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Excelsior!

by Johanna Samuels

supported by
Russ Isabella
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Russ Isabella Loving this album, with new favorites each time I listen. Currently, Nature's Way is tops! Favorite track: Nature's Way.
Jazzdub57
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Jazzdub57 My favourite album of 2021 so far. I've been playing it constantly since discovering it by chance on Spotify. There are echoes of Aimee Mann and Elliot Smith in a couple of songs but this only enhances the overall feel and mood of the music. So glad I stumbled upon "Excelsior!" Favorite track: Sonny.
zivi's
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zivi's big fan of this whole record. I spin it regularly on rainy afternoons, an early mornings. Favorite track: Sonny.
Jeremy / HI54LOFI
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Jeremy / HI54LOFI One of the best albums of the year so far — if you need proof just try listening to one track after the other. Favorite track: Nature's Way.
polmitjans
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polmitjans Fell in love immediately with the first three songs! Really hoping to hear the rest!
delicate keys, warm slides, sweet voices and crunchy beats, what can go wrong!
Sean Foster
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Sean Foster what a top tune "all is fine" is Favorite track: All Is Fine.
more...
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    First pressing on limited edition heavyweight 180g "Red Wine Smooch" colored 12" vinyl variant in a handsome matte-finished jacket. Package includes download card & lyric inner sleeve.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Excelsior! via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 600  67 remaining
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    First pressing on heavyweight 180g classic black 12" vinyl in a handsome matte-finished jacket. Package includes download card & lyric inner sleeve.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Excelsior! via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    9 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $22 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    On ye olde compact disc in a handsome matte-finished jacket with a lyric booklet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Excelsior! via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

1.
Sonny 04:45
Isn't there a saying that you reel in what you cast off? But I can't tell the difference between the real thing and the sheepdog I wish I could blame it all on some stupid line I should not have bought Every now and again I scaled the big fence by myself for something new The sky turned blue to hot pink I did not think about you I thought about loyalty It means make money and fuck the rest Every now and again I get a heavy feeling in my chest I hope that you loved me before I was at my best Sonny I want to be alone More than I want to be alone with you With love that's already gone Neither of us will find the silver hair But every now and again I get a heavy feeling in my chest I hope that you loved me before I was at my best Sonny Tell me you loved me before I was at my best
2.
Nature's Way 03:26
Don't let me stop you in your tracks I just wanna know when you're coming back Go get the deal, go make your name Say all the names that you gotta say It's not like I'm waiting It's not like I'm sitting here alone Doing dumb shit on the phone Trying to kiss you through the screen Trying to see you and not be seen It's not like I'm waiting Completely indifferent Can't you tell the difference? And if I was waiting It would be cause A girl's used to fading herself out I've got a funny thing about Saying what I want aloud You push it so far down below It's here with its hands around my throat It's not like I'm waiting I'm fading Most people say it's nature's way That I give and that you take What will it be, My Love, today? It's getting hard for me to say Cause if I want You baby You can't just watch As I'm fading myself out As I'm fading myself out
3.
There's drilling in the morning There's dirt that drags across my doorway It's been thirty days since you saw me And I'm always longing for some company at this hour Last night I saw that man on TV His tears tasted like silver bullet and supremacy But the woman wasn't screaming She remembers the same night only differently And I don't wanna talk to you Even if you get time to I just don't need more work to do It's no help being sorry Sister, I can see two of you You see a little light in me, do you wanna keep me down? And then to the ones above you You hold up all your shiny things and you beg to stick around And tomorrow’s hero comes to pass You come around to kiss my ass but I don't need more work to do You don't even seem sorry High tide for one isn't solid ground So why would I want to keep her down? High tide for one isn't solid ground So why would I want to keep her? There's drilling in the morning There's dirt that drags across my doorway
4.
All Is Fine 03:26
A silver moon in the bedroom A dresser drawer, the envelope A truth held in a tomb A message that would just be met across the avenue With seven or eleven beers If it found its way to you My heart it is wide open and I'm looking at my shoes Just praying that we never have to be in the same room Would you sing the song you wrote for me? What would you ever do? Just find another pretty girl to harmonize with you All is fine Sometimes I even keep what's mine so Take your time, I'm already gone They say she dodged a bullet, but it put her in the ground Now she can feel everything and live in every sound In the night he's wide awake, he feels her all around It hurts to hear her laughing, she's at peace with what she's found All is fine Sometimes I even keep what's mine so Take your time, I'm already gone
5.
The Middle 02:51
I refuse To try and hang onto you I accidentally do, you shine right back And you said you didn't want me near Just before you made it clear that you were Holding on, carry on Don't be long Looks like you rolled into that new city while I'm dreaming But would you walk into the middle if I needed it? I would give it all to you Don't you let me do it
6.
A wider view could make it easier for you To perform at your best You've got nothing to do No one to report to except the weight in your chest And I thank you for reminding me to Play close to the vest It feels good to lay on the ground Cause I muffled the sound of me knowing best I want to pass the night with no noise and no light And get dirt on my dress Because when the sun hits my skin I'll have won Even if I don't pass every test I owe you a big thank you for reminding me to Play close to the vest You're egging me on Just to move me along Just to get my head below your chest Thank you
7.
Song for Sid 04:09
I sell clothes to the elite They love to buy things they can't keep When I'm off I play quietly At night when I'm too tired to sleep The mind is cruel to the body Broken vessel at men's feet The mind's so tired the mind's a beast And I can't afford that yellow dress That you bought in front of me But if I make the Bootleg I'm in the door for free Has she shaken hands with a late night host? Has she done enough if she's not thin like a ghost? If she's so stuck on making you see? As if that would achieve anything No I can't afford to let her be And you say you don't need me But I know Kyle, he'll give a smile and let me drink for free Oh all the things that we take Say you love me like the money you make Hannah's new songs put me back at ease I'm sinking into the leather with ease I know I'll get there like a thief With selfish eyes and scraped up knees No I can't afford to rid this dream A shame my life won't see You're on stage in yellow But I got in for free
8.
Julie 03:08
You’re hard on me, Julie But the touch of your hand Is all that I long for and misunderstand Upon me unduly For mine are like sand You’re hard on me, Julie Would you help me to stand? You're like a spirited seabird Who won't tell me the crime Of which I am guilty So in the meantime I'll sit in the hallway I'll be drawing the lines Of a well-traveled jailbird With a mouth just like mine I can remember the first time I could see that you were trying To distinguish the lying From what was inside Was it worth your time? Cause I recorded myself crying You weren't buying it So neither did I You're breaking me, Julie I do the best that I can But you always find something That you must reprimand And all the love I've got truly Is all the love I can stand You're breaking me, Julie Would you help me to stand?
9.
Less of You 04:23
I looked in on a friend today She hadn't been herself but she seemed good today She's filling up her skin an uninhibited grin I got so worried when she couldn't find her way She let some guys take her out And they tried to hold her close, but she is not about To let their words turn to dust She knows the world isn't just She says, "Send them home. Keep yourself safe." And I rarely think about you And when I do I couldn't think less of you She never used to know what she liked It gets easier to get in touch at night With knowing when you're done Not to exist for someone You can spend a lifetime just making that alright And I rarely think about you And when I do I couldn't think less Why'd you have to go and leave your shit? Kept her small and she'll just have to handle it Oh to be a man Since you're always thinking of you I don't have to And while I wish you all the best I could do with so much less No I couldn't think less of you
10.
Cathy 03:46
I forget why I was driving on the west side Sharon told me to pull over I said I did, but I lied The last time we had spoken, Cathy You'd turned your heart around It's for none of us to say If it was your time But I remember more than rocks More than paper cups and med lines You had a way of showing me, Cathy The beauty on the ground And I can't claim to know How we should dispose of what you could not show I hate to feel you linger Cause you are free to go Where do we go? I thought you said Rocks get smooth from water flow It's so funny how the days will just pass by How I can heal enough to love And something gorgeous had to die And I so want to call you, Cathy To tell you all about it But now I'm supposed to know How to keep my heart wide open while I let you go Keep stones between my fingers That way you don't have to linger Cause I can feel you linger But you are free

about

Produced and Mixed by Sam Griffin Owens
Recorded at Flying Cloud in West Shokan, NY
Mastered by Heba Kadry
Album Art by Vincent Bancheri
Cover Photo by Ellyn Jameson

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released May 14, 2021

© & ℗ 2021 Mama Bird Recording Co.
under license from Johanna Samuels

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Johanna Samuels Los Angeles, California

songs 🌼 BIPOC lives matter

'Excelsior!' is out now on Mama Bird Recording Co. (US/World) & Basin Rock (UK/EU).

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