“Cotton Mouth” by fanclubwallet – A Song Feature

     “Cotton Mouth” makes a compelling case against rushing to judgment after only the first minute of a song. At the start of the single from fanclubwallet, the guitar has an appealing urgency, but the song is dimensionally limited, even after the vocals begin. Then, shortly after the one-minute mark, instruments enter, with the percussion joining around 1:21 to provide texture-enhancing low-frequency foundation.
 
     Fanclubwallet is a musical project fronted by Hannah Judge. She is joined by Nathan Reid (bass), Eric Graham (guitar), and Michael Watson (drums, production, and mixing).  They are based in Ottawa, Ontario.
 
     “Cotton Mouth” by fanclubwallet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fanclubwallet
Website: https://www.fanclubwallet.com/

Lyrics of “Cotton Mouth” by fanclubwallet
Everyone is wondering when I'm gonna do
The next best thing for them
But what's the next best thing for you?
 
I've got cotton in my mouth
I can't seem to get it out
Oh no
 
If you asked me how I felt yesterday
Well, I wouldn't know
But I know every day's the same
 
I've got cotton in my mouth
I don't wanna spit it out
Oh no
 
I sunk into the living room chair
Now everybody's looking at me
Everybody's there
 
She's got cotton in her mouth
She can't seem to get it out
Oh no
 
Those were better times
But werе they better at all?
Now еverything's so similar
I don't know what to call it
 
When there's cotton in your mouth
You just wanna spit it out
Oh no

“Ain't Quite Right” by Still Blank – A Song Feature

      The heartbeat of “Ain’t Quite Right” lies in its driving rhythm section and a vocal delivery that leans more rhythmic than melodic. The song by Still Blank has a boiling frog effect—not because the temperature gradually rises unnoticed, but because the listener might not realize the intensifying energy from the already charged beginning to the electrified presentation at the 2:30 mark.  
 
     The vocal skills of Still Blank are showcased starting at 3:30, after the final verse is completed and the “ain’t right” assertion carries the song to its conclusion. The band is the duo of Jordan (“Jordy”) Fleming and Benjamin (“Ben”) Kirkland. Jordy described “Ain’t Quite Right” as follows
  “We wrote the song around Christmas in rainy Manchester while listening to a lot of Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey. Usually, Ben leads the music and I work on lyrics and melody, but this one flipped. We wanted it to feel on edge—building tension. The lyrics explore a dysfunctional relationship where both sides are suffocating, and neither can let go. The guitar almost talks back to the vocal, responding with this jarring energy that adds to the unease.”
 
      This is the second release from Still Blank, joining “What About Jane,” which is described as a Grungy, Folk-inflected reflection on identity, societal perception, and the expectations we’re forced to confront to uncover who we really are. That description does not touch on the Shoegaze contributions of the song.
 
The bio of the band explains:
  “Still Blank’s sound was born from unlikely roots. Jordy grew up immersed in the natural rhythms of island life in Hawaii, gigging at weddings and fundraisers by her early teens while drawing inspiration from Hawaiian traditions and the deep solitude of Kaua’i. Ben, raised on Manchester’s rich musical legacy and early pub gigs with his dad’s band, developed a taste for ambient textures, citing The Durutti Column and Vini Reilly as formative influences.”
 
     “Ain't Quite Right”

Lyrics of “Ain't Quite Right” by Still Blank
I lay down, I watch her breathe
My senseless lamb of ecstasy
I’d peel your mind
And snatch all of your dreams
 
She would fall in the dirt if she saw me betray
So I’ll cover my tracks and I’ll wash em away
Although It ain’t quite right
It ain’t quite right, you say
 
Ain't quite right
Ain't quite right
 
You bite my tongue, a palm to cheek
I choke your brain in naked sleep
Oh it ain’t quite right
I know It ain’t quite right
 
In the burning silence, peel my eyelids
Slam the door I’m locked outside
But in a minute you’ll say don’t ever leave me alone
 
Alone (Repeating)
 
Ain’t quite right (Repeating)
 
Storm out of the car and into the kitchen
China flies against a picture
Eyes on fire, words spewing hand grenades
 
Reach for the knife, go and take my head
But it’s not my life as your breast turns red
And now you ain’t quite right
Oh It ain’t right
 
I know it ain't quite right
Oh it ain't right
 
You know it ain't quite right
Oh it ain't right
It ain't right

     “What about Jane” by Still Blank

“Say Goodbye, Tell No One” Compared to “No, Surrender”

 

      While the single from Kathleen Edwards is fresh, it carries a degree of familiarity. “Say Goodbye, Tell No One” stands on its own and it stands tall. And we probably stand alone in making the assertion that the song shares notable characteristics with our favorite post-2000 protest song – “No, Surrender” by Justin Currie (released in 2008).
 
     To avoid immediate conflict in the comparison, we point out that both sets of lyrics are intelligently crafted reflections on human complexities. But it is more difficult to defend the position that the vocal inflections and vocal tempos, which are key to communicating both lyrical messages, are similar. These similarities are most apparent by focusing on the Kathleen Edwards’ verse that starts around 2:37. Even the melody fluctuations touch upon “No, Surrender.”
 
     Edwards’ song addresses the need for relationship termination. It is time to “Say Goodbye,” but keep it quiet (“Tell No One”). The instrumental bridge (beginning around 3:38) features a strong guitar solo.
 
   Similarly, “No, Surrender” proposes surrendering. But Justin Currie presents a litany of political, societal and religious objections and observations. It’s a shotgun approach to voicing protest. I doubt that anyone agrees with all of the observations, but Currie’s delivery entices listeners to consider their own positions on topics. Separately, “No, Surrender” features string instruments, rather than a guitar solo.

 
     “Say Goodbye, Tell No One” by Kathleen Edwards

Lyrics of “Say Goodbye, Tell No One” by Kathleen Edwards
People change, people grow
You can take it in stride or slam a door
You can go quiet, yeah, you can run
Say goodbye, tell no one
 
The easiest thing for me would be
Get someone to speak for me
Get somebody else to tell you how I feel
 
The hardest part about the truth
Saying something that might hurt you
The hardest part about a lie
You can't outrun it if you try
I was always good to you
You can get blisters from your favorite shoes
You can go quiet, you can run
Say goodbye, tell no one
 
Hеre's the truth wrapped up in a lie
I never cared, I never tried
I don't miss you and I never cried
It didn't hurt me when you took their side
 
The easiest thing for me would be
Get someone to speak for me
Get somebody else to make all my meals
Get somebody else to tell you how I feel
 
Find someone else when it doesn't come easy
To clean up the mess, to get up early
Find someone not to judge you
When you did something that you can't undo
 
The hardest part about the truth
Saying something that might hurt you
The hardest part about a lie
You can't outrun it if you try
Well, I was always good to you
You can get blisters from your favorite shoes
You can go quiet, you can run
Say goodbye, tell no one
 
The hardest part about the truth
Saying something that might hurt you
The hardest part about a lie
You can't outrun it if you try
I was always good to you
You can get blisters from your favorite shoes
You can go quiet, you can run
Say goodbye, tell no one

     "No, Surrender" by Justin Currie

Lyrics of “No, Surrender” by Justin Currie
Big Mac's for the fat
Low cal wraps for the call center battery hens
Japanese snacks for the choice-spoilt citizens
Caviar kickbacks for the citadel denizens
Airport shoeshines servicing the suits among
The little silver stereos and hand-rolled cheroots
First class passengers file on last
After the scum are packed in with their tax-free loot
 
Checkout calamity, you're cheated out of loyalty points
Ten more years at this joint you'd be home and dry
Beggars beat 'round the cash machines
But you just slip between them with the usual lie
Terrible tales of kidnapped kids keep you focused
On the family and filling up the fridge
Neighborhood watchers shop dole dodgers
Stick their semis on the market and start racking up the bids
 
Should you stand and fight?
Should you die for what you think is right
So your useless contribution will be remembered?
 
If you're asking me I say no, surrender
No, surrender
 
Constant growth, the cancerous cure
A swarming race of profiteers ensure
Cheap cars for the rich, cheap lives for the poor
Cheap weeks in the sun, free drinks at the door
Puerile propaganda plugs up the TV
Keep folk following the money so they'll never be free
Keep them swallowing the swill, the celebrities, the pedophiles
The immigrants invading from the camp over the hill
 
War talk, the big debate, foot soldiers in the capital
Liberating new kinds of hate
Cum-shots of human dots caught in the spotlight's glare
He dies who dares
Fatuous fast-trackers sneering at the shelf-stackers
Little Middle-Englanders can't stand the backpackers
Fortress freedom, come on in
Take your chances, you might win
 
Should you stand and fight?
Should you die for what you think is right
So your useless contribution will be remembered?
 
If you're asking me I say no, surrender
Surrender, surrender
 
Sunset beaches, security patrolled
Keep out the undesirables who don't accept the code
Equal opportunity to live in total poverty
Execute the ignorant, incarcerate the slow
Car caressing managers choking up the avenues
Brain-dead patriots standing in salute
Paperwork raining again and again
So that billionaires can claim there's an enemy to shoot
 
Pill pushers, door steppers, personal goal shoppers
Lifestyle trend setters, meditating mind benders
Hare-brained share sellers pumping out stocks
'Til you're choking on a chain-letter avalanche of dross
God squads crawling through every country
Tracking down fools who are bullshit hungry
Blinded by divinity, followers fall into the man-traps
Set along the Wailing Wall
 
Athletes compete in grand charades
While tanks flatten streets and a nation laughs
Visa holders gape at the changing guards
And creeps bribe bums to take their photographs
Film fans flock to the latest schlock
Blockbusters block out even the vaguest thought
Bankrupt schools grind out fool after fool
Then feed them to a system where idiots rule
 
Polling booths, phone votes, bogus questionnaires
You get a say as if anybody cares
Joe Public doesn't wanna play
So liquidate his life as he looks the other way
Don't get sick, don't get wise
Or they'll gut you with a justice where everything is lies
March down Main Street, complain if you want
But it's twenty years straight for the losers at the front
 
If you're asking me I say no, surrender
If you're asking me I say no, surrender, surrender
Just surrender, just surrender, surrender
Just surrender, just surrender
 
Surrender, surrender, surrender