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Simple Folk

by Leah Callahan

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1.
Do I really want to do this Go back into the ring of fire Is there something I need to prove right now Would I not be much happier quiet As I sit and drink this coffee That I’ve added water to Would I not rather have a watered down life Instead of singing here for you? But instead I keep on going Because I’m here on borrowed time Tomorrow’s back into the office I need to leave this stuff behind. My friend once said music was glamorous But I explained that it was not And she insisted it was glamorous I guess we all want something else. If I really end up doing this Heading back into the ring I suppose it’s kind of glamorous At least that’s what one person thinks So I guess I’ll keep on going Exposing all my inner fears Tomorrow’s back into the office Go back to what I’ve done for years.
2.
1997 Again 02:47
It’s 1997 again I’m trying not to hate all your friends The boys decide to break up the band Then suddenly I lose my man My friend says chin up he’s just a jerk I took the bus to Providence In hopes that I could lose my sense Instead I faced the ghost of the past He said go back to Boston It’s 1997 again It’s 1997 again I never thought that I’d be back here. It’s rock and roll all up in my head And it’s turning out just like he said Even though we're all going gray There some things no one can take away It’s 1997 again I’m trying not to hate all your friends The boys decide to break up the band Suddenly I lose my man My friend says chin up he’s just a jerk I took the bus to Providence In hopes that I could lose my sense Instead I faced the ghost of the past He said go back to Boston It’s 1997 again It’s 1997 again I never thought that I’d be back here. It’s rock and roll all up in my head And it’s turning out just like he said 1997 again 1997 again 1997 again 1997 again 1997 again
3.
Smell 02:56
You smell Like money With a forked tongue Your silver Keeps The werewolves away You smell Like money With a forked tongue Your silver Keeps The werewolves away The smell is real It’s not like the earth The smell is real It’s not like the earth It’s like the smell of a hotel lobby Where they give some of us dirty looks It’s like the smell of someone who will look the other way It’s like the smell of something spilled but cleaned up Very quickly so there’s no smell. You smell Like money With a smell so sweet It will make most of us Disappear. You smell Like money With a forked tongue Your silver Keeps The werewolves away You smell Like money With a forked tongue Your silver Keeps The werewolves away The smell is real It’s not like the earth The smell is real It’s not like the earth
4.
She came into my room and said “You’re a woman of few things” I looked her in the eyes right then You know that really stings Possessions shouldn’t matter much In the eyes of Christ Yet every day I spend my time Accumulating mine Creating and destroying We’re all mini hindu gods Environment can screw itself It’s second to us slobs Well I don’t have the answers And I don’t have the time I’ve got to get back to my desk Pay for a roof that’s mine I’ll leave that to the rich folks They’ve got a conscience bad To clean up all the garbage Left behind by deadbeat dads I’ve watched the 3rd world grow up And now they’re just like us Equal opportunity for accumulating stuff Equal opportunity for accumulating stuff How many plants and animals Will we kill on our path Until it’s barren like our souls And there is no life left She came into my room and said “You’re a woman of few things” I looked her in the eyes right then You know that really stings. She came into my room and said “You’re a woman of few things” I looked her in the eyes right then You know that really stings. She came into my room and said “You’re a woman of few things” I looked her in the eyes right then You know that really stings.
5.
Blameless 03:07
We can’t all be winners If we are then who’s the loser We can’t all be singers cause then who’d be the listeners? We can’t all be trusted Because then who’d be the liars We can’t all be quiet Because then who’d make a sound? We can’t all be lovers Because then who’d be the sad ones? We can’t all be happy Because then who’d be the mad ones. I’ve looked at this world And I mostly find it lacking But still here I make noise Still here I’m living We can’t all be winners If we are then who’s the loser? We can’t all be blameless If we are then who’s to blame?
6.
Throwaway 02:53
My hurt’s still alive - Leah I only ask why Why’d you decide? Was it all lies? My minds stuck in time - Chris My heart’s smashed and frayed Like an old sweater That’s seen better days The person I was - Leah Is long gone away I don’t want you back I do hate your face I want something else - Chris I want yesterday To turn back the clock For only a day It’s sunny outside - Leah We’re going for a ride Before you threw me away. You threw me away - Leah You threw me away Been thinking bout how You threw me away You threw me away Thinking how you threw me away You said let’s be friends - Chris I said go away I’ll never forget You threw me away I wish I could forget - Leah I wish I never met You so smug and cold I’ll hate you til you’re old. You threw me away - Leah You threw me away thinking how You threw me away You threw me away Thinking how you threw me away You threw me away - Leah You threw me away Been thinking bout how You threw me away You threw me away Thinking how you threw me away
7.
Bitter 02:27
He said I was bitter But I think I’m better Pick of the litter It’s now or it’s never What does he want me to do? Accept everything like it’s true Failure’s so easy for you But living like this I can’t do. When I was a teenager They called me a firecracker If I didn’t have anger I’d lose all my power What would I be without being angry Mad and resentful Ill humored, displeased He said I was bitter But I think I’m better Pick of the litter It’s now or it’s never What does he want me to do? Accept everything like it’s true Failure’s so easy for you But living like this I can’t do.
8.
I wish that I had never met you music, Your melodies are going to be the death of me. Ex lovers, they don’t bother me, It’s just the tunes that torture me today. I wish that I had never heard you interesting chord Cuz lyrics they congest me like a cold that won’t go away They’re deep inside my head and chest There’s no pill I can take. There’s nothing quite so low as this A frustrated failed vocalist I curse the day this baby touched an ivory covered key Was a bad end for the elephant and probably for me. I wish that I had never met you music, Your melodies are going to be the death of me. Ex lovers, they don’t bother me, It’s just the tunes that torture me today. I wish that I had never met you interesting chord Cuz lyrics they congest me like a cold that won’t go away They’re deep inside my head and chest There’s no pill I can take.
9.
I don’t relate Never Did I was fake Tried to fit in I changed the way I talk The way I move But they could still tell I wasn’t from their private schools And their daddies bought them cars And their mommies tried to make them stars Princesses in the slum They had their fill they had their fun They called me names Didn’t like the intrusion Stay in your place Who do you think you are? Then I never realized how I had to struggle For a small fraction Of what seemed normal to everyone else While their families bought them homes They had children of their own Open arms in the corporate world For every rich suburban girl. I’m left struggling like a fool Still trying to play by all their rules I Wouldn’t know a better hell I’ve lived a life of someone else.
10.

about

"(Simple Folk is) a collection of slinky, narrative driven guitar-pop songs built around hooks... (it) feels like an album's album in an age where albums are not very much in style."

"Callahan calls back to a different era of musical consumption, linking a distinct narrative through each track's lyrical layover. The daydream affection ranges from the blatant, like on '1997 Again' a romancing of the '90s Boston Rock scene, to the aurally suggestive, as in standouts 'A Woman of Few Things' and 'I Don't Relate', which raise a glass to late-20th century indie."

"It all adds up to an album we'd all once upon a time be excited to grab off the shelf at Newbury Comics, and plop down on the counter in front of a dutifully impressed cashier."

Michael Marotta, Vanyaland
vanyaland.com/2021/03/22/leah-callahan-discovers-her-teenage-dream-on-new-album-simple-folk/


"A really strong set of well crafted songs that definitely rewards repeated listening."

Iain Key, Louder Than War
louderthanwar.com/leah-callahan-simple-folk-album-review-interview/

"Simple Folk is neither ‘simple’ nor ‘folk’, by and large, but the several meanings of its title reflects a complexity that has been redolent throughout Leah Callahan’s career."

"You may know Leah Callahan as the lead singer of Bostonian art-rockers Turkish Delight whose albums were re-released in 2019 by UK label, Reckless Yes; or from the post-punk act Betwixt; or even shoegazers The Glass Set. But now she has shared her first solo album since 2003’s Even Sleepers, Simple Folk. Whereas Even Sleepers was a bossa-nova slice of late night acoustic, Simple takes Leah back to the beginning. Full of big instrumentation and confessional lyrics, it’s nine songs ‘tackle over-consumption, environmental ruin and elitism’ as well as recount Leah’s ‘myriad fears and personal failures’, and takes its musical cue from the British pop of her childhood in the ’80s."

John McGovern, Get in Her Ears
getinherears.com/2021/02/23/premiere-leah-callahan-smell/


"Complex and a delight to listen to. You simply need this album."

Carol Barrett, CIUT


(Simple Folk) "It’s very, very good indeed. Full of really well written catchy guitar indie-pop, what you’d kind of expect from the lead singer of Turkish Delight."

Gareth Dyton, DJ Chunky


"With Alex Stern on board with abrasive yet melodic guitar and piano the album is a continuation of (Leah Callahan's) previous work. It's as though she never left."

"A little sadder and wiser perhaps but also adamant to come out on top in the end."

Hans Werksman, Here Comes the Flood



On her second solo album (and ninth studio album) “Simple Folk”, Boston based indie vocalist and songwriter Leah Callahan (Turkish Delight, Betwixt, The Glass Set) returns from a 13 year hiatus with help from Britpop influenced multi-instrumentalist Alex Stern (The Sterns, Big D and the Kids Table, The Inevitables) for an album that harkens back to the glory days of late 20th century British alt pop from The Style Council to The Sundays.

Music critic Brett Milano once wrote that Callahan can “turn a pop hook with the best” and there’s no lack of catchy verses or choruses you can sing along to here: case in point “1997 Again” her airy ode to coming of age in the bustling 90s Boston indie rock scene. Callahan rounds off the album of 9 originals with her take on the 1968 hit “Those Were the Days”, an idea suggested by a review of her 2003 album “Even Sleepers” that compared her clear, bell-like voice to songbird Mary Hopkin.

Throughout the album producer/arranger Stern, drummer Alex Brander (Big D and the Kids Table) and producer Richard Marr (The Glass Set, Midnight Creeps, Pile, Toxic Narcotic) keep a clear focus on Callahan’s voice, unique a capella songwriting style and post-punk pedigree.

In 1996, Laura Demarco of Alternative Press asserted that Callahan’s then band Turkish Delight would “give new hope for indie rock” and during her 13 years in the Boston music scene, Callahan certainly made her own unique DIY splash with multiple acclaimed releases that earned her top 5 local albums of the year for her band Betwixt (Boston Phoenix, Boston Herald), and a top 10 jazz and world album nod from the Boston Herald for her 1st solo effort in 2003.

Along the way, Callahan also garnered nominations for two Boston Music Awards and a Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll. Her musical styles and influences have run the gamut from Tom Waits to Edith Piaf, Bossa Nova to Balkan folk, and Sonic Youth to shoegaze. Callahan has been described as having “a lovely delicate voice, with a delivery that evokes both old Europe and Bossa nova” by the Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix called her melodies “elegant” and the Village Voice raved: “Boston chanteuse Callahan's wonderful songs sound as though they'd been compiled from half a dozen different brilliant European art films”.

credits

released March 22, 2021

Leah Callahan - words, melodies, voice;
Alex Brander - drums;
Alex Stern - guitars and piano, arrangements;
Richard Marr - producer/engineer.

Recorded and mastered at Galaxy Park Studios.

Copyright Leah Callahan 2021.
Sparkly Music, ASCAP
Just a Stern Songs, ASCAP.

Album cover photo: Joe Navas

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about

Leah Callahan

Known for experimental pioneers Turkish Delight US, critics’ darling Betwixt, and shoegazers The Glass Set, singer- songwriter Leah Callahan navigates between pop and art-rock on her 2023 album Cut-Ups, which charted in the top 200 on North American college radio NACC200.

Callahan's next album "Curious Tourist" is set to release April 29, 2024.
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