Not As Bad As It Sounds

by Gurry Wurry

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1.	Sunshine 05:24	lyrics	buy track
I’m lucky I’ve had love on the payroll Since I could count I’m lucky I can fit in a square hole If trouble turns round I could weave my follies and feathers I could float that worried thought But if it’s all the same I’ll take sunshine If it’s all the same I’ll take sunshine If you lay it on me I’ll roll that stone, you’ll see If you lay it on me I’ll roll with it I’ll roll with it You can pull me down, watch me drown But I choose the shadow that I leave in the gutter You can pull me down, watch me drown But I choose the shadow that I leave in the gutter If you lay it, I’ll roll it round If you lay it, I’ll roll it round If you lay it, I’ll roll it round If you lay it But if it’s all the same I’ll take sunshine If it’s all the same I’ll take sunshine If it’s all the same I’ll take sunshine Now that is not enough life to die with That is not enough life to die There’s still some aftersun in the door of the fridge There’s time left to shine
2.	Blunt Shovels 04:11	lyrics	buy track
I like to enjoy myself But I’m not good at it I’m not good at it I’m not good Always running out of pants Always killing off the plants Pick a day to leave the flat Force my head to fill a hat Cos winter isn’t going anywhere Blunt shovels in the frost There’s nothing under there So this is where the bodies are buried So this is where the bodies are buried So this is where the bodies are buried So this is where the bodies are buried The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack you’ll never get off your back The burden is a backpack
3.	Good Year For A Coma 05:33	lyrics	buy track
Pink rays paint the walls But summer days have lawnmowers too The musclebound morning sound pins you down And lets you know the truth Treetops whistle, lots of little birds Who never got the news The sunlight looks me square in the eye And floods the room But if you want the windows You need the walls If you want the windows You need the walls I watched the world walk Box to box It’s been a good year for a coma I watched the world walk From box to box Long days, back to back Memories we didn’t mean to keep Squares of yellow sadness line the street Suppose the town can’t sleep Darkness is a choice We put it off for days, at least a week But glass is not a substrate you should hide behind The frame it creaked But if you want the windows You need the walls If you want the windows You need the walls I watched the world walk Box to box It’s been a good year for a coma I watched the world walk From box to box Lift the blind you’ll see it’s all in the air Lift the blind you’ll see it’s all in the air It’s colder than you’d like But these are the bricks that you picked to surround you It’s colder than you’d like But these are the bricks that you picked to surround you It’s colder than you’d like But these are the bricks that you picked to surround you It’s colder than you’d like
4.	Bird Without a Beak 04:05	lyrics	buy track
I need you like the seeds need soil, that’s all A bird without a beak The beach without the sea The sand’s between your teeth Nothing good grows in the darkness Nothing good grows alone I wither without your touch My roots just pull themselves up The brown side of the leaf The bugs that bide beneath You weren’t meant to see Nothing good grows in the darkness Nothing good grows alone Say it over enough it’s bound to sound profound Say it over enough it’s bound to sound profound Say it over enough it’s bound to sound profound Say it over enough it’s bound to sound profound Say it over enough it’s bound to sound profound Say it over enough
5.	Hold the Rope 03:20	lyrics	buy track
There’s a biblical beast That we pull, that we pull against Never rests or retreats But we pull, we pull again Cast your steps in stone Cast your steps in stone When you think your arms are finished Your fingers feel no touch Just hold the rope and hope for once Fairness weighs enough There’s a cold-handed grip That we pull, that we pull against They’ll have your throat if you slip But we pull, we pull again Cast your steps in stone Cast your steps in stone When you think your arms are finished Your fingers feel no touch Just hold the rope and hope for once Fairness weighs enough
6.	Blood 04:30	lyrics	buy track
He only knew how to feel with his fists Love never laid a finger on him Somewhere between his lungs and his lips His words were tempered And they could cut you to bits His heart beats like a brick against a bus The feeling’s his but he’s aiming it at us No-one sees through this window No-one feels it shake But something was always going to break For all the blood in your heart For all the blood in your heart A life that’s written out in sentences So familiar it was barely even his No footprints to follow No shoes that fit And no, nowhere to hide it For all the blood in your heart For all the blood in your heart Anger breeds within His anger breeds within Anger breeds within His anger breeds within Knuckle down and we We’ll see what we can do Who knows where this prison could take you
7.	Here All Night 05:18	lyrics	buy track
Wet sleeves from the windowsill Couldn’t dampen my spirits couldn’t weaken my will Cos I will, I will be here all night Woke up at an unfamiliar height Sunlight in my eyes My bedroom faces north this isn’t right Where am I? Tucked under the covers, I read between the stripes Something isn’t right Tucked under the covers, I read between the stripes Something isn’t right I can only see regrets down by the bedside I hope my keys are in my jeans Below the pillow watch her head slide As we both shut down like machines Let’s stop pretending to still be asleep if this is ending We can keep the curtain closed all day Carrying the silence careful not to drop a word Your eyelids gave it all away They gave it all away Just find my shoes and socks and I’ll be gone It’s that time again Just find my shoes and socks and I’ll be gone It’s that time again I guess that’s just what you wanted I guess that’s just how it goes I guess that’s just what you wanted I guess that’s just how it goes Wet sleeves from the windowsill Couldn’t dampen my spirits couldn’t weaken my will Cos I will, I will be here all night
8.	Coming Down 05:08	lyrics	buy track
Love is not a shelter from a storm All that bollocks that they taught you was wrong Love is just a hook that we can hang Our sadness on But it’s coming down Don’t think we can trust this rawlplug now That it’s coming down Don’t think we can trust this rawlplug now But I could be outshone by my shadow Could be shown up by the soles of my shoes Still get out of bed for you Love gets itchy but it keeps you warm The cuffs are looser than when we first put them on Love is dandruff on the shoulders of A petrol bomb But it’s coming down Don’t think we can just dust this off now That it’s coming down Don’t think we can just dust this off now But I could be outshone by my shadow Could be shown up by the soles of my shoes Still get out of bed for you It might’ve been a fight but at least we started something here We’ll drown if we keep this pace up Just one more beer We’re a temper, waiting to be lost We’re a temper, waiting to be lost
9.	Giants 05:01	lyrics	buy track
Life’s too long To worry where the spring in your step’s gone It’s tough to balance Standing on the toenails of giants And if you thought Your 5-stone hero only needs one shot Your head’s full of rocks You’ll fit in at the foot of the beanstalk I’m blessed by my fear of heights I’ll never test gravity’s patience I’ll limbo through a lowbrow life You can pick up the pole Any time you like From the ground Built a high-rise heart, watched them burn it down The loudest silence Echoes off the earlobes of giants And if you thought Your 5-stone hero only needs one shot Your head’s full of rocks You’ll fit in at the foot of the beanstalk I’m blessed by my fear of heights I’ll never test gravity’s patience I’ll limbo through a lowbrow life You can pick up the pole Any time you like I know those heights are sacred But we could be there in a moon or two I know those heights are sacred But we could be there in a moon or two I know those heights are sacred But we could be there in a moon or two
10.	Warm and Blue 04:25	lyrics	buy track
I’ve seen madness queue Round the block to talk to you Says ‘I’m warm and you’re blue’ ‘Let’s elope you and I’ ‘Are you having a good time?’ Knee deep and now we’re gone Knee deep and now Now we’re gone I’ve seen madness look At you the way your lover should Says ‘I’m warm and you’re blue’ I couldn’t blame you if I tried to Just hope it’s not me that finds you Knee deep and now we’re gone Knee deep and now Knee deep and now we’re gone Knee deep and now Now we’re gone

about

**********

“Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci meets Randy Newman”
– Vic Galloway, BBC

“Not As Bad As It Sounds sounds pretty good to us!”
– The Skinny

“Absolutely superb. Anybody who can, without thinking about it, combine Belle and Sebastian with the Beta Band should be considered for sainthood, shouldn’t they?”
– Sean Hocking, Dandelion Radio

“A collection of songs to both soothe and groove... laid back and melancholy, and yet, the album still feels uplifting… warm, comfortable and irresistible.”
– Snack Magazine

“A warm selection of off-kilter piano-pop, the arrangements plush and considered… ‘Blood’ is a melodic delight… There’s a world of potential for a songwriter with his deft musical touch and willingness to keep it weird.”
– Is This Music?

“Delicious dissonances, unusual horn parts and a dreamy male vocal that floats within this ever-evolving hybrid of styles and sounds… a wide spectrum of influences. Unique, at times opaque, and most enjoyable.”
– Trust The Doc

“The whole thing’s got an easy charm to it… from the album title downwards.”
– We Heard Wonders

**********

This album was written and recorded between 2020 and 2022 in the living room of my first floor flat in Leith. I took the batteries from the kitchen clock to stop the ticking, piled up my pillows to soften the hard-floored echo, and propped my mattress up behind me to soak up some sound.

Some nights when I’m trying to sleep I swear I can still hear it.

Unfortunately most of the best takes were ruined by barking dogs, sirens and barking drunks on the other side of the single-glazing.

Some nights when I’m trying to sleep I can still hear them too.

But please, when you’re listening – imagine those better takes. Imagine better songs. And a better singer. Imagine this album is, like most things in life, not as bad as it sounds.

credits

released March 27, 2023

**********

Massive thanks and credit go to these heroes:

• Alto sax and cover painting by Nicola Laurie
• Photography by Mike Chalmers
• Mixing by Alasdair Kelly @ Al’s Audio Barn, Leith
• Mastering by Dave Lloyd @ Lost Oscillation, Leith

The rest is my fault.

license

about

Gurry Wurry Edinburgh, UK

Anaesthetic alt-pop from Leith, Scotland.

For fans of:
• Gruff Rhys
• BC Camplight
• Michael Nau

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