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Lifeblood

by Karl S. Williams

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Cardboard sleeve printed on 100% consumer waste recycled, natural light-brown stock. The first run sold out so this is a simplified package to the original gatefold and now made entirely in Australia.

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  • Lifeblood 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Single pocket cardboard jacket with lyrics printed on inner sleeve. Get two ‘cause you’re gonna wear this out.

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1.
You look tired, that’s what people say But you smile for a picture frame Though your smile seems a mile away Oh isn’t that a shame? Like a knife between your shoulder blades There’s an emptiness and a burning pain The worst thing you can’t reach the place To make it go away Oh, make it go away Grace on the mountain Grace on the valley floor There’s a light, there’s a light, there’s a light, there’s a light I’ve been down that way Too many times before There’s a light, there’s a light, there’s a light, there’s a light There’s a light, a light, a light, a light He was born in a barnhouse But he died on a cross I guess he had to suffer For all of us But you don’t got to go that way You know you always have a choice And you can always call on me If you need to hear my voice Oh, hear my voice Don’t go into your darkness ‘Cause I know there is a light Maybe we’ve got to break a little Before we see it shine Maybe we’ve got to fall down Begging on our knees Crying please, please Give me some release Oh please, please, please Don’t go into your darkness ‘Cause I know there is a light Maybe we’ve got to break a little Before we see it shine
2.
God is a bomb Sent to destroy To make men into memories And gravestones of little boys Factories of women And armies of children Who couldn’t know better Words are not toys They are weapons Someone is always buying Someone is always selling Some brand of Heaven Hate is a knife Sent to divide To turn brother on brother And colour to black and white To empty the coffers And poison the waters When you gonna learn your lesson? Words are not toys They are weapons Someone is always buying Someone is always selling Some brand of Heaven You won’t be forgiven You won’t find the Kingdom So put down your weapon Let’s both go on living Love is a gift Sent to uplift us To bind us together And settle all conflict
3.
Spanish Eyes 04:55
Spanish eyes like bottle glass Heavy with the troubled past You bear all your pain like that The rest you carry on your back I know it’s a heavy load To carry all that on your own But babe I just got too close There’s a lesson to learn When it’s hard to discern The fire from the ones that been burned Spanish eyes that saw too much Only ever wanted love Lit a fire that burned it up Do I stay and burn or just run? Do you remember baby What it feels like to get broken? All too well, all too well, all too well And do you know baby Sometimes the sadness is choking me? All too well, all too well, all too well Oh but you, I only want you Not your past, not your last lover too
4.
Abomination 03:52
5.
Bones 05:25
My baby left me a pile of sticks Said the great love is broken, here are the bits And I’m not sure it’s something, you’d bother to fix But I won’t blame you if you’ve got to try I won’t blame you, if you’ve got to try If life is the silence Love is the song If life is the night time Love is the dawn If life is the body then Love is the bones My baby left me a pile of stones Said I opened up your heart, now here are the bones That I found inside, you know Some things you can never hide Oh, some things you can never hide No matter how you try In times like these We do what we need To survive All the love gone lost All the love gone wrong Is like an island We’re stranded upon
6.
I’ve got a long way to go and it’s a heavy load I can’t carry on my own so keep me on the road if you can man Transmission is shot she’s getting pretty hot The manifold’s leaking exhaust fumes up inside the cab man Just keep me on the road if you can man Oh, keep me on the road Every good hill smells like a burned out clutch Every good person is a raging drunk Well you gotta be drunk to get through some stuff You got to burn the clutch to get the miles up Just a little, further
7.
Black Magick 04:22
It’s in my bones and it’s in my gristle Under my skin like an old scotch thistle It’s in my blood Black magick and river mud Sad little town Cane fields for miles around Black magick in the water Black magick on the ground Give me blood Black magick and river mud Oh babe, I’m falling on my knees I’m crying baby help me please Black magick is taking over me It’s giving me the heart disease Black magick’s old Been here since long before Kind of make your engine hot Kind of make your blood run cold Oh give me blood Black magick and river mud Black magick is in the heart of me It’s giving me the heart disease
8.
Meet me in Columbus Ohio On the third of December I’ll be sitting in the back row Of the old Palace Theatre I’ll be waiting for the music to play I’ll be waiting for the spirit to enter All my life I’ve been waiting for you With my heart held up in surrender I can’t get no relief from you woman Meet me in Columbus Ohio So very far away We can wake up in the night time And pretend that it’s the day Meet me in Columbus Ohio And I will take you to the show You’ll come wearing your favourite blue jeans And I’ll come wearing my heart on my sleeve Don’t forget me, don’t forget me, don’t forget me Don’t forget me, when you leave Real love, hurts so much
9.
Hungry 03:40
Maybe we should call it a day Maybe enough is enough Maybe when we’ve said all that we have to say Maybe it just wasn’t love But I’m hungry I’m hungry again It’s the warmth of your body Your beautiful scent But most of all it’s the hole that you left Maybe we should settle the score Maybe we should put it to rest Maybe I tried and maybe I failed I come up short when I overextend I’m hungry, haul out your dead I’m hungry, haul out your dead I need you, like a hole in the head I need you, like a hole in the head I need you
10.
Fear 04:10
I fear it, I fear it I fear the body going blind I can’t see my lover coming I keep missing all the signs I am groping in the darkness Where is Ariadne’s line And do you who lead me forward Only see as well as I? Fear the mundane sales pitch bleating Fear the black wings of bad news beating Fear the black mouth of big banks feeding Fear the hate that the children are eating Above all else, I fear myself I fear it, I fear it I fear the body going mad I imagine persecution Shattered dreams I never had Could we ask for intervention Those asleep at the controls Could we perform an exorcism Would it leave the body cold Fear the rich and fear the poor Fear religion knocking at my door Fear I’ll never really be much more than I am Fear I’ll never reach the other shore Above all else, I fear myself I fear that I’m faking I fear that you’re mistaken I’ve nothing to give you I’ve only been taking And I fear that I’ll never be good enough I fear that I’ll never be worthy of your love
11.
The captain called from the forward mast I believe our hopes are fading fast This thing was never meant to last And he slipped over the side Never let me go, never let me go Let my life end and begin again But never let me go The cook went next, the deckhand too The businessman in a cashmere suit He took the cabin bird to boot And the priest lay down and cried Never let me go Give your life, give your life, give your life for love Give your life, give your life, give your life for love Whatever trouble it brings Look in the eyes of your lover and sing Never let me go The wreck of it was all around How senseless does the silence sound? Little pieces still run aground In places far and wide Never let me go

about

As far as albums go, Lifeblood is the monstrous, all-consuming creative undertaking that now deserves to be heard - and like a lot of people, Karl is angry. Written and recorded against the backdrop of several turbulent years Lifeblood encapsulates both personal trials and the heartbreak of a society witnessing its own decay. The album touches on Trump-era politics, the ongoing proliferation of profit-before-people and growing disunity, disconnection and disenfranchisement in all corners.

“I feel it is necessary for any vital art to turn a mirror upon the society in which it is spawned. My belief is that ultimately a society is made up of individuals who think, feel and love - so maybe the best place to point that mirror is at the heart.”

This is a people-powered project born of pure creative necessity - an approach that pervades the entire release as it is conducted entirely independently; a return to the basics. Lifeblood was imagined from its inception to be stripped back, live and visceral. It is the sound of a band playing together, the performances unhinged and unadorned. Recorded at Sing Sing, Woodstock (Melbourne) and Lovestreet Studios (Gold Coast) and produced by the band’s drummer George Carpenter, the result is loud, raw, obnoxious and pulls no punches - capturing better than ever the band’s electrifying live show. This is a fitting treatment for a selection of songs which are uncompromising in their emotional and lyrical weight.

The long-awaited follow up to Karl S. Williams’ debut, Heartwood (2014), which garnered attention from music lovers across the globe, prompting several years of steady touring, Lifeblood is the move towards longevity as an artist, a songwriter and a human. With this offering, Karl cleanses the slate and redefines the terms of engagement. Lifeblood is ultimately an album of hope - a revolt against the powers that be and proof that with art and love, we shall overcome.

credits

released February 2, 2020

Karl S. Williams - Vocals, piano, guitar, banjo, electric organ
Crick Boue - Bass, electric guitars, slide, banjo, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
George Carpenter - Drums, percussion, hammond, backing vocals

Additional Backing Vocals by Tal Fitzpatrick and Shannon Busch
Organ on ‘Spanish Eyes’ by Ian Peres

Strings: Violin - Rebecca Karlen and Eugenie Costello, Viola - Michael Patterson, Cello - Simon Svoboda
String arrangements by Rafael Karlen
String arrangement in ‘God Is A Bomb’ by George Carpenter

All songs by Karl S. Williams
Produced and mixed by George Carpenter
Engineered by Sam Swain, Richard Stolz and George Carpenter
Mastered by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering, Los Angeles

Recorded at Sing Sing VIC, Woodstock VIC, Lovestreet QLD and Alchemix QLD between July 2018 and December 2018.

Photography by Andrew Gough.

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Karl S. Williams Currumbin, Australia

Drawing from folk, blues and gospel Karl S. Williams' songs are steeped in the swamp water of the northern NSW cane country where he was raised, lending the distinct flavour of this land to all his work.

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