FAWM: "Lowlife"

Lowlife

3 weeks ago by @adforperu

Liner Notes

Found a sampled kit that was triggering a synth sound which I found cool, but meant I was eternally stuck in C major/minor. No keyboards or guitars touched yet... just warming up.

I wrote this sort of about going to Corporation nightclub in Sheffield and what a twonk I was around that time.

#elecroclash #glam #electronic #pop

Lyrics

there is beauty in the death museum
falling letters and the busted neon
calculations in a three room puzzle
weed killer on the honeysuckle
weed killer on the honeysuckle

i’ll flourish, I just need to get older
we’re tongue-tied or sleeping on a shoulder
give me sugar
give me voodoo
give me weird,
my ego got me a cauliflower ear
my ego got me a cauliflower ear

he’s a lowlife
go get him
make him repent
unsettle him
all or nothing
scared to death
cut the phone-lines
not his neck

i am a lowlife
i am a half-life
i am a fraction away from a good life

he’s a lowlife
go get him
make him repent
unsettle him
all or nothing
scared to death
cut the phone-lines
not his neck

he’s the best that we can do
he will make sure we stay true
all or nothing
scared to death
cut the last cord
then his neck

Comments

@davidtaro 4d

What an absolute banger! The smack on the kit is incredible. Love the swing of the vocals, and that’s one killer opening line too. Great track :)

@mdavisto 1w

Ahhhhhh that SNARE. I need this snare. I will use AI to dismantle your track so I can get at it.

So much CRUNCH on this V2 synth.

Have you ever considered writing a stage musical? I'm just saying. I think you're the special kind of nuts that could do it.

omg the ahhhhhhs

@rowanb 1w

Great quirky track. I love the backing vocal sound that sings the ‘lowlife’ bit. Very cool feel to it.

@degausser 1w

Love the 'wrhhhhhh' sounds when you get into the lowlife sections and it's build is nothing short of trippy
Look forward to moshing to this strange song at one of your weird gigs. It's mad!

@delahannah 2w

I just love how you’ve used the adjective twonk..
The song is really catchy. Really well produced my dudeo! Funky synths, great vocals .. builds so well. Excellent ✨

@iwilleatyou 2w

This is cool! You should have Julie sing this one though. Your voice completely butchers it.

@knobbyneggins815 2w

Amazing and badass track. Great inspiration behind it as well! Nothing much to say that hasn't been said already in the comments, I'm glad I checked the Recommendations thread to find this!

@gardeningangel 2w

I think I'm too old to use the phrase "this slaps" but it totally does. I really like the perspective, looking back on the obnoxious folly of youth knowing it does get better. That chorus/chant reminds me of my wild twonk days, when someone gave me a Miller High Life hat and I used my rebellious embroidery skills to change it to say Low Life. 😁

@andrewthewood 2w

Especially loving the XTC-esque wrap-around lyrics on the 'he's a lowlife' sections.

@gammafied 2w

I like the music use of the sounds that sound like a modem. Nice driving tune and vocal layering / delivery. These lyrics are super wild in a good way. My favorite stanza is the second one.

@savoy 2w

love the shuffle beat of this. that repeated refrain/bridge in the middle is killer. this is one hell of a warm up.

@mikedebenham 2w

Good words, Ad. Particularly like the low->half->fraction stuff, smart but purposeful. Plus it all bangs. Top stuff.

@hanley 2w

Note to self: turn down headphones prior to listening to Ad’s tunes.
You really do never know what to get from your bag of party lollies, but this one sure is sweet! Catchy AF hook, and that drum sound is particularly delectable. Loving all the 80s throwback synth sounds too.

@oiko 2w

excellent! very stylish, solid groove and oozes of attitude. interesting contrast between the carefully layered vocal harmonies and edgy synths!

@mikegtz 2w

Interesting way to express penance for long ago adventures. Very creative and cool!

@sapient 2w

Bloody 'ell, this is a bit alright, innit.
My head's all "what if Peter Gabriel had been in Gorillaz and Trainspotting had been set in Yorkshire instead of Glasgow...?"
Which is quite a thing. And being stuck in one key cos of the instruments being silly lends a compelling relentlessness to it that I love.
Damn. This is GOOD.

@drivebylovefest 2w

Well that chorus has now anchored herself deep in my psyche! I’ll be walking around all day singing about being a lowlife haha. I got really excited around 2:20 when you drop the ahh’s.

@sph 2w

Wow, I love how this develops and draws you in more and more.

@chasingandromeda 2w

I need a shower. This is just wonderfully grimy and disgusting. I am not sure you could have painted a more accurate picture. The shifting feeling of time invokes this idea that the poor bloke is just chasing his tail. I almost feel sorry for him…almost.

@loveonamixtape 2w

Ooh love how thick and crunchy this is. And some of the chromatic synth bits after the "I'll flourish part" are really cool -- remind me a little of "Outside" era Bowie. The layered vocals on the "he's a lowlife" are great and I love the marching, persistent rhythm of the vocals and how it starts to get rather lush toward the end.

@communitykickabout 2w

"calculations in a three room puzzle" is a cracker. The descending melody on the chorus-ish bit is great. Plus points for the little descending bass line near the end.

@stephenwordsmith 2w

Genuinely impressed at these lyrics - each line gave me pause for thought in a way the preceding one didn't.

OK, love the bombastic guitar burst at the start of V2. Quite the foil to the 'parklife!' echo at the end of the verses.

Oh, here's another bombastic burst - I like this one even more than the first one. The vocal layering remains a perfect compliment. By the next verse, it starts to feel like I'm halfway through a musical that I didn't realise I was watching at first. But I'm completely and thoroughly entranced by the narrator and their journey, despite not having met them a minute ago.

@frozenlonesome 2w

So much in this track. Came from the recommendation thread. Fun melodies and good old top tapping vibes.

@lonelyrobot 2w

Really enjoyed the grungy feel to this and the vocal melody in the chorus is so good! I can't help but wonder when the last time you actually went to Corporation was though, was 'around that time' just last month? 🤔

@bradbrubaker 2w

The bass synth holding it down as the song jumps around erratically, all while holding the same vibe. Speaking of vibes, definite St. Vincent vibes to this...or Nine Inch Nails attempting their own version of Midnite Vultures (which I would listen the hell out of).

@giantenemycliche 2w

I like the triggered synth! And the noisy blasts are very cool.

@chill4matt 2w

Love the make-up of this song. Good chorus. The mini-breaks are great.

@vomvorton 2w

Haha this reminds me of Earl Brutus! One of the best live bands I ever saw, they loved the stompy glam-rock drums. Layered synths at the end are wonderful 80s goodness.

@bijou 2w

This truly lives up to the tag electroclash and there are so many cool things going on. Thanks for allowing this to be my first listen of FAWM season!

@davecuthbertson 2w

This is right up my street! The groove is one of those I could listen to indefinitely. Love all the elements of it but the production especially is spot on, everything sits beautifully together.

@susyblue 2w

Punky Banger!! I'd bounce around to this in the club in the early noughties for sure. Love that chorus a lot, glad you gave us a few goes

@oddbod 3w

A twonk?
Loving all the vocal shenanigans and your cryptic lyrics.
As per usual you knock it out the park when it comes to inventive production

@bigmood 3w

oh hell yeah, that synth sound is cool! This feels like sloppy monster funk. Like I can picture the dance move that goes with it, that's how you know it's good lol. Especially like how that "he's a lowlife go get him" bit goes, it's super weird and then it lands reaaaal nice

@jani 3w

This is so cool

@coolparadisoMod 3w

very cool opener, you always make such intetesting musical choices! so much depth ti this one!

@med4th 3w

Interesting array of sounds, in a good way. Me likey the bass-thud-C. There's something kinda QOTSA Era Vulgaris and David Bowie going on. It definitely doesn't make me think of Corp.

@jackdawfactories 3w

Ad this bloody RIPS my man. That bouncy beat is absolutely killer, I always love polyrhythmic vocal lines, your sound design is only getting better and better. This is release-ready!

@atam94 3w

stellar first track!! Loved it!

@rosiebans 3w

fantastic! Huge smile on my face the whole time 😁 got me boppin', such a FUN song, puuuure catchy and mega well done 👏👏👏

@tamsnumber4 3w

Love the choices you made in this in your vocals and production. This works!

@hbusse 3w

Great debut! Such commitment from you always in your delivery and production. Creative melodies and infectious rhythms.

@karlsburg25 3w

well bud what a find. bloody glad you were stuck in C .WHAT A KEY!!! seriously its bloody stupidly catchy. my fav bit is the going dow the scale octave singing. And how the bloody dickens did you get this sounding so perfectly radio friendly in a day. I want to be in a massive crowd shouting my ass off to this. top start matey

@thelowestbitter 3w

this is great, love that percussiveness of the sampler synth hits, and the layered vocal harmonies in the "he's a lowlife..." bit are great. I also have some half finished lyrics in my notes for a song tentatively called "corp juice", maybe I should dig those out and join the #corpcore movement

@ddd 3w

Smashed that bro.

@deena 3w

What an exciting start, right out of the gate. "I am a fraction away from a good life..." great line!

@scottmcb 3w

This is awesome. Love all the different grooves and sounds and how they play off each other. Parts of this give off Peter Gabriel type vibes which is great. Super cool

@afterschoolclub 3w

Ooh this is properly quirky! Love the staccato nature of the instrumentation throughout. The little octave separated vocals work really well as do the backing harmonies. I’ve no idea what you’re going on about to be honest but the vocals flow really nicely 😆 Excellent opener!

@billwhite51 3w

i like the way lowlife keeps popping up, sorta like the way prince used pop life. love your wacky arrangement. experimental without losing the groove. some funny lyrics and rhymes are a bonus,

@judypie 3w

Ohhhhhh snap! That first verse! Those electrical lil zaps and those lyrics!
The shouty bits sounds like all the COOL BANDS that we like. I mean if you make a better song than this this FAWM I’ll be very impressed.. it’s all down hill from here I’m afraid Ad!! Can’t wait to hear this live! Meet in the kitchen for a dance?

@skylermf 3w

Oh I LOVE this!! The “lowlife” background vocals are so cool, as is the vocal delivery. I think my favorite thing about this is how it builds, the instruments come in and drop out at the perfect moments. I wish I could add this to my driving playlist!