Voice from the Lake

by Shuyler Jansen

Voice from the Lake cover art
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1.
04:36
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02:41
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3.
04:08
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4.
03:43
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03:05
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05:42
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04:42
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03:51
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9.
06:43
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03:58
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about

Saskatoon's Shuyler Jansen once again toys with genre boundaries on his third solo album, hanging raw psychedelic trimmings upon a rootsy framework. It's the same formula he tested on his eccentric solo debut, Hobotron, but this time he strikes a more comfortable balance. Voice From the Lake effortlessly blends electronic elements with a folky twang in songs that are bursting with lyrical regret, resentment, alienation and feverish passion. Formerly of Edmonton, AB's beloved country rock outfit Old Reliable, this is Jansen's third solo album and the follow-up to 2007's Steve Dawson-produced, full-on roots record, Today's Remains. Recorded with Vancouver, BC production team JC/DC (New Pornographers, Destroyer), Voice From the Lake features appearances by keyboardist Ford Pier, guitarist Paul Rigby and members of Deep Dark Woods. Alternately simmering with synthesizer and exploding with robust electric guitar, the album contains some genuinely heart-pounding moments. It's an artistic triumph for an evolving and consistently captivating Canadian songwriter.

(EXCLAIM MAGAZINE MARCH 29th, 2011)

credits

released 29 March 2011

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tags: amritha vaz country edmonton foam lake folk jcdc john collins neko case outside music distribution paul rigby pop psychedelia rock scratch records the new pornographers alternative Saskatoon

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Track Name: CAN'T SEE THROUGH TOMORROW
CAN'T SEE THROUGH TOMORROW

Where has my vision gone?
Where has my vision gone?
Can’t see through tomorrow
Can’t see through tomorrow
Is that where the action is?
All roads are paved with sorrow

Didn’t dream in black & white
I didn’t dream in black & white
Just let go of her hand
Had to let go of her hand
Lost girls crying on the street
I’m hounded by her memory

It’s so sad
Lines had to be drawn
Bridges had to burn
When the hammer came down
Momma said it was the only way

Rolled out of an empty bed
I Rolled out of an empty bed
Strut up the avenue
Stuttered up the avenue
Is that where the action is?
Is that where the action is?
Neon signs a flickering blue

Didn’t try an’ break the spell
No I didn’t try an’ break the spell
Just broke the bitches broom
Hey oh
Girls dancing to a jungle beat
I’m fading like a tattoo

It’s too bad
Lines had to be drawn
Fields had to burn
When the whip came down
Momma said it was the only way
Said it was the only way

Where has my vision gone?
Where has my vision gone?
Can’t see through tomorrow
Can’t see through tomorrow
Track Name: KILL JANUARY
KILL JANUARY

Something’s come over you
The lion inside is a ghost
You spread yourself out like broken glass
Gone an’ abandoned your post
Your lover has been untrue
You’re lost on her wavelength
She won’t give you a clue
But you don’t have the strength

K-K-Kill January
It offers no mercy or light
In spite of the memories
Of her heat on that winter night

She loves to tell you it’s not over
An’ that your hope is not hard won
Go to sleep you railroader
An’ dream what hides behind the sun

Something’s come over you
The warrior inside is a ghost
You spread yourself out like broken glass
And fall like a domino
Love has made you its mule
Now swing the ball & chain
Scrape ‘way the residue
In the sleet and frozen rain

She lies & tells you it’s not over
An’ that your hope is not hard won
Go to sleep you railroader
An’ dream what hides behind the sun

K-K-Kill January
K-K-Kill January
K-K-Kill January
Track Name: TOTALLY ANONYMOUS
TOTALLY ANONYMOUS

Words have lost their meaning
Ain’t nobody listening, nobodies listening to you
Beauties all around but you don’t speak the language
Hide that indecision in the dark
Steal the flame kick out the spark

You try and try to burn out
But you’re all blood and bone
It’s worse when you’re alone
With a heart so full of doubt
Three thousand miles from home
And you’ve been up all night
The snows a dirty white
Totally anonymous
And it’s better than alright

Words have lost their meaning
Ain’t nobody listening, nobodies listening to you
Beauties all around but you don’t speak the language
Hide that intuition in the dark
Steal the flame kick out the spark

You try and try to work it out
But you’re so drunk and stoned
It’s worse when you’re alone
No direction so little clout
For years and years you’ve roamed
Like a tramp out on the street
You’re due for body heat
Totally anonymous
Blue to everyone you meet

Words have lost their meaning
Ain’t nobody listening, nobodies listening to you
Beauties all around but you don’t speak the language
Hide that indecision in the dark
Words have lost their meaning
Ain’t nobody listening, nobodies listening to you
Beauties all around but you don’t speak the language
Hide that intuition in the dark
Steal the flame kick out the spark
Track Name: IF IT'S MEANT TO BE
IF IT'S MEANT TO BE

There’s nowhere that we can sit and talk
Hold each other in a careless thought
Laugh as though the devil isn’t here
Draw a map and memorize the plot
Take my hand beside the broken mirror

You can’t live in the moment and please your man
You can’t be the loner of the lowlands
Erase every memory, die before you’re born
Lift the blinds and comb a silky strand
I could keep you safe inside the calm before the
storm

If it’s meant to be
If it’s meant to be
If it’s meant to be
If it’s meant to be

The dead stars swing under the rising moon
And hours melt away when I begin to swoon
In the broken darkness among the others scorn
I wish that I could stay until the meadows bloom
To keep you still inside the calm and safe before
the storm

If it’s meant to be
If it’s meant to be
If the hills and evergreens
Don’t hide you away from me

REPEAT
Track Name: WEDDING BAND
WEDDING BAND

I don’t understand
Why you don’t want to be loved
Why you wouldn’t want to show someone
what the hell you’re made of
I’ll never comprehend
Your spirit or your blood
Why you act like you never fell into the deeper
wells you dug

You can go downtown
With your freewheelin’ man
But don’t your heart feel empty when he’s
holding on your hand?
I could twirl you around
Or I could take a stand
You’ve got to figure for yourself who’s gonna
wear your wedding band

I can’t ask you again
You said you’re gonna be my girl
I can’t ask you again
How much more can I endure?
I can’t ask you again
You said you’re gonna be my girl

You won’t answer me
Why don’t you want to feel the flood?
Don’t you want to show me darling what the hell
you’re made of?
I could set you free
Or I could be your partisan
You’ve got to figure for yourself who’s gonna
wear your wedding band

I can’t ask you again
You said you’re gonna be my girl
I can’t ask you again
How much more can I endure?
I can’t ask you again
You said you’re gonna be my girl

I don’t understand
Why you don’t want to be loved
Why you wouldn’t want to show someone what
the hell you’re made of
Track Name: FALCONS WING
FALCONS WING (HELLHOUNDS
RETURN)

Dry up and blow away
Dry up and blow away
(Hey hey)
Like the autumn leaves of yesterday
They’ll never remember you anyhow
Take a bow
And I’ll forget your name

You had the scorpion’ sting
You had the scorpion’ sting
Then you went an’ clipped the falcon’s wing
An’ rode the waves into town
Spellbound
By the promise of spring

There was danger in the meadow
An’ hooves kicked up the dust
You ran barefoot in the nettles
It was death or wanderlust

Dry up and blow away
Dry up and blow away
Hey hey
Like the autumn leaves of yesterday
They’ll never remember you anyhow
Take a bow
And I’ll forget your name

You had Hercules ring
You had Hercules ring
Then you went an’ clipped the falcon’s wing
An’ burned your fate to the ground
Hellhounds
Hunted your fallen king

There was danger in the meadow
An’ hooves kicked up the dust
You ran barefoot in the nettles
It was death or wanderlust
It was death or wanderlust
It was death or wanderlust
It was death or wanderlust
It was death or wanderlust
Track Name: BRAND NEW WICK
BRAND NEW WICK

She’s the only girl
I love more than music
When I watch her dance
Think I’m gonna lose it
Think I’m gonna lose it

Babe I’m coming home
(Babe I’m coming home)
With a brand new wick
Lay you on the bed
And give you a lick
And give you a lick

The weather here is always changing
One minute it’s hot and the next it’s raining
So deep inside my senses are failing
The weather here is always changing
Changing

She’s the earth mother
(She’s the earth mother)
Of water and forests
Who’ll write the verse?
When she nails the chorus
When she nails the chorus

When dust rises up
(When dust rises up)
In the land of locusts
She peers through the fog
With Indian focus
With Indian focus

The weather here is always changing
One minute it’s hot and the next it’s raining
So deep inside my senses are failing
The weather here is always changing
Changing
Track Name: INSEPARABLE
INSEPARABLE

Do you remember when we were inseparable?
Chasing women deep in the morning rise
Talk was sparse
And we held up each other’s broken hearts
Like a prize

Can you remember ice covered the fields?
An’ you stood broken in the crackling light
Decks were stacked
So you turned your back and tried not to fold
With all your might

There was a fog on everything
So I just let you slip away
Too much on my mind to make you stay
There was a fog on everything
Everything, everything

Do you remember when we were inseparable?
Tracing the bars in the wintry white
Times were harsh
So you tried to kill that void inside the night
Your lips were parched

There was a fog on everything
So I just let you slip away
Too much on the line to make you stay
There was a fog on everything
Everything, everything
Track Name: WORK OF ART
WORK OF ART

Steal away
Little one
Leave a scar
Leave a hole in this town
Stuck inside
Poison dart
In your skin
Tainted blood in your heart
Don’t pick up
Let it ring
When I call
Don’t be a witness to kill

Second hand turns tedious
Troubles when you sleep
Double when the morning calls
Drowning somewhere in the oceans deep
You can fly to Venus
Scatter on a star
Catch a comet on the fall
But you won’t be the first to live on mars

I was wrong
I was wrong
You were mine
From the start
From the start
You were my
Work of art

Like a ghost
The winter comes
Just a kiss
Then I must break and run
Isolate
Isolate
‘Til I can’t stand the pain
Steal away
Little one
Leave a scar
Leave a hole in this town

Never meant to hurt you
Upon the cobblestone
Couldn’t find a chance to stall
The traffic on the street was just a drone
Second hand turns tedious
Troubles when I sleep
Double when the evening falls
Drowning somewhere in the oceans deep

I was wrong
I was wrong
You were mine
From the start
From the start
You were my
Work of art
I was wrong
I was wrong
You were mine
From the start
From the start
You were my
Work of art
I was wrong from the start…
Track Name: DON'T SEE IT CHANGIN'
DON’T SEE IT CHANGIN’

Buddy I was born with bad luck
And I don’t see it changing
Don’t see it changing
Anytime soon

Well I tried to do my best
I propped up so many people
Raved about you all
Ain’t got a true friend left

Where’d you learn to put your guard up?
You got hurt and you never got over it
Where’d you learn to put your guard up?
You got burned and you got bit

I can’t stand the competition
But I don’t see you changing
Don’t see you changing
Anyhow soon

You’d think we’re above spite
But you’re tired and insecure
Jealousy will consume you
I wish we’d never even met

Where’d you learn to put your guard up?
You got hurt and you never got over it
Where’d you learn to keep your guard up?
You got burned and you got bit

I’m moving too fast or I’m moving too slow
I’m casting out and I’m fitting in
This life of mine, nothing seems to flow
I’m moving too fast, I’m moving too slow
Oh no

Where’d I learn to put my guard up?
I got hurt and I never got over it
Where’d I learn to keep my guard up?
I got burned and I got bit