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BMX Bandits Forever

by BMX BANDITS

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  • LP (Orange Colour Vinyl - Numbered Limited Edition of 500 copies)
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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1.
My girl Midge, we met when I was broken Didn't think it would work But still I was hoping
she would make me feel alive again I would see love in her eyes and then I could grow into a whole person But I grew too slow oh no Now she'll never know
what she'll never know Oh Midge, it's killing me Our future together will never be Oh Midge, it's killing me My girl Midge, we met when she was hurting Thought I saw something but I wasn't certain Something buried deep inside I sensed Thought if I found it we'd be alright but then It didn't work out like I was hoping My girl Midge, I lost her, now I'm broken Oh Midge, it's killing me Our future together will never be Oh Midge, it's killing me
2.
Here comes that lonely feeling knocking on my door I've known that lonely feeling many times before What am I to do? Now that I've lost you Am I to sit here and cry Wondering why I used to be so happy when you were around But now that lonely feeling's got me tumbling down Now I'm all alone Right on my own No one to tell me they care There's nobody there You begged me not to leave you all by yourself But then you went and left me for somebody else Lonely feeling
3.
My heart is hurting so badly trapped inside this ugly body These longing nights are just too hard for me This love has really made me crazy Much more than any other lady And loving you this way could end up killing me Tomorrow I don't want to wake up If we can't find a way to make up I'd rather live on as just a memory My sudden unbridled passion Is much more than just desperation No more than you should have got from me This love has really made me crazy Much more than any other lady And loving you this way could end up killing me Tomorrow I don't want to wake up If we can't find a way to make up I'd rather live on as just a memory
4.
Rust 03:21
Blood will turn to rust My bones will turn to dust As I become just a memory When desire turns to lust and we lose all trust I kept fighting to keep you close to me I only want to be if I can be with you I didn't think our love would end so cruel And all of my friends may think that I'm a fool But I've loved and still love Had a dream about you and me We were painting a nursery You were wearing a pair of faded dungarees Put my hand on your tummy, you looked so sunny But now I know that dream will never be I only want my dreams if they can be with you I don't want to wake up in a world so cruel And all the world may think that I'm a fool But I've loved and still love If you call tonight I won't die The rust will turn to blood and I will be alive And if they want to know the reason why It's my love, my love Lie lie lie
5.
I heard how that boy made you cry I can see the sadness in your eyes I've been crying too Love made me a fool We can help each other find our smiles Well I heard how he led you on How he had you singing sad sad songs There's other songs to sing about much happier things We can help each other find our smiles We'll hold each other tight and part in the morning It's alright Tonight I need some you And I think you need me too We have both been hurt by love before Cried so much and our hearts are sore But here we are tonight I think it would be alright If we help each other find our smiles Let's help each other find our smiles
6.
I want to breath you in Feel the hair over your skin The constellation of the marks But I still know you in the dark Forget the pain Forget the knocks Love me 'til my heart stops It's easier To take the blame Love me 'til my heart stops Should we forget about? The lies you told so well? Deceit on deceit I wish you'd learn to help yourself
7.
Somewhere 02:37
There's a place for us Somewhere a place for us Peace and quiet and open air Wait for us Somewhere There's a time for us Someday there'll be a time for us Time together with time to spare Time to learn Time to care Someday, somewhere We'll find a new way of living We'll find there's a way of forgiving Somewhere There's a place for us A time and a place for us Hold my hand and we're half way there Hold my hand And I'll take you there Somehow Someday, somewhere
8.
I feel I'm trapped alone in the woods Don't know which way to go You want to take my hand and show me the way Help me find my road home This has been a strange holiday Not like the break that I planned Seems like I got lost along the way Won't someone understand? You're a little girl lost How did you find me? I'll pay the cost You must to set me free I've been trying to hold up a light But you keep closing your eyes Please don't go away with the wolf Or fall for his cunning disguise Well I have to walk my own path There's no one to blame but me Open your eyes and reach out your hand You're safer with me you see I don't know which way to go I don't know which way to go I think I'll go the way of the wolf uh-hu I think I'll choose the way of the wolf I think I'll go the way of the wolf uh-hu I think I'll choose the way of the wolf
9.
When she says she loves me my soul feels warm When she says she needs me I'm where I belong People want to know why she's got this hold It's in her eyes and the way that she smiles It's in her words and her funny style And when we kiss and start to play It feels love is meant to be this way We start to dance and she looks in my eyes We're having fun and it makes my heart smile She's not just mine she's part of me I have no choice it's how love's meant to be He knows me so well like nobody could Our love started shaky but now it's grown good People just can't see what he sees in me It's in her eyes and the way that she smiles It's in her words and her funny style And when we kiss and start to play It feels love is meant to be this way We start to dance and she looks in my eyes We're having fun and it makes my heart smile She's not just mine she's part of me I have no choice it's how love's meant to be It's in her eyes
10.
Your heart needed a holiday And so you took your love away But won't you bring it back to stay Here in the arms of love It's time to love again It's time to smile again It's time to live again It's time for us to make a new start Waited for you to come back to me Now I hope that you can see Together's where we should be Together in the arms of love It's time to love again It's time to smile again It's time to live again It's time for us to make a new start People say I should let go and find another (Let go, let it go brother) But I say I just can't Because I love her I love you, I love you It's time to love again It's time to smile again It's time to live again It's time for us to make a new start
11.
What you hide behind your eyes I could never get a look in What lies between the truth and lies And let's you get your hooks in The taste of blood is not enough You've need to have your fill And you spread your poison around And make the world feel ill Right now you think you're something But soon you're going to be nothing Right now you think you're something What do you hide behind your lies? Razorblades and honey Eyes that flit like butterflies But are always on the money With all the hearts you've gobbled up You'd think you would have had your fill You're going to choke on your own poison It's time to swallow this pill Right now you think you're something But soon you're going to be nothing Right now you think you're something Eyes that flit like butterflies But are always on the money Eyes that flit like butterflies Razorblades and honey
12.
Forever 03:22
If every word I said Could make you laugh I'd talk forever (together my love) I ask the sky just what we had It shone forever my my my If the song I sing to you Could fill your heart with joy I'd sing forever my my my my Forever, forever I've been so happy loving you Together my love Let the love I have for you Live in your heart And beat forever (together my love) Forever, forever I've been so happy loving you Baby just let me sing it my baby I want to be singing my baby Baby baby baby my baby I want to be singing I want to be singing my baby My my my So I'm going away But not forever I'm going love you anyway forever I'm going to love you any old way forever
13.
Sitting in the bath couldn't stop yourself from crying You couldn't believe the things you'd said You though that it meant My love for you would be dying It couldn't been further from dead I could never give up on you No matter what you do or what you say When you said we had to be over Part of me died that day Well I'm still here to wait for you calling I could never walk away Gonna try to hang on 'case you ever need me No matter what you say Walking down the street can't stop myself from crying Some people stare, while others look away I get home safe; I don't want to be here I'm gonna try my best to stay And if you called and asked me to I would still run to you And if you called and asked me to I would still run to you
14.
Sometimes she'd get so frightened Like a child but even more She would cry so hard those times It must have hurt so sore Sometimes she'd look so happy While dancing round the room I'll miss both her happy and her crying eyes I wonder if they'll miss me too With her in my arms I felt most complete But sometimes just hearing her talk On the phone would be enough for me She'd tell me about the cares of her day And I would try to chase them away I miss her calls, I miss her voice Miss hearing what she has to say Protect her and watch over her Be kind to her when I'm not there She doesn't want my love anymore But I don't know how not to care Protect her and watch over her Be kind to her when I'm not there She doesn't want my love anymore But I don't know how not to care No I don't want her to be by herself But I'd rather go blind than see her with somebody else I'm sorry but it's true And I don't know what to do Protect her and watch over her Be kind to her when I'm not there She doesn't want my love anymore But I don't know how not to care
15.
Life is rubbish without you I miss all the funny things you do I hate everyday There's nothing else to say Life is rubbish without you Bah! Bah! Life is rubbish without you
16.
Instrumental

about

FORMATS: LP [Orange Colour Vinyl] [Numbered Limited Edition of 500 copies] / CD Digipak / Digital Album

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Watch the official videoclip of "How Not To Care": bit.ly/2oLqNUq
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Is it possible that, after more than 30 years in the music business, Duglas T Stewart has, in 2017, made his best album? It is clear that the element of surprise in albums like “C-86” and “Life Goes On”, or even in their first singles on the label, “53rd And 3rd”, or the 1992 single “Serious Drugs”, now feel very far away. But objectively, the collection of songs included on “BMX Bandits Forever” could be the best thing in their whole discography. Without letting go of their identity, or even of their obsessions and hang-ups.

If you are just arriving here with the whole 30-year career waiting to be discovered, we should remind you of a few things first. BMX BANDITS is the alias of Duglas T Stewart, who before that was in THE PRETTY FLOWERS (is “Sing Street” based on them?), the band he shared with Frances McKee (THE VASELINES), Sean Dickson (THE SOUP DRAGONS) and Norman Blake (TEENAGE FANCLUB, BMX BANDITS). OASIS did their first UK tour dates supporting BMX BANDITS as a favour from Stewart to Creation label boss Alan McGee. Francis MacDonald (TEENAGE FANCLUB, NICE MAN) was a member of the group and Duglas’ right-hand man until 2005. Kurt Cobain said that if he could play in any other group, it would be in BMX BANDITS. The Guardian says “Britain’s ultimate cult group”. Another major magazine like Q says "Gentle genius". And even with all of that, he has always been a figure in the development of the emerging Scottish pop scene. If you don’t believe us, just ask Ally Kerr and BELLE & SEBASTIAN back then, or to name a few others who aren’t very well known yet, TEEN CANTEEN and HAPPY MEALS.

So, why isn’t this the most famous group in the world? That is part of the legend, of that figure of the secret great man that Stewart transmits, of his brilliance, of his lyrics – sometimes hilarious and sometimes raw. For example, we could remember the release of what many consider to be their best song: “Serious Drugs”. On Radio 1, all the DJs said it was going to be their definitive leap to fame, that all the ingredients were there: Creation Records at its high point, the group in the spotlight, the song… But that week they couldn’t play the song on the radio because it coincided with an anti-drug campaign. That’s just a small drop in the story of a man as passionate as they come, in his own way, like Vic Chestnutt, Stephin Merritt, Daniel Johnston or Jeff Mangum. It’s not for nothing that there was a DVD documentary of his life called, “Serious Drugs - Duglas And The Music Of BMX Bandits”. If you need more, all the good material is there. Up to speed? Let’s move on to the new album.

But let’s do it little by little, because this is a moment to be cherished, and we should analyze every fragment, every note, every second. And there is a lot to work through, because we know that one of Duglas’ “obsessions” is to include a solid handful of songs on every album. This time, we have sixteen. And yes, as always, an unusual cover was slipped into the mix. In this case, a special version of Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere”, which was made famous in “West Side Story”, and also a cover of Marcos Valle’s “De Mais Do Que Valsa” (which, by the way, he wrote his own lyrics for, in English). This guarantees that Brazilian touch that normally makes an appearance on BMX BANDITS’ latest releases. We also have the exercise in musical wisdom: “That Lonely Feeling” is a cover of the sister-duo, THE MCKINLEYS, who only released 4 singles between 1964 and 1965, and who worked with bands like THE ROLLING STONES and THE HOLLIES. It’s delicious. And, of course, that “Forever” by THE BEACH BOYS that gives the album its title. It was also recorded by AMERICAN SPRING, the band formed by Brian Wilson’s wife and her sister, whose only album was produced by Brian himself. This is all a statement of intent, that halo of classicism, of emotion, of elegance; of that time when pop was king.

And of course, throughout the songs there is that variety of styles that has classified him as a great music-lover all over the world, and that classic spirit that reminds us of Michel Legrand (“My Girl Midge”), Phil Spector (“No Matter What You Say”), Burt Bacharach (“That Lonely Feeling”), and THE BEATLES (“Way Of The Wolf”) is also there, as is that beyond-perfect, lively, vital, colorful, solid pop with Scottish pedigree (“Saveoursmiles” written with Francis MacDonald for the album they made with Yeongene a few years ago, and “Life Without You”). We have a new female voice again, this time with the presence and prominence (not only on vocals, but also on multiple instruments) of Chloe Philip, who is amazing on some of the album’s best songs, like that marvelous “Love Me 'Till My Heart Stops” that moves us and saddens us at the same time, and that she wrote. Pure emotion. Like that “How Not To Care”, a mysterious mid-tempo that slowly lets the light in between synthesized rhythms and cushions of keyboards, halfway between FUTURE BIBLE HEROES and EAST RIVER PIPE. Or the exquisite “It's In Her Eyes”, with that delicious intro that leads into a surprising melody that is agile, skilled, and that takes us to the best moments of Broadway musical. We can evoke a story of love and hate in that musical dialogue that Duglas and Chloe set up. And finally, as the cherry on top, that “Razorblades & Honey” that reminds us so much of Edwyn Collins at his most majestic, and includes the presence of Anton Newcombe (BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE). In the end, we are reminded of what Stewart himself says, “I like art that bypasses the intellect and goes straight to the heart”.

But if there is a key name on this album, it is Stuart Kidd. Stuart is one of Glasgow's best liked and most prolific musicians. He originally joined BMX BANDITS in 2002 and after a short break away is very much back in the heart of the group. He has played with JONNY (Norman Blake & Euros Childs) as well as being a regular member of Euros Child's band. He has also played with LINDEN, GULP, Ian McCulloch, Nick Garrie, Francis Macdonald, THE PEARLFISHERS, BELLE & SEBASTIAN and more. Also he is a main writer and singer with his own groups THE WELLGREEN, KIDD, DR. COSMO'S TAPE LAB and POUND STORE RIOT. His participation on “BMX Bandits Forever” has been key, both for his production and interpretation work, as well as for his song-writing, giving us practically all the songs a little extra that raises them up to the altar we found them at. He is Duglas’s right-hand man on this journey toward eternity. This is a new journey that has been illustrated, once again, by Duprez, one of our favorite designers, who knows better than anyone how to package BMX BANDITS’ songs and reflect the visual universe that so captivates Duglas.

But we can’t forget something that has always characterized BMX BANDITS’ albums: the search for perfect love in the shape of a perfect pop song, and all the frustrations that arise from a fantasy like that. From fun to rough, expressing things that only Duglas T Stewart can articulate with words. In this case, there are several songs that coincide in the suffering of imagining the world without that perfect, absolute love, but that always let a little bit of light in, keeping hope alive in how important love is in people’s lives.

From here on out, “BMX Bandits Forever” is a classic – for their spirit (why that title, if not?) for their songwriting, for their inspiration, their references, their emotion. This album will definitively be one of the releases of the year for Elefant Records. And probably for Duglas T Stewart’s career. And, of course, for all of us who love pop. And music.

credits

released May 19, 2017

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