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TURN the DARK

by shelleyobrien

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1.
Juniper Belle 02:22
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sweetest juniper, low-lying juniper tell me all the stories that you know i'll hear you soon, I'm sure, sweetest juniper whispering secrets through the yarrow sweetest juniper, berries and wood soon you will be swallowed by the snow oh then juniper i'd stay with you if i could sleeping still until the morrow
2.
Turn the Dark 04:34
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here is the day, oh perfect day just underneath the good night take me to the wonder, day with sorrows and light, with sorrows and light here is a heart, oh beating heart underneath these old clothes take me to the mountain, heart in ribbons and bows, in ribbons and bows watch me turn this darkness inside out well the stars do burn and the suns do shout lift up the sky and shake it all out and we'll begin here is a word, oh little words underneath this tongue tied take me to the question, word in letters and signs here is my heart oh beating heart pinned to my sleeve where it shows take me to the mountains heart in ribbons and bows, in ribbons and bows, in ribbons and bows.
3.
Spring Drum 02:55
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I know your heart so well with a green-eyed welcome sound the spring drum ring the sweet blue bells we're lit and then some gonna make the world hum ha-ooh so come on, spin me round til we're lost, til we're found til our feet don't touch the ground i know your face so well with a green-eyed welcome sound the spring drum let's go, let's cast our spell we're lit and then some gonna make the world hum ha-ooh
4.
Snow in Shangri-La 03:36
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your fists closed full around our stars this universe of ours the love we made nothing left but the breath I draw in the snow in Shangri La the fits and starts of what we feel turned you to steel to a switch blade won’t turn coats with the hearts I draw in the snow in Shangri La what a mistake I didn’t make what a chance you didn’t take look with eyes of winter, see everything once sweet gets buried underneath i’m unborn and ready for the thaw in the snow in Shangri La
5.
Sugar Ship 00:45
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sweet like sugar she went sinking sinking into his salty water without thinking thinking captain, oh captain where is she? lighthouse keeper, can you find her for me? there's nothing out here but the sea
6.
Do Me Wrong 03:08
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you do me wrong, lover man you do me wrong a turn of phrase, a change of tune this is not our song i can't sing along, i can't sing along you called for rain, weather man you called for rain watch me cry, hang me to dry don't explain there's nothing you could gain, nothing you could gain la la la la la i know you're in there, i know i know you're in there, i know i know you're in there but i let go. can't make it right, lover man can't make it right you're taking off into the dark like a red-eye flight i'm the keeper of the light, the keeper of the light la la la la la you do me wrong, lover man
7.
Truth Is 04:20
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feathers grow from where you kissed my back last night in more than one way i've been contemplating flight right now if you don't mind i need to close my eyes so i can't see how far i'm falling don't give me a single hour if all your clocks are wrong don't give me a single line if all you've got's a song again i find i press rewind and go back to last night so i can see how far you're falling i'm going up past the weather to the sky this time the truth is, when you say my name like you did, windows open wide the truth is, i want you to come by so i can really fly and i don't have to fly away if i could have one thing of yours i'd take a smile put it on a string and wear it 'round my neck a while hanging there we could declare something is going on maybe the world will see we've fallen i'm going up past the weather to the sky this time the truth is, when you say my name like you did, windows open wide the truth is, i want you to come by so i can really fly and i don't have to fly away
8.
(there, there) Feather and Bone 04:03
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There, There Feather and Bone At our feet, you were air-born You, you called in the dawn Never knowing you were going, gone gone We stand still as the oaks And wonder, and wonder Words pile up in our throats What have you left us for?

 There, There Feather and Bone Come closer, crouch low Here, here is the song Of so long, so long We stand still as the oaks And wonder, and wonder Words pile up in our throats What did you take us for? Where, where did our love go? We’re broken, just so Once, once we have begun We’re on our way to done, done done. We stand still as the oaks And wonder, and wonder Words pile up in our throats What have you left us for? What did you take us for? 

There, there...
9.
The Only Way Out 04:27
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nowhere to go with a broken crown and starlight chandeliers lay me low lay me down let me disappear the only way out of here is in the only way out of here is in if tongues could taste the fleeting sweet we'd be spoken for tangled limbs ripening on the forest floor in my hands the company i keep in my hands the company i keep the currents rush the crescents pull on our earthen pier without us the hours go nothing else is clear
10.
Prospector's Lament 03:42
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11.
Hold On To Your Heart 02:26
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hold on to your heart ruin has run aground the world that spun your dreams is a world all broken down hold on to your heart you're under stars unabandoning bear the empty night though you can barely breath everything has done gone everything goes, you go on, you go on hold on to your heart hold on to your heart
12.
Love:Madness 03:11
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heavy breathes the hyacinth around me in the blues of heaven's night she found me what are we the sum of? what are we the sum of? love is the only madness draw three letters on my skin the possibilities will let these lights in what is life a record of? what is life a record of? love is the only madness weighted beauty, can't get enough of you you're dazzling the sun above you whatever will become of whatever will become of love the only madness love the only madness love is the only madness

about

Inspired by a love of the north and the recipient of a Canada Council Grant to conduct songwriting workshops, O’Brien spent the summer of 2012 living in a tent near Dawson City. This boreal setting gave her an iconic landscape to pan for musical gold, and the results were a collection of songs both driving and reflective. The northern sojourn formed the basis for Turn the Dark, her new album mixed by Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes).

O’Brien plays most of the instruments on the record, including bass, piano, electric ukulele and the percussive elements. Ukulele Superstar James Hill and his cellist-songwriter partner Anne Janelle added their own string arrangements to the mix, and Joel Schwartz (Great Lake Swimmers) played electric guitar and banjo.

The album is a rich glimpse into the nature of love, from the giddy upbeat spin of new love in Spring Drum, to the driving questioning of taking a chance in Truth Is. It dives into to the mysteries of love also: Snow in Shangri-La is a haunting wintery fable about loyalty and betrayal, reminiscent of Lana Del Ray.

The luminous anthem Juniper was is a small fable about life in the mountains of the north, while the enigmatic ballad The Only Way Out speaks of loneliness and communion with nature. The album’s namesake Turn The Dark highlights O’Brien’s signature tools of piano, electric ukulele and casio keyboard, as well as her distinct lyrical style, and is the record’s redemption song:

watch me turn this darkness inside out,
well the stars do burn, and the suns do shout.
Lift up the sky and shake it all out, and we’ll begin.

Layered, lush and often cinematic, O’Brien’s songs alight on the innermost branches of the human heart. O’Brien explores these intimate forests of our human mythology with delicate curiosity. The underlying pulses of solitude and longing pull at us, but they are countered with reprises of hope, gratitude and joy. O’Brien’s Turn The Dark is a call to love, in its countless forms.

credits

released May 14, 2014

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shelleyobrien Toronto, Ontario

Since the release of her debut album in 2009 and her sophomore record Vivarium (2011), Shelley O’Brien has taken her electric ukulele and her haiku lyrics to festivals in Helsinki, Melbourne, Tokyo and Rome, and has toured in Iceland, Holland, Japan and Germany.

O'Brien's elemental and lush third album, Turn The Dark, delves into the inner workings of the human heart. ... more

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