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Basket Star

by ADIR L.C.

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1.
Every time you laugh, I can’t help but crack… even after all these years sweeping dirty leaves, spring cleaning - its the holiest time of the year Into the calm wave headspace, that unparalleled strength in your spine Out of the deep dream, wake me to the best version of my short life Your smell, and your skin, and your touch - bring me more comfort than any other drug It’s the static, the way we go at it - the hunt’s over and I’m satisfied. Into the hot sheet body that was forged in the fire of my mind Out of the slow cope, work load, keep me revived and alive Out of the side stepped, stiff necked, that invincible look in your eye Convinced I’m yours now, sun shower, so clean and refreshed I could die. Into the calm wave headspace, that unparalleled strength in your spine Out of the deep dream, wake me to the best version of my short life
2.
Big Bad 04:05
Still on the ground, friends in the trees Wrapped in a blanket - wet, comforting It can't be said twice more than was said before Dream of a payout, dream of the final score It's the big bad wolf in the summer In the height of parties and distractions It’s the big bad wolf, keeps you drunk in the street , not taking care of your shit It's the big bad wolf in the autumn That first shiver, stoned colors drop and fade I'm the big bad wolf when I want to be, always subconsciously, never a good thing Babe in the woods, lost and full of apology Clinging to apathy, hoping for more… Trying so hard in something so impossible Looking for light in every corner and hole What holds it back, keeps it unseen? Keeps it a "kind of", keeps it a dream Work for happiness in your daily routine Fine line to balance attention with inner peace It's the big bad wolf in the winter Keeps the draft so cold in your black hole cave It’s the big bad wolf in the snow that keeps you all alone, downhill, broken old sled It's the big bad wolf in the springtime That deceptive rebirth, another break Give yourself more time when it gets nice - excuses come easy and then comes the rain I'm the big bad wolf in the corner Creeps into my bed, keeps me wide awake Yeah I'm the big bad wolf when I want to be Always subconsciously, never a good thing
3.
Reacting 03:12 video
Cold head, hot sheets - big windows all I need Deep breath, morning - the possibilities One day some sense might bless our heads, entropic and divine Locked in, big win - thrilled and thrown aside So bad at reacting - bleeding out the cause We’ve been talking way too much, we’ve been acting way too tough It’s slow, big snow - trickles in a row Good news, half truths - just paint me blue and oak I’ll put my mouth where my hand out is - slamming on the door Slow kiss, hard miss, attracted to the glow So stop. Heard you said you never were one to fight or get mixed up But it’s been dragging on and on. Yes, we’re so bad … At reacting - bleeding out the cause We’ve been talking way too much We’ve been acting way to tough We’ve been slighted, we’ve been stung We’ve been warned and we’ve been wronged
4.
New York 03:16
Oh big city, tired and lonely - take a breath, take your time Walk your streets, take my money - every taste is intertwined So don't hold me, don't hold me - just show me, show me Now I'm ready, as much as I’ll ever be - drained the muse, hope it ain't dry You embody a bad lover, the hottest sex, the cruelest lies So, I get it. I hate you. I love you, city of mine Say what you mean, and then mean what your saying Saying its only way to make it real and stick Say what you want to create, your reality Say it and New York will fight you but give it up
5.
Basket Star 02:44
Catching time on the side, just to get by Jumping cliffs, touching lips, just get high getting more from the core if we Keep trying easy way can be grey , skip the cheap ride its been weeks since we were winning anything but happiness woke up to successful virtues on the corner of this bed singing songs about the future, doomsday thoughts from dirty heads sweeping pasty leaves and pedals, its spring cleaning once again Learning slow on the low there’s no right side spent a year, getting clear out in Bedstuy Being bold, orange gold, found a sunrise Sell it free, symmetry, let it collide on the road now since October, seen the country, worked the land Roamed the desert with my day dreams, saw my soul as it was planned.. it said, “Find a lover that respects you, takes you in like you’re a star Make your friends remember you for all the good things that you are” We’re in deep, losing sleep, just to get by Jumping cliffs, touching lips, just get high
6.
Foggy Hill 01:18
In the darkness of foggy hills a half wolf howls at the moon he can’t see In this body at the same time, my pen is my hand is my head is the heart that I try Wabi sabi, tricked and loose, patched up fence and chicken coop On this mountain I’ll try my best My pen is my hand is my head is the hear that I test
7.
Getting Home 05:30
I’m just getting home now with a new sun to meet me I’ve been out all night serving poison to people and hope for a tip on advice that I'm giving It's killing my drive, you once knew me as driven You're about to wake up, I can tell by the twitch Of your fingers, they're dancing right off of the pillow But I'm drained like the drought that killed off the rebellion Weak at the knees means I'm weak in the head I see I'm, I'm not the only one here… The pigeons eat chicken wings out past our doorstep A curse, it’s an omen on Myrtle and Broadway This plentiful bounty of trash on the corner From bum litter bugs, bugging out here forever Now I’m dozing off quickly, forget all confusion Slip into steep dreams that point out the illusion That we have to be this way or that way to make it And make this much bread to compete against the grain Of everyone else, we're not everyone darlin’ Hold on to the holiest task of creating And keep making art to hold off the surrender This endless black hole of dark questions forever
8.
Go Hard 03:15
Complain until it's too late, oh the places we go Our feet they walk in circles, these circles draw the zero And maybe that’s the reason, the numbness is so pleasing Forget about the ambush, forget about its reasons We've been trying' hard just to go hard baby, seems like it’s been that-way for-so-long If you try too, we'll support you baby - You can take us to the place we all belong The whole race is a charade, a plan to make us let go of what we thought was honest, awake but still cannot move A tireless old circus, parading as new wisdom Repeating all the missteps, burning down the kingdom We've been trying' hard just to go hard baby, seems like it’s been that way for so long If you try too, we'll support you baby - you can take us to that place we all belong We've been trying hard just to go hard baby, kept it so quiet hardly didn't hurt at all Patiently wait, prophecy breaks softly - crossing fingers is all we are getting done.
9.
Same Way 02:25
Tried to be different running exactly the same way, and that’s ok But that’s not something that could ever work these days Laying low and telling lies to the apple of your eye … flying low, the branch is high Down in the subway, with every kind of face, they're all the same Waiting for something, to stop the rat race every day But that’s ok, we sleep at night to leave the system running right … That’s ok, we sleep at night Not apathetic, just overwhelmed by the pain, but that’s ok No were not running, just running out of space It’s so inevitable, it’s so harsh against the sword. What's the blessing? What's the cure? I'v got my papers, got my life. Do you need more proof of rights? I'v got my number.
10.
Pink Cloud 04:36
It’s the pink cloud singing in the background of your barbeque in summer Drink a cold one with your estranged son, it’s the chance to make it better Take a long walk, around the old block .. walk in circles now, forever Live a life seen, live by the right means .. meaning seems to fade much quicker So right out from this horse's mouth, take me out Put a bullet in my head, if i’m not myself, talking nonsense Drop my body in the woods, for the vultures, bears and wolves There’s no glory in getting old, if you go out half a corpse Make some money, leave behind honey Your colony will always love you When all you saved up, a stranger's pay stub Nursing home is death's sneak preview And while you'll need help to shit and sit straight Could use your last strength with a smile Will you find peace? whatever that means Lose your mind forget what you knew …. All along, we knew one day we’d be gone forever Pity me and let me sink, fast and quick, still with it Hitting the road either way, just make my travels be worth my stay Sing with me until I die, just let the song be something nice The useless pity of a fool, we all end up there, quick or cruel
11.
Keep those high knees to get those high speeds this super motion, its an emotion "in your wildest dreams, you couldn't have me" thats what she promised before she vanished but you're a good one, the respectful son and you deserve this, a love of madness so pray this light song, to keep the wrong gone give it feeling, sing it it like you mean it oh sweet heavy ghost, won't you release me? and put me on the road towards something good I can believe in all while the world comes crashing down so patiently so patiently that salty sweetness, chaotic neatness its an explosion, epic erosion this narrow highway, it splits in two ways choose direction, find some direction too little too late, still always turns out great break the mountain, find the fountain another rad scene, another wet dream lacking emotion, its all emotion in this action, hoping for attraction all this hiding, it's traumatizing OOh sweet heavy ghost, won't you release me? and put me on the road towards something good I can believe in all while the world comes crashing down so patiently so patiently another potion, this witch's notion that its all planned out, her version's far out its one more misstep, hundredth last cigarette supposed to quit now, but its a bad time
12.
(original song by Alon Eder, translated to English by Adir L.C.) A little love couldn’t hurt I think that i'll get out of here I think I want to get far from here Only a love that can hurt A love that can distance us both It’s only me, no its not yours It’s hard but, I'm now forced... To blur the boundaries a bit A bit of a toke and drink Can’t find much sense in anything Don’t want to wake up from this Alone’s no good ... Together is bad So no matter how you see it, there’s no choice to have So wait until the very end Wait until the time passes You understand lots about me I’m translucent, to hard to see So give me the time that I need Take all the time that you want It’s only me - no it’s not yours it’s hard, but I'm now forced So just leave … no just stay In life these days you can’t choose anyway

about

OUT May 17th

On Basket Star, the well-traveled New York songwriter and studio savant Adir L.C. epitomizes a new breed of troubadour: one who not only writes songs as he passes through but arranges and records them on the move as well. He assembled the record like a postmodern folk Bard, collecting and orchestrating tracks, sounds, and creative contributions to share on his way. A savvy folk-pop craftsman with a track record, Adir coaxed Basket Star to life as he moved from one ad-hoc studio to another: Brooklyn apartments and practice spaces, an aunt’s house in Vermont, a studio outside Binghamton, New York, and more.

Adir’s baseline sound is a heady blend of millennial indie: a freak folk earthiness meets the big-din symphonics of “collective pop,” with accents of tin pan alley, jangle, soul, and street corner brass band. The living-as-producing recording process lends Basket Star an accretive complexity but one steered by the steady hand of a veteran auteur, courting the chaos for its surprises and its fertility (with a big assist from mix engineer Aaron Adams).

The indie jazz ballad “Best Version (of My Short Life)” kicks off the record on a lush and sophisticated note. The standout second song, “Big Bad” as well as the strong single candidate “Pink Cloud” find Adir back in his deepest pocket—jangling, achingly melodic indie folk-rock. The gently rocking acoustic title track demonstrates one of his most striking gifts as guitarist and singer—an easy swagger that makes all this flowing musical richness seem unconscious, almost accidental.

Like so many of the poets of the new century, Adir writes with gravity and serious moral purpose, but Basket Star never approaches preachy didacticism. Adir is too much of an offhand impressionist and street surrealist in the Stephen Malkmus tradition for that to happen. His inventory of self and society is carried along on a lax, permissive river of language, image, and snaky melody, and his quest is on perpetually shaky ground.

A sense of crowd enlivens Basket Star, expressed in layered harmonies, Salvation Army brass and occasional family-style percussion. Adir has long had a nose for community. He came of age rocking in the same New Jersey basement shows as his older friends in Titus Andronicus and Real Estate. His college years in New Paltz, New York, were spent spearheading a now thriving DIY scene, and living at Salvation Recording, the studio that later helped hone several debut albums from recent nationally acclaimed acts.
When Adir relocated to Tel Aviv for two years, he quickly connected with the progressive music scene there and produced the well received Oceanside Cities, a fastidious record as high-gloss and precise as Basket Star is organic and comfortably imperfect. Oceanside Cities still gets enthusiastic airplay in Israel, and close friend and multi-instrumentalist Eden Barel flew in to make significant contributions to Basket Star, playing on and co-producing a number of songs on the record.

Upon returning to the United States, Adir moved in with lifelong collaborator Cameron Wisch (Porches, Cende, and Sheer Mag) and members of LVL Up at the infamous Brooklyn house venue ‘David Blaine’s the Steakhouse’. There began the process of what would eventually become Basket Star, to be released by Birdwatcher Records on May 17, 2019.

(words by John Burdick)

credits

released May 17, 2019

Adir Cohen – Lyrics/music/production, Vocals, Keys, Synth, Guitars, Drums/Percussion, Banjo, Mandolin, Bass
Eden Barel – Percussion, Drums, Guitars, Mandolin, Keys, Vox, Co-Production on select tracks
Cameron Wisch – Drums, Bass, Vox
Chris Daley – Guitars, Synth, Piano, Vox
Hunter Davidsohn – Mellotron Organ, Drums
Tal Mashiach – Contrabass
Aaron Adams – Keys
Ina Elkind – Bass
Yonatan Peled – Trombone
Vince Tampio – Trumpet
Group Vocals: Sandy Davis, Lau Noa, Alejandro Rodriguez, Britt Yudell, David, Hana and Matan Cohen, Moka Dog

Engineered/Mixed by Ofek Ariov
Mixed by Aaron ‘Ronnie Stone’ Adams
Mastered at Holy Fang Studios by Oliver Ignatius

Big Thanks to my family, my partner Britt, all the steak-holders at DBTS, Birdwatcher Records, Eden, Cameron, Chris and the rest of my amazing band, and everyone else that helps make this project happen and that makes my life such a good one.

*** “A Little Love Couldn’t Hurt” is an interpretation of Alon Eder’s “Ktsat Ahava Lo Tazik”, translated to English by Adir ***

All art by Gregory Moncada (AKA Bad Pedestrian)

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ADIR L.C. Tel Aviv Yafo, Israel

Music from the heart, made to share. Living near the beach. www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/album-adir-l-c-basket-star/

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