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Colder Still EP

by Kingsley Flood

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1.
2.
Wonderland 02:58
Brother I been lying all along My collar’s not as clean as I let on My heart’s pain free, my coffee’s weak And I been staring out the car window too long Wandering souls won’t go home, until they find their own But I won’t go back to Wonderland Sister I been trying to sing in key And carry on with decent company But my smile’s not cold, my sins not sold And I try to be polite but it’s not cheap When bright lights sigh at my stroll, I’ll find my feet and quiet my soul And I won’t go back to Wonderland Yes I wholeheartedly agree These ships set sail on different seas Oh how hard I’ve tried to straighten my stride on the tides I ride When my time finally comes, I’ll hide my sighs and bite my tongue And I won’t go back to Wonderland
3.
Black Boots 02:50
Late last week with my dirt hands blessed, and beat and burned I put on my Sunday best, to cash my earn Uptown man shed a welcome smile, and a sorry sigh He said the drought gone made this whole well dry, and he smiled goodbye Chorus: Oh, so you wanna get a rise? Let me put black boots on and we’ll take it outside Oh, we’re gonna make wrong right Uptown’s gonna go downtown tonight I tipped my hat to the next uptown, another man to try He said the earth gone and shook this whole town down, and he smiled goodbye Chorus Well you can dry my well, you can shake my land, for a good time cheap But this hat will never go in hand, for a good night’s sleep They say some men can always stand, and it’s always free Chorus
4.
5.
Mama fits frames, finds space on the wall Papa counts tuition in dimes I’m a good son soaking what’s around and that’s all Wondering when there comes a time When’s it going to be my time? The plastic man did a dance, sang me a song, Offered up the green and the gold I said “thank you man, I got a plan, I’m righting the wrong But let me go and get your coat Let me go and get your coat” Chorus: I was born to be a mover, not a mannequin man Sworn to shake the sugar, not like a mannequin man I’ll be damn before you take me like a mannequin man The ragged man with bloody hands, a shuffle and sway Offered up a bloody hand I said “thank you brother, I’ll give you a brand new day” Just tell them I’m your hero again Tell them again and again and again Chorus I shake a slant hand, soft smile at your grand plan Then leave in my Rolls, brand new Mama steps back, sights her frames on the wall Wishing she could make more room Can I get a bit more room? Chorus I’ll be damned before you take me
6.
The sixth house on the seventh street Cracked shutters and the willow tree Pot of coffee halfway full My head on the window sill Looking up towards the hill That day the walls collapsed That sky was torn and fast I was not overcome By my father’s son Yes sir, I had finally won Yet I’m colder still I learned to not ask why When I smile at a bright blue sky Now I sleep in the sun Like my daddy never done In this house up on the hill Up where the wind is still The lights way down below Stay warm with the common glow And I’m colder still These days with the coffee full I put my head on the window sill I tried hard not to sleep I tried so hard to dream

about

In 2010, Kingsley Flood released its first album Dust Windows, which received critical praise, including a prominent NPR Weekend Edition feature that sent the record to number one on the Amazon.com roots chart and #48 nationally on iTunes. Fans came out in droves to see them perform at DC's 9:30 Club, Boston's Paradise Rock Club, and other famed venues, the 2011 South by Southwest festival, and shows directly supporting Grace Potter, Angus and Julia Stone, Brett Dennen, and Styx ... yes, Styx.

Ever-grateful and ever-evolving, the band is now set to release a new EP, Colder Still. Evoking themes of privilege and class, Colder Still examines the quintessentially American pursuit of happiness, and questions a new generation struggling to redefine the American dream. Is the house on the hill really the goal? At what cost? Is it lonely at the top? These questions and more are the fabric through which the Kingsley Flood story -- and music -- is woven.

On lead single and recent NPR Song of the Day “I Don’t Wanna Go Home" (mp3, lyrics) a stubborn dreamer takes for granted his comfortable but tame lifestyle to follow a perilous pipe dream. On “Mannequin Man” (mp3, lyrics), a brash bleeding heart sets out to save the world, but he may be doing good for the wrong reasons. On "Wonderland" (mp3, lyrics), a youth struggles with the social pressures of growing up ("Brother I've been lying all along. My collar's not as clean as I let on"), vowing to leave his childhood behind. On “House on the Hill” (mp3, lyrics), a climber laments his ascent and longs for the warm “common glow” below.

A band was never part of the plan for Kingsley Flood frontman Naseem Khuri. The son of hard working immigrants who realized their own American dream, he felt obligated to follow that path -- good schools, stable job, big house on the hill. With his father’s death and an increasing disillusionment with an office job, perspective shifted. Khuri soon realized the American dream his parents had sought was not about the right to material happiness. It was about the right to choose a path.

Khuri made that choice. Colder Still is where two years and thousands of miles on the road took the band. Rather than retreating to the sleepy woods of Vermont as they did to record Dust Windows, they opted for busy studios in Boston and New York. But it was during many months on the road that Kingsley Flood honed the gritty, urban sound reflected on Colder Still. The songs are urgent.

Colder Still respects, but is not bound by, the Americana feel of the band’s first record. Khuri’s lyrics are supported by George Hall’s stark electric guitar and a propulsive rhythm section led by bassist Nick Balkin and drummer Steven Lord. Jenée Morgan conjures an old-time aesthetic on her violin, but it’s her frequent interplay with Chris Barrett’s trumpet that creates an expansive orchestral feel. Add trash cans, euphoniums, and accordions to the mix, and it’s hard to attach this record to any genre.

credits

released January 10, 2012

Produced by Kingsley Flood and Rafi Sofer

Recorded and mixed by Rafi Sofer at Q Division Studios (Somerville, MA) except:

#1: recorded at Rubber Tracks Studios (Brooklyn, NY)
#4: recorded by Lauren Blackard, Matt Dacey, and Ryan Kraft at BUCDIA's Studio D (Waltham, MA).

Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice

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Kingsley Flood Boston, Massachusetts

With features in NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, Boston and Washington, DC sextet Kingsley Flood straddles the line between high energy indie rock and introspective folk.

With its "signature high energy" (Rolling Stone), the band has played the main stage at the Newport Folk Fest and has been dubbed "Boston's best live band" (Boston Herald).
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