drake rep the six On the College strip These standards of beauty Just aren’t adding up Who got the shiniest stuff? Where is my baby? Am I losing touch? Should I just loosen up? Downtown Kingston Is where she must be That’s what I’ve always believed Where is my baby Am I losing touch Should I just make her up? There’s a vacancy Every time of year round here Rosecourt motel And on a letter left Inside a bag of rez cigarettes Hope you’re swell I’m living in hell Somewhere strange beyond well And rested It’s a predilection For having no desire or place Rosecourt motel You can dial a bottle Or order up some Sasha Grey But you can’t fool the past And you won’t get it back Miles away from last Chances OMG bro it’s a daydream again And nobody knows where my baby has been Maybe tonight her and Drake took a spin On the College strip But all that I want is tomorrow To bring me some other trip
9.
The sun is looking our way The breeze is picking up steam Your head is stapled to mine And right now things are pretty alright There’s nothing that I want There’s nothing that I need Nothing fits perfectly And right now things are pretty alright Right now things are pretty alright Fires die And the fire died Now we’re middle-aged in a mall babe And it’s not even a half-decent mall oh no In fact it’s only redeemable quality is that the attached LCBO has affordable sized bottles of Knob Creek special select bourbon whiskey When I met you I was up on stage Oh yeah how I held your gaze Yeah yeah guess you held mine And right then things were pretty alright Or how about that afternoon I was practicing my porno tune You gave a smile as you left That made me feel like Myra Hess Dirty dirty Myra Hess Fires die And the fire has now died So this is a campfire song babe And we are the marshmallows now hey hey In the sense that it takes repeated penetrations of a various nature into our soft gooey centres before we’re willing to submerge ourselves into the flames of submissive obedience and personal sacrifice behind mutual veils of strained compatibility Jack and Jill are throwing a do Guess we’re going because we have to You’ll talk to Jill And I’ll talk to Jack And then we’ll talk behind their backs And then things will be pretty alright Fires die But we could set the neighborhood alight babe A potluck past the cemetery gates hey hey Btw I’ve now lost any semblance of ordered intellectual terrain with which to align a set of loose mental wheels with oh baby baby dig the premise of a life with little to no effective free will and touch me touch me if your internal faculties order you to tonight and let’s expedite procreation make a childish demonstration or we could just go buy some of those squares you like and eat them on the couch
10.
Caught 03:46
These are the days I am a smoker So I live life on trial Or am I just in denial In a freezing cold October You whisked me blissfully astray And could you pass the ashtray All smokey sensations I felt Were discarded in your fountain of change You found me a freshwater well Where the scenery's never the same All ashes left over Were put into your course They became lessons not remorse All filtered emotion Left me seeking release You are breathtaking peace In ways I can’t articulate I was struggling Just gasping for air You found me an epic escape And I don’t have to go anywhere One two three four five smokes Bumping shoulders trading smirks They make it better They make it worse Prince Edward County has called She’s made a movement for our return When we’re there We are free of a care Never sick with fatigue or concern And nicotine briskly swam through my veins You showed me my guilt’s All for naught You can’t go without ever Getting caught
11.
Old misfortune Adorned in dirty sweats Sits statuesque Eats a meal at the appeal Of a shelter’s steps Rises slowly knowing wholly That a plate of cold chow mein Isn’t quite the sugar cane A girl expected In the market We’re a thousand aisles away To find the deal Sorely stuck in line For the fine print to reveal Just exactly what we owe Before we’re free to take What we need No we don’t need a receipt Greetings from Little Saigon Where we’ve never seen the dawn Where Saigons will be Saigons Greetings from Little Saigon Where nightmares come And nightmares go But dreams may last forever So put your empty hand in mine Let’s deaf drunk stumble Down the storyline Take the stage and play it proud It’s only church if it’s fuckin loud Aye If you get lost on your way home Greetings from little saigon Busted English Broken English from the gullets of the drunks By the gutters where the ships they sailed have now sunk It’s a deathly sort of living For these lights that hang too low Where’s the hope If you hide what you know Now settle up It’s last call at the Blue Moon Bleed to the park And in the dark with all the marks That inform your heart You’ll come crashing through a sadness That’s been here since long before you Now is time for your new debut Greetings from Little Saigon Where we’ve never seen the dawn Where Saigons will be Saigons Greetings from Little Saigon Where nightmares come And nightmares go But dreams may last forever So put your stupid hand in mine Let’s deaf drunk stumble Through the chorus line Take the stage and play it proud It’s only church if it’s fuckin loud Aye If you get lost on your way home Here’s your home Greetings from Little Saigon
12.
Stay Weird 03:21
Make love to a garden spade Then strip search the sky ‘Cause Larry loves Larissa They see eye to glass eye Found peace in an arrangement Of derangement at last But if you have to ask You have been miscast The lovebirds fled the park bench And the empties prevailed Until Asia came collecting Put their trash up for sale Found peace in an arrangement Of derangement at last But if you have to ask You have been miscast So if you’re sinkin’ in a technicolour livin’ Let this lesson of confessin’ ring through There ain’t no power to empower all the cowards Like the power of a coward in you They may stare and they may glare But your despair is just a ripple In an ocean of true Come on Lar’ don’t hang your head You’ll be messin’ up the point of view Stay weird Larry met Wesley Under dungeon dim lights And after cleaning the contraption They bled by candlelight Found peace in an arrangement Of derangement at last But if you have to ask You have been miscast Now the world is big and scary For the flies caught in the web Who say Kubrick shot the moon land And those planes were flown by feds And all recorded history Was born inside a mind At least that’s what Wesley told me When they were getting high And still the hustle and the bustle Has been bustin’ the balls of the queerest at heart While droppin’ roses and promotions at the feet Of all those dull enough to act their parts The joke is thin it’s always been but it’s on them Laughed Larissa gettin’ drunk at the bar Come on boys don’t hang your heads Or you’ll miss another shooting star Stay weird

about

Four years in the making, Plumb Drastic is Grantham's third solo LP, and first musical release post Low Hanging Lights.

credits

released October 31, 2018

Al Grantham - guitars, bass, vocals, harmonica, percussion
Kaleb Hikele - keys, vocals, percussion
Ryan Webb - drums, midi

Additional Players:

Jason Cabanaw - lap steel, bass harmonica, autoharp,
farfisa, reed organ
Jaun (Sunray Minor) Jimenez - vocals, synth and flute on track #4
Sarah Wiebe - violin
Ian Boos - drums on track #11
Jessica Speziale - vocals
Rebecca Hawker - vocals
Nika Smith - vocals
Dan Farrar - vocals
The Bearded Lady - banjo

Produced by Al Grantham w/ Ryan Webb, Kaleb Hikele, Jason Cabanaw and Juan Jimenez (track 4)
Engineered by Ryan Webb, Kaleb Hikele, Jason Cabanaw and Juan Jimenez (track 4)
Mixed by Jason Cabanaw
Tracks #2 and #8 mixed by Ryan Webb
Mastered by Matt Rideout
Thanks to Josh Correia

All songs written by Al Grantham

license

Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

tags

about

Al Grantham Toronto, Ontario

Drawing equally on the lyrical density of 60s folk, the irreverence of punk-rock and the experimental leanings of the alternative and anti movements, Al Grantham weaves a unique tapestry of music and words.

contact / help

Contact Al Grantham

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Al Grantham, you may also like: