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Strangled Light

by Less Art

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    The portable and convenient physical format of the Less Art debut full length, Strangled Light.

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1.
My family, filled with grief While I feel nothing but I try to help Do I even belong here? Does anyone even care? Now I’m cleaning out his house Blood still on the bedroom wall Does my fear come from the same place as His cowardice? I’m too curious to kill myself Everything passes, even doubt What I can’t control won’t keep me down I use optimism as survival And I miss you (Dawn & Dad), But I had to get away Even though I left my best friend And soon after she passed away And I felt bad for you, Mother But I didn’t give a fuck about him What did he do to you When you were young? I can’t help but worry Is that same blood in me? I link the future to the past Is that same blood in me? These days it seems like there’s no escape I only come home for tragedy Like for instance, A death in the family So heatwave summer for freezing winter Sometimes beautiful, but mostly bitter It’s the same everywhere we go Today will pass while we wait for tomorrow And I’m here, cleaning out his house, Blood still on the bedroom wall Why am I thinking about this now? Searching for answers that won’t be found Where my grandfather put a gun in his mouth Where some friends I know are still trying to get out No matter how far we try to run, We all end up in the same position I’m too curious to kill myself Everything passes, even doubt What I can’t control won’t keep me down I use optimism as survival
2.
Two shots to the back of his head And the wounded Bus driver bleeds All over his seat Before dying in the streets And then, on the following day, On the same route, It happened again As the local paper Received her message, And this is what it said: “You think we are weak But we are strong I am an instrument For those who cannot speak People know we’ve suffered, Still no one defends us We can no longer ignore These acts that enrage us” Diana the Huntress She is an instrument Of vengeance To the monsters That are men Two shots To the back of his head And the murdered But driver lies In a pool of his own blood And then, on the following day, On the same route, It happened again And witnesses Noticed the blonde wig While making her escape From the crime scene Diana the Huntress She is an instrument Of vengeance To the monsters That are men Where the police do nothing In a city that doesn't care She strikes the ego of man Their blood runs through the street And then she speaks She says: I am an instrument This is a warning to those that think, We are weak
3.
This is not a tragic romance It’s a guilty conscience And I am a broken man The kind of person who hurts no one With a heart like a stowaway On a ship without direction My eyes see only black and white These bones are weak and feverish Bedridden but I never sleep I’m abandoned property And why is this the way it is? Why is this the way I live? I can’t stand who anyone is, But what have I become? I am a broken man The kind of person that hurts no one With a heart like a stowaway On a ship without direction My eyes are the vacant type Each night alone is another fight Throwing phones and slamming doors I’ve never felt comfortable So I pick at my face til the skin starts to break But that doesn’t help at all Body aches that burn the flesh Itch at the skin like exit wounds That come from poison arrows I have a mind, but it’s not useful And this is not a tragic romance It’s a guilty conscience (I fucking deserve this) I’ll never marry or settle down I’m a quiet room in an empty house I always play dumb and never show affection I want to be wanted but from a distance My demons have gone hungry While I slowly starve If the body barely functions Let it destroy itself
4.
Okay, These clean sheets are soaked in wet dreams Stains as markers while I hold my position Poison habits create numbing routine, Providing comfort while offering defeat Have I ever been more than a crush? A scapegoat for the bored or unloved? Well, I grew feathers when I shaved my head Choked on the fumes from the fire and flesh I’m sick, I’m sick from addiction And I’m afraid, I’m afraid to love I’ll never know how much I mean to anyone Still I scream, I scream and I reach With my claws, my talons, my teeth Ruined voice, blood from my mouth From where the words used to come out You see, There’s something inside of me My fear of death, a defense mechanism Doubt gnawing at me like a nervous reaction I am the protester’s burning body I am patiently waiting in place I just need to know, before I’m a wandering ghost I’m sick, I’m sick from addiction And I’m afraid, I’m afraid to love I”ll never know how much I mean to anyone Still I scream, I scream and I reach With my claws, my talons, my teeth Anything to keep it together Reborn from death to become the fire I avoided growing closer I don’t want to miss growing old The cliche of drifting apart Desperate and alone Cause I’m sick, I’m sick from addiction And I’m afraid, I’m afraid to love I”ll never know how much I mean to anyone Since we’re born, We’re built to die So let us move away And die of old age With our dogs I just want to get past, Past all the shit That gets in the way So, where can we go? Will we ever be Who we really wanted to be?
5.
Why don’t we ever help those we have hurt? We’re so concerned with what we think we deserve We all hate each other and no one gives a fuck Even though we know it won’t do us any good We’ve reached a point where the idea isn’t important Where the currency is worth more than the purchase And our opinions come from the cheap feelings of convenience That’s just how it goes, There’s no sign of hope Why don’t we ever help those we have hurt? (We’d rather have our hands around someone’s throat) Everyone hates each other and no one gives a fuck Even though we know it won’t Do us any good We’re surrounded by prophets Who think spilling their guts Is the same thing as giving blood We’ve eaten all the animals We’ve burned down every tree We’ve done so many wrongs Any excuse for these awful things While the armchair activists and contrary fanatics Fight over who cares more about caring less And some say, a peaceful protest Is nothing but a white flag, While others claim they aren’t racist, Say it’s just the way they were raised And they carry on and on this way While we all remain enraged And nothing fucking changes This system doesn’t work The world is better without us This system doesn’t work We are better without us
6.
Shapeshifter 04:11
There isn’t a way To make this stop It’s inescapable This goddamn disaster Of being anything More than temporary We have the company we keep And the shit we choose to do To one another (or to no one) And that’s not going to change No, it won’t go away I’m a shapeshifter I’m a broken compass The fool in clever makeup I’m the violent Buddhist That’s tied to a life I’ve never led (I’m only passing through) And on my deathbed, Will it be what I’ve done That flashes before my eyes Or will it be What it didn’t do I was afraid to try And if I can’t finish Anything I start What will I do when I die Since that’s how it ends? Will I find liberation? I don’t want this to end I can’t lose, anyone I love I’m a shapeshifter I’m a broken compass The fool in clever makeup I’m the violent Buddhist ...so help me do better Anything to keep me From unraveling And fucking it up, Before I am done I’m a shapeshifter I’m a broken compass
7.
Crushed Out 02:15
There is a motive Of men past their prime Doing wrong because they can Without consequence To them, the world must be won Our freedom used for war Who gives a shit what is good When it’s so exhausting? There’s a quiet violence That exists in my head These words form a weapon And we’re onto you now People are beat down Their hope crushed out Your American Dream is a fucking nightmare They take, dismantle and they break And offer nothing in return To a country that has given them, More than enough They eat the flesh Of the ones they claim to love Bears a perfect smiles The meat still between their teeth Wearing crowns like they’re kings Letting the rest fight for scraps But you have been wounded, And we smell the blood People are pissed off They won’t back down Your American Dream is not for them You are not for them You are not for them You are not for them You are not for us
8.
What is it in man That takes the idea of God And turns it into something it’s not? Can someone explain? What is it in man Makes him think he’s a saint over sin? Control women or kill innocents? He’s a fucking hypocrite Who else has a gun? Which school or church Will be the next target? What is it in man That takes the idea of God Turns it into something it’s not? Can someone explain Or sound the alarm? There’s another building on lockdown With an armed lunatic On the move Again Who else has a bomb? Which mosque or clinic Will be the next target? After years of searching And finding faith, You’ve used killing To shape your way of life So when you’re finally there, Staring God in the face Will you see the devil Looking back? What is it in man What is it in man What is it in man What is it in man Who else has a gun? Which school or church Will be the next target?
9.
We’ve walked through The black door We’ve entered the age of loss We all end, forever Not everything can be saved The sun and the sea Only remind me of what’s gone And we sit here, Like strangled light Waiting for what? Son of Osiris, We’re in mourning Pleading to you and your father To protect those we have lost Since they can’t be brought back to us The sun and the sea Only remind me of what’s gone And we sit here, Like strangled light Waiting for something We didn’t want These cold rooms with white walls Filled with bad news about the truth And we sit here, like strangled light Waiting for all the things we didn’t want I know I must keep living, Though there will always be, Something missing No one comes back from the dead Please Make it so, we don’t need These sore throats, from singing songs About the pain of living and losing Someone

about

QUEEN GERTRUDE
More matter, with less art.

LORD POLONIUS
Madam, I swear I use no art at all.

–Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

Gertrude was telling Polonius to quit fucking around and get to the point, and that’s exactly what the members of Less Art have in mind.

Less Art is the alliance of brothers Riley and Ed Breckenridge of Thrice, Ian Miller and Jon Howell of Kowloon Walled City, and Mike Minnick of Curl Up and Die. On Strangled Light, these five veterans bash out their own new version of post-hardcore – "post-hardcore by post-youths" is how they cheekily describe themselves, but this music is dead serious. The musicianship is world-class; the perspective is world-weary; the sound is fresh and urgent and crackling with feeling.

Strangled Light's nine songs add up to a modern, muscular incarnation of the vibe set forth years ago by bands like Fugazi, Unwound, and Drive Like Jehu. Like those bands, Less Art rages – emotionally-charged and electrifying – yet also knows how to wield dynamics as a weapon. The lulls make the peaks even sharper.

Initially it was baseball that brought these musicians together: four-fifths of Less Art are the men behind baseball-themed hardcore band Puig Destroyer. Blasting through songs about bunting and stealing bases eventually led these four to want to start a "real" band – they enlisted Riley's brother Ed and Less Art was born.

The band name might be lifted from a line in Hamlet, but ultimately it is raw emotion that drives this band. Using blunt phrases and the realest of tones, frontman Minnick sings of self-destruction on the micro and macro levels – candid lyrics address his personal demons as well as the collective deathwish leading all humanity to the brink. "Pessimism as Denial," debuted today, plainly describes our species' suicidal path: "We're surrounded by prophets / Who think spilling their guts / Is the same thing as giving blood / We've eaten all the animals / We've burned down every tree / We've done so many wrongs... / This system doesn't work / The world is better without us."

Strangled Light was recorded and mixed by Kowloon Walled City frontman Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios and Antisleep Audio, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Full of Hell, Mutoid Man) at Audiosiege.

Guest vocals on "Diana the Huntress" were delivered by Meghan O'Neill-Pennie (Super Unison, ex-Punch).

The cover art was created by Jacob van Loon, whose work adorned the cover of Explosions in the Sky's The Wilderness album.

Strangled Light is a thrilling debut – an entirely new, relevant vision from five men carrying decades of experience between them. Stand by for news of the next live shows.

credits

released July 28, 2017

Mike Minnick - vocals
Ed Breckenridge - guitar
Jon Howell - guitar
Ian Miller - bass
Riley Breckenridge - drums

Recorded and mixed by Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios and Antisleep Audio
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

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