October 14, 2022

Stephen Norton

Feelings And Such

Wine And Roses

October 14, 2022

Stephen Norton

Feelings And Such

Wine And Roses

Gut punched and robotic

Schedule’s clear as day

Feeling 20/20

But my eyesight fades away

I recognize the blurry page

As what i cannot say

I take it as a cue and hide

Inside my smokey haze

I try to speak but there’s a

Black cloud in the way

I can’t even scream

I try but the chords in my throat

Are only on display

I kid you not

I knew I’d soon be quarantined

Trapped inside my head

Right now it’s bogus boring Idiotic paranoia

People rising from the dead

This is my residence

It’s my entire fleet

I saw that bug follow you

From the path of the neighbors yard

Wait wait what?

What’s the matter with that

You say like some kind of

Kierkegaard

Oh my god

I’m hurt real bad

Call a doctor

Try to get me a bed

And they say it’s wine and roses

In the end

I went to the edge

I went to the edge

I went to the window

I went to the ledge

I made an announcement

I made a mistake

I made the decision

I decided to take

I made an amendment

I stepped on some toes

Feeling ever after

Or so the story goes

This is my own two cents

Just make ends meet

I saw that bug follow you

From the path of the neighbors yard

Wait wait what?

What’s the matter with that

You say like some kind of

Kierkegaard

Oh my god

I’m hurt real bad

Call a doctor

Try to get me a bed

And they say it’s wine and roses

In the end

Stephen Norton

Like it was for everyone else, 2020 was difficult for Los Angeles based indie rock band Louden Swain. Their US and European tour dates were cancelled by May. They had been working on new music, but were relegated to zoom sessions and email to work through ideas. As 2020 dragged on, it seemed a herculean task to put together a new full-length album. Nonetheless, they were excited by the bits and pieces of new music they did have, so in January of 2021 they decided to set a new goal - release a single per month for as many months as it took until they were able to get back on the road and support what will eventually become their next full length release.

The first single from this as yet untitled album is called “Basement Of No Hope” (set for release on March 12th, 2021). While the title may conjure up images of pandemic related solitude, the reality is that the song was born from a friendly contest the band partook in during their 2018 tour. In deciding who would get their pick of rooms in whatever house the band had rented that night on tour, they resorted to a classic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. A much disputed start of the contest (which was caught on video at the time and still exists on YouTube) resulted in lead singer Rob Benedict finishing last and ending up with the worst room in the house - a cold, dimly lit, windowless cavern in the basement.

The song is uniquely Louden Swain - lots of guitars lead by Billy Moran and Benedict, driving drums courtesy of Stephen Norton, thumping bass from Michael Borja, and the trademark lyrical wit and engaging vocal performance from Benedict - elements which have been staples of their 9 albums and 20 plus years together. It’s an anthemic piece reminiscent of the 80’s but with a distinctly modern feel.

Fans of (almost) all things 80’s, the band took their name from the protagonist in the 1985 film Vision Quest portrayed by Matthew Modine. Lead singer and guitarist Rob Benedict, bassist/keyboardist Michael Borja and drummer Stephen Norton launched the band in 1997 after meeting at a party in Los Angeles. Their early punk-inspired sound quickly expanded into a more adventurous and experimental sensibility, while maintaining the tuneful, emotionally open approach that first endeared fans on the early releases: Able-Legged Heroes (2001), Overachiever (2003), and Suit And Tie (2006). The addition of lead guitarist Billy Moran in 2006 allowed the band to finally realize the sonic vision that they'd been hearing in their heads.

Those epic visions and expanded horizons manifested themselves on the albums A Brand New Hurt (2009), Eskimo (2011), Sky Alive (2014), No Time Like The Present (2017), and Splitting The Seams (2018) - an acoustic re-imagining of songs from their vast catalog. They also released a highly popular live album Saturday Night Special (2019). Along the way the band discovered a fervid fanbase propelled by fans of The CW’s hit television show Supernatural which featured lead singer Rob Benedict in the role of God, also known as Chuck The Prophet.

Basement Of No Hope represents as much a return to normalcy as anyone can find these days. An energetic, spirited song that makes you want to move and keep moving, which is exactly what Louden Swain is planning on doing with every new single they put out over the next 10 months.

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