the gifted children - no one will know we were ever here
Release date: December 13, 2012
a 5-song EP that plays like a suicide note from a band left largely ignored for the past 17 years... this certainly isn't the end of the gifted children, as there are too many excellent unreleased tracks for them to give up at this point, but they've allowed all the self-doubt and depression run rampant on this short but great release.
starting off with a playful self-stab with faux-anthemic ending (the bill trautman-penned 'ballad of an aging indie rocker'), the uptempo second track ('our hobby is a bust') starts the descent into implosion with a repeated, semi-humorous/semi-sad, self-deprecating refrain ('our hobby is a bust/no one will know we were ever here') to close out the first side... the second side takes things to a darker place, with the songs progressively turning further inward, from self-reflection ('your mythologies') to self-doubt ('my building is crumbling') and eventually to self-destruction ('something's dead inside).
this is the sound of a band exploring its own psyche and not finding a happy resolution to anything, somehow encompassing an arc that feels complete over the course of only 8 minutes.
Credits:
brett dreyer - voice on 2
tim grimaldi - drumset on 2 & 3
jim sahr - voices on 2; guitar on 5
justin sheehan - voice on 1 & 2
jeff suszczynski - voices on 1-5; guitars on 2 & 3; piano on 4; keyboards on 5
bill trautman - guitars on 1; bass on 1 & 2; drums on 1; voices on 1
alex trimpe - voice on 2 & 4; bass on 3; guitar on 3 & 4
track 1 by bill trautman
tracks 2-5 by jeff suszczynski
front cover colage: 'no one will know we were ever here' by jeff suszczynski
back cover photo: nick thompson
Lyrics and individual track credits:
a1 ballad of an aging indie rocker
when you've grown too old to rock
there's viagra for your cock
it will help you to do things you used to
but it won't help you to rock
'cause you're too fucking old
to rock like you once were told you could
justin sheehan - voice
jeff suszczynski - voice
bill trautman - guitars, bass, drums, voices
a2 our 'hobby' is a bust
we'd just like to turn some heads
unadorned and as we are
but finks are gathered at the gates
alarmed for such trickery
decked out in winter beards
and sallow jaded ears
without a hype machine our 'hobby' is a bust -
no one will know we were ever here
brett dreyer - voice
tim grimaldi - drumset
jim sahr - voices
justin sheehan - voices
jeff suszczynski - guitars, voices
bill trautman - bass
alex trimpe - voice
b1 your mythologies
dormant trees will flourish while you languish inside
no blame lays on the world if you won't step outside
the world can't know what can't be seen so keep building
but don't expect anyone to know about your mythologies
tim grimaldi - drumset
jeff suszczynski - acoustic guitars, voices
alex trimpe - bass, electric guitars
b2 my building is crumbling
looking for the home from my recurring dreams
i drive at dusk through labyrinths
seeking this fantasy thing
while my building is crumbling...
jeff suszczynski - piano, voice
alex trimpe - guitar, voice
b3 something's dead inside
something's dead inside -
i rang the bell and no one came.
jim sahr - guitar
jeff suszczynski - keyboards, voice