Lustra
Tracklisting
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Bulldog Baby 4:32
Lyrics
Bulldog Baby
Stood up at a border street
A souped up strut on swollen feet
My loss remembered incomplete
What memory knows I can’t repeat
Offered army soul salvation
Sandwich choice of God and nation
Haloed voices, chiselled faces
Fill my head with empty spacesOut of the breakdown of the whole
Back to the choices on repeat
Out of a life put on holdOnce again a bulldog baby
Classified as cheap and lazy
Inner pity meat mutation
Pay the price for approbation
Welcome to the new dictators
Power, drugs and imitatorsOut of the breakdown of the whole
Back to the choices on repeat
Out of a life put on holdMother’s dressed in alligator
All good children love to hate herOut of the breakdown of the whole
Back to the choices on repeat
Out of a life put on hold
Into the fallout of belief -
I'm Not a Saint 3:45
Lyrics
I'm Not a Saint
Everybody’s staring at my…
Everybody’s out to catch my…eye…
I’ve gotta think it over
I’ve gotta think it overEverybody’s got somebody to…
All I wanted was a body to…hide…
I’ve gotta think it over
I’ve gotta think it overI’m not a saint. I’m not a saint. I’m not a saint. I’m not a saint.
Dog is barking, head is hurting
Car is chasing, hands are dirty I’ve gotta think it over
I’ve gotta think it overI’m not a saint. I’m not a saint.
(It’s the way I feel inside)
I’m not a saint. I’m not a saint.
(Takes me over sometimes) -
Here Comes The Big Rush 4:25
Lyrics
Here Comes The Big Rush
Save your point of view
For the manic charm that he puts you through
When he wears your pearls, your ruby dress
And he looks so good with his sunken chest
There’s a certain charm
To the pretty boy that is on my arm
He’s my double friend, a boy and a girl
when he says:Paint my face, lick your mouth
Fake a yawn and we’ll go out and glow
We’re on our way to somewhere in particular
I’ll take you somewhere, where you haven’t been
And I’ll show you a good time, like you’ve never seen
Here comes the big rushThere’s a special ring
To his Cuban heels and his six-pack swing
His mother’s clothes are his new disguise
And his good advice when he says:Vanity’s a virtue, lets no one in to hurt you
I’ll take you somewhere, where you haven’t been
And I’ll show you a good time, like you’ve never seen
Here comes the big rushYou’re one of the boys
Pump that pipe dream, sell you something
New, new, new
We’re on our way to somehwere in particular
I’ll take you somewhere, where you haven’t been
And I’ll show you a good time, like you’ve never seen
Here comes the big rushYou’re one of the boys
Pump that pipe dream, sell you something
pump that pipe dream, sell you something
New new -
Iris Art 3:45
Lyrics
Iris Art
Shattered glass, shooting stars, silver sparks
Come and shine on me
Take your time, don’t hurry baby
Break a smile, when you come to meI’m up on a high
Catch me if you fall
Up on a high
Your love fills me like a waterfallIris art, skin on skin, let me in
Take a ride with me
Take a trip, don’t worry baby
Love the way we satisfy a needI’m up on a high
Catch me if you fall
Up on a high
Catch me if you fall
You love fills me like a waterfallLove. Love. Love. Love.
Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.Slaughterhouse nursery rhyme
Numb it with your anodyne
Seraphim serpentine
Wrap me in your anodyne heartI’m up on a high
Catch me if you fall
Up on a high
Catch me if you fall
You love fills me like a waterfall -
The World Is Flat 4:02
Lyrics
The World Is Flat
It is not too late to carry on
So you’ve made mistakes
And here’s another one
Oh but you deserve another chance
Chase it round until you face yourselfThe world is flat and we are insane
And we have fallen off again
It really helps to know the wayWhat if you take more than you deserve
What if you give all and you get nothing back
Sell your soul not your stereo
Take your favourite songs and sail offThe world is flat and we are insane
And we have fallen off again
The world is right and we are mad
And world opinions where it’s at
Don’t rate the score don’t take the blame
The world is flat and we’re insaneI won’t be sad I won’t be sorry
I’ve no regrets and i don’t worry
I’ll roll the sail and i won’t let go
I’ll ride the wave until tomorrowThere are some who do and some do not
There are some who can’t
And we’re the other ones
Shape your fate, let your body go
Take your favourite songs and sail awayThe world is flat and we are insane
And we have fallen off again
The world is right and we are mad
And world opinions where it’s at
Don’t rate the score don’t take the blame
The world is flat and we’re insanelalalalalalala…, lalalalalalala…
-
Everyone Knows Better 3:42
Lyrics
Everyone Knows Better
I know there’s a certain amount
To what you’re thinking
My hopes never seem to amount
To more than stopping smokingEveryone knows better. I’ll do it anyway
Everyone knows better oh yeahHeroes never seem
To allow for self-expression
Lovers stick around
To allow what they think you’re missingEveryone knows better. I’ll do it anyway
Everyone knows better. I’ll do it anywayLooking around
To avoid what’s in front of you
Good intentions
Wrapped round like some old sweater
A vain hope
That it might be good for youYou mind is made
Make your mind up
Make your mind up
Make your mind up
We like to make the same mistakesSunshine
A ray of hope in a hopeless situation
Suntanned
Your reward for the hopeful hours that you spend
BurningEveryone knows better. I’ll do it anyway
Everyone knows better. I’ll do it anyway
Everyone knows better. I’ll do it anyway
Everyone thinks they know better
I’ll do it anywayLooking around
To avoid what’s in front of you
Good intentions
Wrapped round like some old sweater
A vain hope
That it might be good for you
Your mind is made -
Wired On 3:23
Lyrics
Wired On
I wanna get wired on something new
I wanna get high on something
I wanna get wired on something newEvery wide open space
It’s the gaping holes that get to you
They frighten you
An echo of your emptiness
Every lie that you’ve fed
You can kiss my open spaces
I am safe from you
I’m better now, I’m better nowI wanna get wired on something new
I wanna get high on something
I wanna get wired on something newEvery scan I’ve erased
Leave a memory that will prey on you
An overspill
I hope it will, I hope it will
All the time I have wastedTasted Bitterness
Now I confess, you waste my space
At any time, at any rateI wanna get wired on something new
I wanna get high on something
I wanna get wired on something newNow you’re up against a wall
It’s the other side that scares you
And you’re groping through the hole
And you’re hoping for a way out
Your strength is on it’s last legs
You could be somewhere else
Instead you’re blinded by the way out
The way out
And it’s right hereI wanna get wired on something new
I wanna get high on something
I wanna get wired on something new
I wanna get high on something
I wanna get high on something -
O 4:12
Lyrics
O
I get it on
When I lay my fingers on
Let me drift away
Take me to a place I have known before
Let me hear the words you know I adore
Let me slip away to a world I knowWhen you sing
Oh oh oh oh take me
I am a slave to your charms
Turn it onAnd I wanna celebrate
I can hear your song
Rushing through my veins, it surrounds me now
Touching me inside, I can ride the soundWhen you sing
Oh oh oh oh take me
I am a slave to your charms
Turn it onCan I lay my fingers on?
Soaking in the way you shine
Your rhythm slides around my mind
I’ve really got it now
Serenades that nearly split my senses
Oh so special
Turn it onWhen you sing
Oh oh oh oh take me
I am a slave to your charms
Turn it onAnd I wanna celebrate
Get it on
Get it on
Get it on
Get it on -
Bleed 2:41
Lyrics
Bleed
Where and why this journey lies
With faded sighs for every mile
I’m awake
Hunger bleeds in each and everyone of us
We chase our dreams unawareAnd I never had the chance to say no
And I never had the chance to say no
Don’t walk awayWhere’s the trust the one in us
Entwined, inclined and gladly blind
Fade away
Hunger bleeds in each and everyone of us
And now I’m lostAnd I never had the chance to say no
And I never had the chance to say no
Don’t walk away
Say no -
Paradise 2:35
Lyrics
Paradise
In all day, out all night
You and I see the sights in paradise
Very nice
Take me home, do it ’til your hear aches
And then you’ll know my mindAnd if I stay
I’d only drive you mad
I’m not that stable, I’m not so right in a way
I find myself at odds wanting to be here
Never arriveLove and Peace
Ill at ease with naked greed
Hunger feeding, aim to please, what a teaser
Maybe I owe it to my own ways
But then I know my mind
You see, I know, I’ve been there beforeAnd if I stay
I’d only drive you mad
I’m not that stable, I’m not so right in a way
I find myself at odds wanting to be here
Never arriveIf I stay
I’m not the type of girl
Waitin for someone
Waiting at home there’s a way out
And only time can tell
Will be here, Will I begone
In all day, out all night
You and I see the sights in paradise -
Angel B 5:26
Lyrics
Angel B
Time stands still
When you fear your hope is gonna fade
Hope doesn’t come
‘Til you catch your fear and give it away
I’m waiting for the tide
The darkness of this night
To fade into the night
And it won’t be long
I hope it won’t be long
Oh no
Told me they would come
Told me they were gonna take him away
He’s the only one
He’s the one that makes me feel this way
And don’t you criticise
What you can’t understand
He’s the pulse inside my hand
He’s the only one
He is the only oneI see, hear, taste, I breathe him
Seven years and thirteen days
Oh I wouldn’t forsake him
My own disturbed angel boy
I would wait a thousand years for youBreathe into your heart
Let me taste the colour of your core
Memory rewind to the heady time we had beforeComing up, I’m coming down
Reaching up and falling down
The time is coming round
And it won’t be long
I hope it won’t be longI see, hear, taste, I breathe him
Seven years and thirteen days
Oh I wouldn’t forsake him
My own disturbed angel boy
I would wait a thousand years for youComing up, I’m coming down
Reaching up and falling down
The time is coming round
And it won’t be long
I know it won’t be longI see, hear, taste, I breathe him
Seven years and thirteen days
Oh I wouldn’t forsake him
My own disturbed angel boy
I see, hear, taste, I breathe him
Seven years and thirteen days
Oh I wouldn’t forsake him
My own disturbed angel boy I would wait a thousand years for you
I would wait a thousand years for you
I would wait a thousand years for you -
Lustra 3:55
Lyrics
Lustra
Lustra
There’s something hiding behind your immaculate smile
You have always known, so let it outLustra
I fell your anger swell the radical in your style, girl
Take the cross you bear and throw it outShe’s coming up, coming up
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it go, be yourself, take a shot
It’s what you’ve always known now
You’ve always known now
What you waiting forLustra
It’s gonna take as long, as long as it will take
To strike a match to your silence
Take the pain you bear and burn it outShe’s coming up, coming up
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it go, be yourself, take a shot and give it out
Coming up, coming up
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it go, be yourself, take a shot
It’s what you’ve always known now
You’ve always known now
What you waiting forLustra
Don’t you know where’s no tomorrow
In a sense, there’s no way out
Innocence is all you’re born with
Inner sense dictates the way you wheel
The way you deal with knowing who you areLustra
You know where hell is when you
Fight the maze of denial
Do it
You’ve gotta take a shot
Give all you’ve got for your dreams girlShe’s coming up, coming up
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it go, be yourself, take a shot and give it out
Coming up, coming up
Breathe it in and let it out
Let it go, be yourself, take a shot
It’s what you’ve always known now
You’ve always known now -
US EDITION BONUS TRACKS
- Heroes in June 2:41
- Mouth Almighty 4:00
- Drive Myself Distracted 4:22
- Falling Flame 4:05
- Holding the Wire 3:34
Credits
Engineer – Niven GarlandEngineer, Mixed By – Roy Spong
Producer, Mixed By – Gil Norton
Written-By – Johansson, Madan
Sonya's notes
The route from West London to Hampstead was always better on the back of Glenn or Andy’s motorbikes. It was Spring 1997 and they had both bought black and chrome Harleys, which were so loud that they’d set off the car alarms in my street. We were on our way to Air Studios in Hampstead to record our third album, LUSTRA. It was an amazing place, set in a vast old church and owned by the legend that is George Martin. Everything was on a grand scale here, both in quality and expense. There was also the tale of the angelic ghost that some swore they had encountered high up at the top of the stairs. I sat on those stairs, half hoping to encounter her, but she only came to me in my imagination.
We had been in exile for a whole year, while the dispute between Rhythm King and Sony took place and we were dying to get on with recording LUSTRA. Rhythm King, our label for the first two albums, was now looking to Arista for funding. Sony was determined to keep us and made it clear at a round table meeting with the band and various very important persons from the label. The head of A&R at the time, Rob Stringer, came in late and charmed the socks off us. The deal was done. A big budget, a big deal and a big future was the offered horizon set out in front of us.
The Fortress was a rehearsal complex in Shoreditch, that had become one of our familiar stomping grounds and a place to get the songs for LUSTRA into shape. Every place has its glory days and The Fortress was buzzing at the time. Primal Scream, Swervedriver, Tricky, Oasis and many others were sometimes to be found in it’s windowless corridors. Shaun, the owner, was astute and convivial, in equal measure and Fatty, (appararently named after the size of the lines he took), was a roadie for many a band, when he wasn’t running the café with his wife. He once bandaged his own hand after a severe “blood brother ritual” at a hardcore club when with us in Prague, but that’s another story. I vaguely remember a few last minute lock-ins with a flow of enough drugs ‘n’ booze to create a real party atmosphere. I was more in tune with a little black cat that would greet us outside the post war council flats we would pass, just before the entrance to the Fortress. She was always there, purring away. She was a little beauty.
We asked for Gil Norton to be the producer for LUSTRA (based on our love for the band, PIXIES). Gil said yes and someone (Gil?), suggested Air Studios. I don’t remember as much as I should about recording any of our albums, perhaps because the vocals were always recorded quickly. We brought in an electronic aspect to this album. The demos were rough diamond versions of how we wanted the songs to sound. Gil hired the services of Ben Hillier and Mark Phythian, to work on that side of things. Mark spent nearly all his time with us, glued to the computer screen, working on Pro-Tools and Ben used his talents to add some of his unique, quirky style to some of the songs. The process started with laying down the drums and then layering the instruments, doing a rough mix and then adding vocals. Sometimes the band would all play together, depending on the vibe needed. Ian Dury, who must also have been working at AIR at the time, once held the door open for me, giving me a lovely smile. I was too shy to speak to him.
BULLDOG BABY, the first track on LUSTRA, is still the only song that detoured from the way Glenn and I have always written, in that the words existed before the music. It was a poem I’d penned, influenced in part, by Orwell’s “Down and out in Paris and London”. Various subject matters for other LUSTRA offerings: I’M NOT A SAINT- schizophrenic confessions from the point of view of a bad deed. HERE COMES THE BIG RUSH – The rush of excitement from bending the rules. IRIS ART – a psychedelic love homage. THE WORLD IS FLAT – Thinking from outside the box, or sphere, in this case.
We hired a bona-fide 24-piece orchestra for the euphonious arrangements on this album. It was thrilling to hear them play our songs. We crept around the orchestra room at Angel Studios, in awe of the immense sound. (We were in a smaller room at Air and moved to Angel specifically for the orchestral recordings).
For the B-sides, we returned to one of our favourite recording studios, (long since gone), Wessex Studios in Islington. It was also in a converted church, but very different to Air Studios. It was rougher and by now, permanently held together by temporary measures and gaffer tape. The Clash, Queen, Sex Pistols, Talk Talk had all recorded great music here during its heyday. You could feel the creativity in the place. On FALLING FLAME, it’s kind of amusing to know that my voice was wavering, not by any stylised affectation, but by being out of my head. I never could keep up with the others!
Sony decided (for us, unlike before, when we decided for us), to use a design company called Tomato, to do the artwork and the video for the first single, THE WORLD IS FLAT. They were a disparate bunch of Soho based Artists with the image of a renegade collective. They were bloody good. The limited edition gatefold artwork for LUSTRA was a beautiful, covetable package of sky blue, gold and black with Dirk, the designer’s photos of my hand holding a reflective card and quotes from the songs. Sony packaged the standard design Cd’s as a little more ordinary.
We were booked to play the festival circuit around Europe, in between recording and mixing. Debbie left the band sometime in this haze, bad blood and bad vibes, sadly. Someone recommended a guitarist, a young guy from Hemel Hempstead, called Julian Cooper. His father is a well- respected guitar luthier and while at the time, Julian was fresh faced and innocent, he played with real skill and ease. I remember backstage, the girls in Copenhagen were especially enamoured of him. His playing added a harder edge to our live shows.
Just before recording LUSTRA, we finally sacked our original manager, after years of incompetence. For a while there had been no-one at the helm to look after us as our manager had been suffering continual illness but refused to let anyone else take care of things. The only thing we did miss was how close we all felt in the first years of the band’s existence. Incompetent or not, we were never to capture that united feeling with any future management. Serendipity mutated into a loss of innocence, hollowing out the joy of being in a band.
We played the UK and European festival circuit that summer. Our live performances had moved into a heavier sound, which was a natural progression for us with LUSTRA. It was released in November 1997. It did not sell the amount Sony had been expecting, nowhere near, in truth. The Britpop wave had started to collapse. Very quickly, the brakes were put on with an audible and painful shriek of the end of an era. We were almost numb, though half expecting it. We took it to Sony, before they took it to us, had a meeting with Rob Stringer and said it was time to leave. It was like handing in your resignation before you get sacked in order to say you chose to go. Rob eventually was head hunted to go to Sony’s New York office and very quickly, everyone we had worked with seemed to melt away. Most of the friendships that had been cultivated became tenuous almost immediately. In our naivety, we felt hurt, misinterpreting them for real friendships.
One drunken evening, a few months before the dawning of the millennium, Glenn, Andy and I, talking about how we’d like to acknowledge the big 2000, merged our desires into “listening to Hendrix’s Purple Haze, while looking out at Everest …” Glenn took hold of the insanity and booked three tickets to go trekking in Nepal. Our only training was one walk around Richmond Park, which ended up in the pub, inevitably with those two. Still, we went. We were lucky to be alive as the tiny airplane belonging to a Yeti Airlines, which had flown us out to the makeshift runway, suffered a fatal crash on the way back to Katmandu.
On New Year’s Eve, the three of us took our places in the circle dance of the local Sherpas, tanked up on home brew, high up in the Khumjung region of the Himalayas in Nepal. Outside, the inky night sky dazzled with its be-jewelled display of countless stars. It was surreal in its majesty and it was far, far away from London and its music scene.
(As I recall). Sonya Aurora Madan – June 2015 – London