Released October 7, 2018
All songs written & produced by Seth
All drums recorded & engineered by Ace
Mixed and mastered by Chris Finnell at CLF Studios
Artwork by Annie Jia and Jin Lim
Lush Life
A touching ballad featuring piano, strings, and a smooth vocal style... inspired by the life of legendary Hollywood actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990)
Carolina farm girl
Running barefoot along the dusty roads
She's floating on air
She ain't got a care in the world
Waltzing with the boys at night
They're swooning at the sight of her
And she sings la-da-da da-da
Country girl's in the city now
Hollywood's got her singing la-di-da
The tides of fame
The rides of shame and love
Lighting up the silver screen
The prettiest leading lady you've ever seen
And she sings la-la
La-da-da-da, la-da-da-da
La-da-da da-da da
Oh, she's living the lush life
Yeah, she's living that luscious life
Mama said, "You're gonna be a star"
Ain't no one told you it would break your heart, honey
And she sings
Oh, and she sings la-da
La-da-da-da, la-da-da-da
La-da-da da-da da
Mmm, she laughs and she cries
Sentimental memories from a letter box
A whirlwind romance
Has all but blown away
Lord knows she tried
But happily ever after just ain't meant for someone like her
Still she sings
Oh, yes she sings la-la
La-da-da-da, la-da-da-da
La-da-da da-da da
Oh, she's living the lush life
Yeah, she's living that luscious life
Mama said, "You're gonna be a star"
Ain't no one told you it would break your heart, darling
And she sings
Mmm, she's still singing la-la
La-da-da-da, la-da-da-da
La-da-da da-da
Funk Me
A mid-tempo break-up song with an easy-to-remember chorus, featuring prominent drum rhythms and guitars.
I never knew how sweet it was to speak
until I whispered your name
I never knew how wonderful it was
to know you felt the same
I never knew what a joy it was to move
until we swayed to the rhythm of the flames
But darling, please help me understand
how our love faded like our dance-marks in the sand
I'd relive all the misery
just to have you loving me again
So let's groove like you know we could
I go crazy when you funk me good
Let's love like you know we should
You know it makes me whooo
I never knew how precious it was to sing
until I sung your tune
Oh, sexy baby
I wanna give an ocean of affection to you
I never knew what beauty was
until you smiled under the California moonlight
But baby you're driving me to such madness
I ain't never felt such sadness
I'd bear all the misery
just to have you lying next to me in bed
So let's groove like you know we could
I go crazy when you funk me good
Let's love like you know we should
You know it makes me whooo
I Can't Be Your Lover
A slow and seductive R&B style break-up song with raw, emotional lyrics and vocals, concluding with a positive sentiment.
I can’t be your lover
I can’t be your friend
All I can be is a ghost at the end
Of a broken road
That cracks like lightning
As you drive away
Smaller, smaller
In your rear view mirror
It’s not the way
I ever feared
That we would say
Farewell
Goodbye
Goodbye little darling, goodbye
We said forever
Said our love
Would only grow deeper
We really fooled ourselves
How did we turn out like this?
Strung along by the seeds
That never fully bloomed
Six years of living backwards
A lifetime of dreams within our grasp
Suddenly, you turn ’round and say
You can’t take it
It ain’t worth a damn anymore
It ain’t worth a damn anymore
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
I wish you
Happiness
And all the love
I could never give to you
Squirt Goes My Gun
A fast, upbeat, straightforward rock song, featuring tasty lead guitar licks, bluesy vocal lines, and supremely inspired drumming throughout.
Back in the days of swimming days of summer fun
I used to hang around and squirt my cute toy gun
Crowds of people came from miles around
To see me spurtin-and-a-squirtin all over this town
Squirt squirt goes my gun
Squirt squirt into the sun
Squirt squirt goes that sound
Squirt squirt it all around
I was splishin-and-a-splashin but the stream was weak
They said your gun is broke it done gone sprung a leak
I said momma, momma, I sprayed too much and now I'm blue
She said boy I'll fix that drip and you'll be good as new
Squirt squirt goes my gun
Squirt squirt into the sun
Squirt squirt goes that sound
Squirt squirt it all around
We're gonna feel better baby
Once we wet the party
We'll feel better baby
Once we wet the party
We all grew up, many seasons have passed
We used to drench each other so hard and so fast
But still just one drop, and surely I know
I'll never stop squirting everywhere I go
Squirt squirt goes my gun
Squirt squirt into the sun
Squirt squirt goes that sound
Squirt squirt it all around
Forsaken
An unusual tale about eternal love and failing to meet expectations. Acoustic sections are interposed between heavier choruses to paint a dynamic musical landscape.
She stands at the altar in a shining white dress,
look of a lamb in her eyes.
A one-man-band in the corner takes your requests;
the sun shines on our lives.
The preacher says a prayer for the seasons to come,
and he reads from a scroll:
Please protect us from the evils that plague our home,
and bless our starlet’s soul.
Now the sky’s turned dark, and the folks have gone home,
past the final farewell:
a somber echo of a bell where she stands alone,
an ancient Church knell –
a reminder of the songs along the promenade,
and our idyllic strolls,
where I promised to love you for all eternity,
and always cherish your soul.
I only wanted to save you
I couldn't even save myself
I couldn't protect what we had built together
I just wanted a quiet life for ourselves and our families
Now the sky’s turned red above her in the open field
on a sacred night.
The Blacksmith’s furnace is burning: sword and shield,
flashing streaks of light.
The earth trembles and quakes from the Vulcanian blows
as he collects his toll.
Black snow sprinkles her dress; the lava melts her heart,
but won’t tarnish her soul.
It's too late baby
We can never get back what we had
It's too late, too late
The future we envisioned crumbles away into ash
Aurora Borealis
An epic fictional legend about the mythical origins of the northern lights. The story features two angels, characterized by extended piano and guitar leads.
From a cloud
Your wings were spun
With a silver thread
Your golden ring
Shines likes the sun
“I want to see the world,” you said.
And all the fantasies
In all the galaxies and paradise
Couldn’t hold your majesty
I want you
I need you
Then we fell
Down to the earth
Like a shooting star
Celestial sapphire
Lust and desire
Heaven please forgive who we are
High above the deepest oceans
I’d fly ten thousand miles for you
But these broken wings won’t carry me
I want you
I need you
When morning moons collide
With every planet in our minds
Every color that bleeds from the sky
Every heart shattered in time
Could not compare with the pain
Of missing you
We've wandered for an eternity
Have you seen it all?
We dared to love, free and naive
I'd steal a kiss and be damned to fall
Every time
Spanish nights
Shanghai lights
Now I find
You're some other man's wife
When morning moons collide
With every planet in our minds
Every color that bleeds from the sky
Every heart shattered in time
Could not compare with the pain
Of missing you
Edge of Time / Jealous Blues
An acoustic blues song about a man on the precipice of giving up, segueing into a gloomy march from the point of view of a mysterious onlooker of a corrupted city.
My baby don’t love me
Gonna join the circus now
My baby don’t love me
Gonna join the circus now
A broken man’ll fit right in
With all the freaks and clowns
My baby loves another man
She’s moving in with him
My baby loves another man
She’s moving in with him
They’re screwing all night and
I’ve got the jealous blues
Every city’s got a story to tell
If you listen, it’s always the same
The struggle to live, the struggle to love, the struggle to survive
You learn very quickly there’s more than one way to die
More ways to hate, more ways to kill
Age-old bloodlust haunts us still
Stragglers echo a familiar rage
Fear and desperation never change
Take me to the edge of time
Where truth and justice intertwine
History entombed in our shrine
This stage of hell burns with neon lights
Red and blue were once our cues to fight
We clung to laughter to bear the strife
Vintage eyes see only black and white
Power and greed corrupt this gilded cage
Where trading lives for money is no longer strange
Show any mercy, this town will leave you cold
Show none at all and you start to lose your soul
And yesterday’s heroes
Become the victims of tomorrow
When the clowns come out at night and ask,
“Are you the amuser
Or are you the amused?”
Take me to the edge of time
Where truth and justice intertwine
History entombed in our shrine
First glows of morn do hush the war
Fading out the beats of carnivores
The winds of loss howl in the early hours
The God of Might beckons from his iron tower
Give him your hand, give him your heart
Give him nothing and he’ll break you apart
The struggle to live, the struggle to love, the struggle to survive
You learn very quickly there’s more than one way to die
And yesterday’s heroes
Become the victims of tomorrow
When the clowns come out at night and ask,
“Are you the amuser
Or are you the amused?”
Take me to the edge of time
Where truth and justice intertwine
History entombed in our shrine
There will come a day we’ll learn to find
There’s no darkness we can’t outshine
And we’ll laugh once again at the edge of time
They’re starting a family
They’re starting a good old happy home
They’re starting a family
They’re starting a good old happy home
That life could have been mine but
I’m sitting here all alone
Summer Girl
A lighthearted, uptempo rock song, and a direct homage to the early sound and style of the classic rock band Dire Straits.
She’s a lover not a fighter
But you’d better never cross her
If you don’t disturb the tiger
You know she’s as sweet
As a muffin maker
The girl with the hammer and the make-up
Sneaking me those midnight kisses
And the morning love
Returned at dawn
Come a lady down the pike
Selling flowers and the like
From a basket on a yellow bike
But mine, she’s a Harley kind of girl
Making romance at the gazebo
Libido’s pop just like the fireworks
But you know,
We’re taking it slow
Just for a summer
Piping with the peacekeepers
She was a stunner
Dancing with the dreamweavers
Just one summer
Flowing with the freethinkers
Just for a summer
She and me, the thrill seekers
Summer girl
I took her to the seaside
Summer girl
She took me to the high tide
She’s got the baby blues
Among the marigolds
Under the dixie moon
We heard the rock n’ roll
Girls, they boogie to the beat
Blowing bubbles on the street
Shaking out their wet tees
But I got eyes only for her
The girl with the hammer and the make-up
Says, “It’s a mallet, not a hammer.
Get it wrong and I’ll have to
whack you like your granny would”
She was born as a Mormon
Desperate for freedom
Ended up a heathen
I took her poison,
So she wouldn’t feel alone
Pink and black
She’s been to prison and back
Daddy was a piece of crap
I took a razor from her pack
And said, “I will share your cuts and pain”
Just for a summer
Piping with the peacekeepers
She was a stunner
Dancing with the dreamweavers
Just one summer
Flowing with the freethinkers
Just for a summer
She and me, the thrill seekers
Summer girl
I took her to the seaside
Summer girl
She took me to the high tide
Gave her a French quarter
She played me a Spanish song
Gave her my hand to hold
She tied our wrists
With the devil’s thong
Summer girl
I took her to the seaside
Summer girl
She took me to the high tide
She’s got the baby blues
Among the marigolds
Under the dixie moon
We heard the rock n’ roll
Yeah, rock it now
Hymn of the Holy Bird
A slow ballad about a dying man and his last wishes for peace. Loosely inspired by the views of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the personal views of the writer.
Sing sweet sparrow
Tell my mother not to pray for me
Tell my father to please forgive me
Because I surrender, baby
I ain't gonna weep and moan no more
Sing sweet sparrow
Tell my children
They've got to fight for their freedom
Listen my children, remember
You can't fight hate with hate
You've got to trust in the power of love
Prejudice and brutality creep like vines
on the foundations of our souls
Desensitized to the stench
of tragedy and hatred around us
Wastelands of selfishness and vanity
suffocate all growing life
Where we willfully fall into the hunters traps
of vices and shallow instincts
But for every act of evil,
there have risen champions of integrity and justice
For every indulgence,
there has sparked a flicker of humility from a flame of temperance
For every act of destruction,
a seed of hope will give rise to a flourishing forest of kindness
Where we will recognize
the goodness in our hearts again
Oh sparrow
Cry unto the cities
Tell my brothers they can lay down their guns
Cry unto the valleys
Tell my sisters to send their love to everyone
To all of the world's daughters and sons
Oh my Jesus
I'm coming home
Sing sweet sparrow
Let your spirit melt into pure melody
Because I'm free
You won't see me
Down in Tennessee
Yes I'm going away now
Far, far away now
Far away from this place
Sing with me holy bird
Before I go
Let our spirits melt into pure melody
Joy
A cheery pick-me-up song about the struggles of a young woman and her resolve to uphold positive values despite negative experiences.
Joy
That’s what he says he’ll give to her
He swears he’d never treat her like a toy
Free
That’s what she says she’ll be
If only he would keep her company
Love
Of a young and tender kind
Scarred in record time
It was just a temporary joy
“Can you care less than I do?
It’s the only way to be cool
Come on over party with the crew
Gonna get down to the nude
The world is watching what you do
Get one of me and you
If you ain’t somebody, you ain’t nobody
Don’t be such a prude”
Pain
If they wanna game, she’ll play it too
Forget the emptiness she feels inside
Shame
For everyone to see
They tell her that she’s only got herself to blame
She says boys and girls
Can be so cruel
But you’d be a fool
To pass up their attention and joy
“The harder I try, the harder I get burned
Every time I get the feels
I may cry, but I won’t believe
Such cold philosophies
Loves me not, loves me so
Definitely no
I’m ready for your ego
I ain’t gonna be your ho”
Joy, joy, joy
Can you uncover
The truth sitting inside of you?
Can you discover
The souls walking next to you?
We’re all just looking for love
Free, free empathy
For all our fellow human beings
Free, free understanding
If we want any chance at all
We’ve got to start standing together for love
Danika
A love song with a message of reassurance for a woman's wavering belief in the idea of love. Features a climax of vocals and an electrifying final guitar solo.
Under the paper stars
The music starts
The crowd parts
Your heartbeat stumbles
In your evening gown
We’re frozen in the magic
of what your eyes
and I have found
Electricity
Spiraling me
Like calligraphy
Swirling in lines of poetry
In the air
Lies, sweet lies
A perfect night whispered
in our ears and nothing more
Realities pierce your innocence
Like knives through a lily
You trade your pain for promises
You’d rather believe in a silly fairy tale
Danika
All I’ve been dreaming of
Let’s make this real, darling
Danika
It ain’t wrong, baby
It ain’t wrong to long for love
Danika
I gaze upon your face
Your warmth and grace
Seductive taste
A beauty like I’ve
never seen before
We bathe in the lights
That shimmer like diamonds
over Neptune’s shores
They’re hanging around –
Princes who’ve found
A queen for their crown
Waiting for their lives
to come true
But they could never understand
This desperate aching that
yearns for you
Danika
All I’ve been dreaming of
Danika
It ain’t wrong, sugar
It ain’t wrong put your faith in love
Danika
Danika
All I’ve been dreaming of
Isn't It A Wonderful Feeling
A "thank you" to you, the listener. Stripped down vocals, piano, and flute. A humble, unassuming song inspired by the extraordinarily modest life of Fred Rogers.
Hello, you.
Yes, you!
Thanks for being here with me for a little while
Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to have a friend?
We can watch the ducks float by at the pond
Or watch the clouds roll by in the sky
Or just daydream on the grass
If we’re happy, we can dance
If we’re sad, we can cry
If we’re mad, we can jump and scream
If we’re scared, we can face whatever comes between us together
I like you just the way you are
Even though we’re not perfect
You’re still important to me
Not because of how popular you are
Nor whom you may or may not grow up to be
It’s no matter how different our families seem
Or what you might be going through
I like you just the way you are
Because you are you
And because your smile is true
You can listen while I sing
Or you can sing while I listen
You have a place in this world
And you have a place with me
Isn’t it a wonderful feeling?
Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to have a friend?
