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53mph

by 53mph

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1.
Watery Grave 03:46
2.
Blaine 04:33
His name was Blaine and he came down from the valley a while, Just to preach a bit. She was Cinnamon Sally and she was out just a walking around, When she came across him. She was a poor workers child, He came along and the knot was tied. They went up to his place. It was a four story chateaux of sorts, With a golden chair. And she asked him his name. He said my name is Blaine of Beaumont, And it shall be your name too. Then she took on a different air, As she sat in his golden chair, But he had a sudden change of mind, And went off to fight some holy crime. Then within a whole year she had made the chateaux her own, With her poorly flare. Doyleys and throws; she had turned his golden throne, Into an easy chair. But Blaine, he was far away, Wishing he’d never let her stay, Wishing he’d listened to his head, Wishing he’d kept a single bed. Then Blaine he returned on a sudden whim or impulse, To his stately home, And there was Miss Blaine with her third new lover that week, They were completely bare. and…. Blaine he swung his fiery sword, Vented his anger at the Lord, Turning to Sally and her mate, Exclaimed ‘prepare to meet your fate’. Then Sally’s ex-brother, he was out just a walking around, By the castle gate. He came over her body in a shallow grave, or a ditch, Or an ancient lake. He made a vow there and then, That this death he would avenge. That this wrong he would amend. He’d pay a visit to our friend Blaine. He went a knocking on the castle gate, Ground his axe on Blaine’s affiliates, Ground it down on their armour plate, Then he sent Blaine to his fate.
3.
4.
Ivory Coast 05:02
You’re like a ship in the night, Losing your load in the mire. But the Ivory Coast is dear, And the phantasms make it clear. It doubles up on the floor, Then doubles up some more. But the secular life is mean, Always making you wash and clean. But I never was what you told me to be, Makes me feel high. And you never saw what I told you to see, Makes me feel high. But you’re bringing me faith, Back to the human race. And you’re bringing it left and right, Underneath me and out of sight. And you’re mating sound, Leaves me flat on the ground. But the angels are far too proud, To all sit on one golden cloud. Causes tension with over-crowd. Causes others to laugh out loud. But I never meant what you thought I had done, Makes me fell high. And your Ivory towers are blocking the sun, Makes me feel high. And the fading light causes migraines to cloud, Over my eyes. Always the maid but never the bride. But I never was what you told me to be, Makes me feel high. And you never saw what I told you to see, Makes me just sigh. And I’ll meet you again at the point of view, Where we’ll get high. Leaving me proud but always refused. You’re by the edge of the sea, With Orson Wells on your knee, Telling you about shutter speeds, And the movement of Polynese. And the flight left at dawn, With only two people on. But the Ivory Coast is clear, Of the peasants with home brewed beer. It’s inundated with tramps and Queens, Swapping postcards of the late James Dean. Whilst all the muscles make their bodies gleam, Out at sea there’s a hurricane. Always the maid but never the bride.
5.
Drunken Eyes 06:07
6.
5:30am 05:14
The times when you’re not around, I draw you pictures in the ground. Knowing the tides will erase, The pictures of you before you come in view. Like a track in the dark, Over-grown by the bark. The fresh limbs hanging over you, Wash away tears with their dew. Your face looks up from the ground, Disturbed by the sounds all around, Of the sea washing over you, Painting your face a different hue.. And the last rays of light, Hurries off in feigned surprise. - And the night has come to an end, Daylight is just around the bend. You look up from the ground, Amazed by the stars all around. - And the tricks that you play on me, When the five o’clock shadows come alive.
7.
8.
Since I’ve been gone, I can’t seem to find a way of asking, If the sun and the moon, Will hold onto our love or keep fighting for it. Why is it so wrong, To be putting myself out like I do, Why must I be strong, In the face of your fucked up point of view, Telling me things that aren’t true. Since I’ve been gone, I’ve been passing these thought around your head. All the days seem so long How am I going to fill this gap you left? Like a mountain at dawn, The cold, it keeps my heart at bay. Squeezing heat from the sun, If I could make your iceyness melt away, Expose your molten clay, Then our love won’t melt to history.
9.
MIR 06:13

about

Tracks written between 1999 and 2002 by Philip G. Hunt. Recordings c. 2000 with re-recording, remixing and remastering 2019.

Though Ivory Coast was the first single release back in 2001 on Fairmount Gas Records, it was Watery Grave that was always meant to be the front runner, hence it is the opener of the album. I remember a sales note was drawn up with Pinnacle for its release, but, when we came to recording, Blane took its place. Loser Babe was my final vinyl release back in 2003. Self-pressed in the Czech Republic, it became the 4th official single release in a three year period. The original version built around a drum loop stolen from Neil Young but since mixed out and replaced. Was played by John Peel in the last year of his life (RIP). Blaine (or Blane) was the third single proper from 53mph, on the short-lived Grasshopper records. Got airplay on Radio-One and Xfm in 2002. You'll B Found (or Found) should have been a single, but sadly was never cut. It was a favorite live song, with its low-down and dirty bass line (Dom) and slide solo (Dan). Found will always remain one of my favorite tracks. Ivory Coast was launched in 2001 (pre-911) and took on a life of its own. Before it was even officially available in the shops as a short run 7" vinyl as the second release on the Fairmount Gas label, Ivory Coast was being championed by John Kennedy on XFM, featured in Dazed and Confused magazine, even played under the soccer highlights on Sky TV. Originally intended as a B-side, once we had laid down the tracks in a studio in Brixton, the band knew we had a contender on our hands. Drunken Eyes was my labor-of-love. Painstakingly crafted beats (these are days before auto-snap and digital looping) and obscure instruments made it into this Pavement-esque tune. Still a favorite of James. 5:30am was the second and last single release on Fairmout Gas. A departure from the electric guitar driven sound of Ivory Coast, this track was as much an experiment in production as a song. I threw everything at this tune, fucking around with timings, stretching sounds, going for John Barry meets country meets indie. All done on an old copy of Cool Edit (go look it up). Despite its radio unfriendly length, John Kennedy gave this heavy rotation (good man) and an XFM session was set up. Unfortunately, it was around this time I was being pulled in two directions to release an album. FGR and Grasshopper both wanted to put out an album - in the end I chose Grasshopper because they had Pinnacle distribution behind them. On reflection this was just one of the many decisions I made around that time that resulted in the album never being released and 53mph coming to an end. Perish the Though (or Perish) was recorded in a practice studio under the railway bridges of Archway. As a band we would rehearse there for gigs, and I started getting into the habit of dragging an old Roland 8 track down to record drums. Perish became one of the tracks out of those solo practice sessions. Since I've Been Gone (or Gone) was the play out song on the last CD single Blane. Recorded mostly in the Archway practice rooms and mastered in Brixton. Another popular live track, it seems a fitting way to end this album.

credits

released December 13, 2017

Philip G. Hunt, James Heighway, Dominic Murphy, Dan Stewart

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53mph Italy

XFM favorite in the 2000s, Wigwam Radio Best Folk Act 2022 nominee, and regular on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's HitRecord.

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