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Tambaleo

by Matthew Squires

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Normally, I don't print CDs because it's 2017 and all... But I had these CDs printed in order to ship out to press, and I had a few leftover. Elise Powell did a wonderful job on the artwork. Only a few available, so if you're interested, get one now, before they sell out!

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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Already Dead Tapes was kind enough to press a small batch of cassettes for Tambaleo. They come with a free download card. So if you don't have access to a cassette player you can still listen to the album digitally. With artwork designed by the brilliant Elise Powell, this high quality cassette is a really neat piece of merchandise. A cool keepsake for you, and you'll get that warm almost-sickening glow that accompanies helping out a struggling artist like myself. Seriously... I could use the money. You don't wanna know. It's bleak..

    International Shipping rates apply.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Tambaleo via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 25 

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1.
Drone One 01:01
2.
Welcome 01:41
Welcome Matthew, this is the place where nothing's wrong and nothing is right. You were born and you have died a hundred million times before. You are all there is. You are everyone you've met. Welcome Matthew, You were named after a friend of the Son of God. Now, bracket for a moment whether God exists or not. Have you been kind?
3.
Shining 03:21
I strived for years to answer the question of my life. I'm afraid to admit I could not phrase that question right. I am forgetful Yeah, that is my crime. I am forgetful so I stumble on through time. A hundred million memories come poking through the fog. I'm not sure what they're telling me, except that I'm doing something wrong. Where is your hunger? You could hold it up for me. Where is your hunger? You could lay it at my feet. And there's much more to you than the mess that you've been through. The sacrificial knife, that document of life is Shining. It is Shining. The heart of man lies broken and bleeding on the road. It talks about the money and the privilege it is owed. It is homeless with a throne made out of trash. Yeah, it is homeless- rusted crown and soiled sash. And the voice of God comes muffled through a beat up radio. It sounds a bit like Elvis, Presley, not Costello "You are a hound dog and your fur is stained with wine You are a hound dog And you're not friend of mine." But there's still hope for you. Just take your blue suede shoes. Exchange them for The Knife. That document of life is Shining. It is Shining.
4.
The deep roots of time have all withered and died. Now there's only One Path for our world. The meth-heads and freaks who have honored our streets were the first ones to hear the alarm. They are all Adam before the fruit touched his arm. Hosanna! I wrote this strange song, I hope you will sing along. It's about pretending you have something to say. It is the tune of my heart, it is shaped like a dart. May it pierce you and tear through your skin. If you be my Jesus I'll be your crucifixion. It goes like this: Hosanna!
5.
Grace's Drum 03:44
Please don't toy with love songs, you can leave that to us Pros. There's a mighty ocean of the heart to which all wise rivers flow. And it has nothing to do with fame. And it has nothing to do with gain. Please don't toy with poems. You can leave that to the stars. Your scientific mindset, it will only go so far and it never will touch what's true. No, it never will touch what's you. La la la la la la la la la la la Please don't toy with hunger. You can leave that to the bums and the 60 million refugees all twiddling their thumbs. They are waiting for grace to come. Yeah they are waiting, for grace's drum. Can you hear it? Ba da rum bum bum...
6.
Sex and tragedy, creation's majesty. The youthful dreams of dignity The aged bows to eternity and this is all there ever was. Swelling emptiness, that holy brokenness. The Gods have not completely fled, some things in life just can't be said and this is all there ever was. Welcome home, dear. You're not alone here.
7.
Drone Two 00:39
8.
Silent World 03:22
There is a Silent World inside this world. It is blooming inside your chest. There is a broken world. An unspoken world and it will never come to rest. There's space between each note that I am singing. And some have called it God.... And some have called it boring....
9.
Judas was all alone when he called me on the telephone and told me about the pain that he had caused. About Mary's face when her son was torn apart. How all the silver in the world couldn't mend her heart. I wasn't sure of just what to say, I felt like I was in his way. Like all the answers that he sought were inside himself. Like sickness is the cure to unwholesome health. Like poverty is the purest form of wealth. Sometimes love is quieter than pain. Sometimes love radiates like the heat of a summer night. Sometimes love is a silent walk of shame. Sometimes love shines forth like the one, true holy light. And sometimes love simply has no name. Buddha sat perfectly still and thought about his brother Phil, he thought about how strange he felt that day, when Brother Phil was found floating in a lake. He realized then that nothing truly stays the same. This Universe presents itself. A cosmic game of show and tell. I stumble through infinite space with you. Exchanging hopes and fears for hesitation wounds. Covering up my heart with convenient truth. Sometimes love is quieter than pain. Sometimes love radiates like the heat of a summer night. Sometimes love is a silent walk of shame. Sometimes love shines forth like the one, true holy light. And sometimes love simply has no name.
10.
I wrote a letter once to you. I'll be the first to admit, it was a silly thing to do. I discussed the many was I've lied. How I dressed myself like Dylan in 1965 Then I told you about the song I heard. It came to me in a peculiar dream, it was whispered by a wounded bird. He sang: Everyone is dead or dying Everyone is dead or dying Everyone is dead or dying or dead or dying or dead. And all of them are worth rememberin' All of them are worth rememberin' All of them are worth rememberin' worth rememberin' My friend. You held a mirror up to God. You looked just like a statue, you looked perfectly flawed. And then your head spun around. Your eyes started pouring water onto the thirsty ground. Suddenly I couldn't help but weep. I felt just like a child, I felt so incomplete. You asked me then to tell you who I was. When I opened my mouth to answer, I couldn't find my tongue. In its place was a rope which stretched along. I traced that line to the end of time, there was nothing there except this simple song, It went: Everyone is dead or dying Everyone is dead or dying Everyone is dead or dying or dead or dying or dead. And all of them are worth rememberin' All of them are worth rememberin' All of them are worth rememberin' worth rememberin' My friend.
11.
Debt Song 03:13
Spent the bulk of my life in the wake of Armageddon. All the news reports were reporting everything was fine. Well, I ventured out to my nearby 7-11 and I treated myself to their cheapest bottle of wine. I've got debts that none can see but they must be paid. it won't be a pretty sight to see on that day. Spent half of my time chasing after orgasms the other half I am paying a hefty fine. I ventured down to the heart of central Manhattan and I saw that hole that those fuckers put in our sky And I thought: We've got debts that none can see but they must be paid. it won't be a pretty sight to see on that day. I was born shrieking up a storm and I pray to God (or whatever's left) that I don't die the exact same way.
12.
Every time I try to hide my head inside the sand this ancient song comes flooding in from some distant land. That melody's so soft and sweet I wish I could explain the ways in which it takes my eyes and creates summer rain. I am the Antichrist I am Mother Teresa, too. I am the Antichrist. I am everything to you. Everywhere I stop and stare I see you staring back. Your brokenhearted wisdom, dear it's stopped me in my tracks. I could never claim to be the person that I am. That's why I stay silent, hun, I hope you understand. I am a broken cup. I'm The Mighty Ocean, too. I am a broken cup. I am everything to you. I promise I'll never abandon you. Even if you say you want me to. I will see straight through to the shape of your heart. Every time I try to hide my head inside the sand, this ancient song comes flooding in from some distant land.
13.
Bird Song 02:52
I used to dream of stardom, That was before I learned that even the stars must die. The ones at hand, and the ones that are so far flung, they still glimmer like fireflies from the black, mystic jungle of sky. And when I see them, I feel so all alone. But I can't dismiss, at least in this I am not alone. I was once afraid of failure. That was before I learned that 'failure' is just a word. And there are other words, like: 'death' and 'God' and Honor' but all of these are mere feathers on some great and cosmic bird. And when we spot her we will feel so very small But the arms of grace which we'll embrace will not be so small. You and I may not go on and on forever but our love, my dear, is not so easily severed.
14.
Drone Three 01:03
15.
No one knows where the living goes when the living goes away. Some will say there's a world beyond this one. Others say, "No, no. What is done is done." Some will say there's power inside our veins. Others say, "Tisk, tisk, don't you turn away." No one knows where the living goes when the living goes away. Some will say there is hatred from the start. Others say, "No, no, you forgot your heart." Some will say there is nothing in the end. Others say, "Well, well, why are you shaking, then?" No one knows where the living goes when the living goes away.

about

PRESS:

"...Squires’ new album transcends simple guy-with-guitar stereotypes... Tambaleo is the artist’s most fully realized work to date."

-Austin Monthly (Full review here: www.austinmonthly.com/AM/January-2017/Whats-New-In-Austin-Music-January-2017/)

*****

"...The record is an auditory biography of skewed pop machinations, the kind that buzz from one second to the next in a series of unrestrained rhythmic revelations...."

-Nooga (Full review here: nooga.com/174554/notes-from-left-of-the-dial-son-of-the-velvet-rat-and-more/)

*****

"...[Squires'] crafted, funny lyrics sung over dynamic and clever arrangements make Tambaleo an album to watch in 2017..."

-KUTX (Full review here: kutx.org/musicarchive/matthew-squires-1-19-17)


*****

Singles Shape of Your Heart and Debt Song have been warmly featured by The Needledrop, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Magnet Magazine, and many others.


****************************************************************************


I was as dry as ground wheat throughout the two years that I wrote and recorded this album. Over this time, I became convinced of (or at least willingly lived under the deluded belief in) two things. First, fermentation is the most fundamental process in the Whole Wide Universe. Second, since my arid inner landscape was not a fertile soil for growing grapes, another, thicker wine began to circulate through my now-silent-and-glowing body. This album is just the document of that profane communion.

credits

released January 20, 2017

Great thanks to Ray Flynt, Emily Allen, Marcus Rubio, James Lavery, Gianni Sarmiento, Ben Humphreys, Joey Reyes, Hanna Campbell, Matt Krolick and Evan Kaspar for your creative and generous contributions to the arrangements of these songs.


Engineered and mixed by Evan Kaspar at Estuary Recording Facility
Austin, Texas

Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio, Inc.
Austin, Texas

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Matthew Squires Austin, Texas

I think, all things considered, the songs I write are much more listenable than the songs I don't write.

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