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The End Of The Golden Age

by The Wynntown Marshals

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    Brand new 10-track CD in Digipack format, featuring stunning bespoke artwork by world-renowned illustrator Tom Gauld

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    10-track album on 180g vinyl, sumptuously packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeve, featuring stunning artwork by world-renowned illustrator Tom Gauld.

    The vinyl copy also includes a free CD copy of the 10 tracks. Please note that the CD comes in a clear slipcase and does NOT include all the artwork found on the standard digipack version.

    NB: The vinyl copies will not be shipped until mid-May due to pressing plant turnaround times.

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  • Limited Edition Bundle 1: Digipack CD plus Limited Edition Artwork Print [1 of 50]
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Bundle of 1x 10-track CD in gatefold digipack plus a strictly limited edition high quality giclee print [1 of only 50]. The print is 15.7" x 8.7" (398 x 220mm) and is signed and numbered by the artist, Tom Gauld.

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  • Bundle 2: Vinyl LP plus Limited Edition Artwork Print [1 of 50]
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Bundle of 1x 180g vinyl LP in deluxe gatefold packaging plus a strictly limited edition high quality giclee print [1 of only 50]. The print is 15.7" x 8.7" (398 x 220mm) and is signed and numbered by the artist, Tom Gauld.

    The vinyl copy also includes a free CD copy of the 10 tracks. Please note that the CD comes in a clear slipcase and does NOT include all the artwork found on the standard digipack version.

    NB: The vinyl copies will not be shipped until mid-May due to pressing plant turnaround times.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The End Of The Golden Age via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
There Was A Time You lived on a street - south side of town You’d call me up and I would come around I would stay a while; sometimes I’d stay the night Wind my way back to my place, lit by street lights We’ve worked this out, nobody need take the blame Now I wind my way back to ours, taking biblical names Hang a right on Hope, carry on past Canaan Just about made it home, had a few but I still… I still know the way home There was a time when neither of us knew If we were gonna make it through Was it a fundamental difference we faced? Or just a different point of view? Sometimes tempers they get frayed Sometimes best laid plans can change We sometimes get lost along the way But I know you and me - we’ll be OK There was a time when neither of us knew If we were gonna make it through Was it a fundamental difference we faced? Or just a different point of view? There was a time when neither of us knew If we were gonna make it through Was it a fundamental difference we faced? Or just a different point of view? There was a time…
2.
Dead Sunflowers Teeth that grind and gears that shift Halted progress and mesial drift The pain that comes with work and life Ties get severed by rusty knives Feelings get clouded by heartbreak and alcohol Those missing years don't really matter at all You made my year when you said I do I hated what I put you through Dead sunflowers - sitting on the fireplace Tied up in knots then I see your face This feeling's got me hypnotised There’s a few more lines written around your eyes I called you last night from AN other place You mistook my words for a display of new found faith When I said I loved G sus well I meant the chord So many ways to talk with the lord But now the pews are looking empty What about the gifts you said you'd send me? Dead sunflowers - sitting on the fireplace Tied up in knots then I see your face This feeling's got me hypnotised There’s a few more lines written around your eyes
3.
Being Lazy 04:11
Being Lazy You know I can go out dancing And I can still have fun I can sit here on my own I don’t need anyone I’ll read books I’ll never finish Dream of flying, then I’ll fall Tell myself a million times I don’t need you at all But it’s not me being lazy And I don’t feel so low There’s nothing left around me And nowhere left to go I don’t miss you so much It’s not like my whole world revolves around you I wish I’d never found you I could learn a brand new language But all my talk seems dumb I could travel round the world Kid myself I’m on the run Take all the drink and all the drugs That change the way I see I tried it all before It’s never been enough for me But it’s not me being lazy And I don’t feel so low There’s nothing left around me And nowhere left to go I don’t miss you so much It’s not like my whole world revolves around you I wish I’d never found you
4.
Red Clay Hill Last night I dreamt that I took a walk in an Ansel Adams picture Saw Half-Dome bathed in monochrome And on one heel I had a blister Took off my boots to ease the pain Then put them back on against my will When I woke I knew the time had come to climb Red Clay Hill That hill commands the land that surrounds the house in which we live Bisects the motorways where I spend most of my days Reminds me I have more to give It was there where I first found you When we felt winter's bitter chill So will you walk with me again upon Red Clay Hill From the top you can see the runways and lights from the air traffic tower Where jet planes carry people to the skies at over a hundred miles an hour Buzzards rule the skies above me Eyeing their next kill Next time you go, please look below that might be me on Red Clay Hill If we go up one side We can go down another I first came up here alone But we went down together It was there where I first found you When we felt winter's bitter chill So will you walk with me again upon Red Clay Hill It was there where I first found you When we felt winter's bitter chill And when I leave this earth you can bury me on Red Clay Hill You can bury me on Red Clay Hill
5.
Idaho 04:06
Idaho For the first time my heart has been a subject of the past Promises, they don’t last Nothing changes an endless search to know the reason why It's the last time I will try I never thought that Idaho was west I never thought of Idaho I never thought of you as knowing best I never thought of letting go Safe for now we're holed up in the embassy But there are no guarantees Curtains twitch strung out and our nerves are shot Just want to hold on to what we've got I never thought that Idaho was west I never thought of Idaho I never thought of you like all the rest I never thought of letting go Rolling on is all we know and where the tide, it moves, we go.. I never thought that Idaho was west I never thought of Idaho I never thought of you as knowing best I never thought of letting go
6.
Better Than Yesterday I used to talk to you for hours on the payphone by the store Last time I visited my folks it wasn't even there anymore Letting go was bad, but what is worse Is not even having the guts to hang up first Now I need to find something else to do with all this loose change and these memories of you Trading on past glories won't do you much good It's just a way of never moving on at the end of the day Now I understand what you meant In that tear stained letter you sent It might feel a little weird but it's gotta be better than yesterday Better than yesterday I stole your heart and you broke mine Empty promises and pick up lines Looking for a reason to get on with our lives Remembering you sitting next to me asleep in the passenger seat The smell of the forest in the air and the bitter taste of defeat I think the radio was on they were playing your favourite song I just left you sleeping so I could enjoy the refrain Better than yesterday You don't need me and I don't need you There's a piece of the sky that's painted blue You don't need me and I don't need you There's a piece of the sky that's painted blue And that’s the place I'm headed to
7.
The Girl on the Hill The Girl on the Hill Same city, different time We were younger then We had nothing but time You were sweet Lots of guys wanted you bad Other girls had the looks But none had the kind heart you had We never kissed but I stayed the night one time We held each other for a little while Now she's gone and it's a crying shame She'll live forever in the sunshine She'll live forever in the sunshine Ever present in those summer days She had the same name as that Ben Folds song I'd sing it all the time I memorised every line After the party I walked her home through the park Just to make sure she got home alright I left her smiling in the pouring rain She'll live forever in the sunshine She'll live forever in the sunshine I left her smiling in the pouring rain In the sunshine’s where she’ll stay
8.
Metagama 03:55
Metagama Where have all the young men gone Their love and laughter lost Who will fill the silence Now their voices are just ghosts Who will toil on the land And who will walk the moors and sands With my daughters With my daughters Who will make the old men laugh To see their lives lived new And who will take the old maid's arm To lead her to her pew Who will now grow old And live a tale fit to be told With my daughters With my daughters Take your Sunday suit off To protect it from the sea Was your mother's way of saying 'Keep you safe my love, you're part of me' Crossing over to the Great Dominion Metagama Metagama
9.
Moby Doll 06:11
Moby Doll Set out in '64 Saturna Island from the Vancouver shore Cloud cover looked like rain Left before she woke so I wouldn't Have to explain Harpoon was set up on the rocks Towed her all the way back to the dry dock I wanted her to disappear The local tribesmen around here - showed a healthy fear The men in the bars twisted tales - over too many beers They called them blackfish, killers and the wolves of the sea But it's not right to keep a soul in captivity Were they misunderstood or were we out of touch? There's a mean streak hidden in all of us In all of us… The story broke the people gathered round Everybody visited from every single town My copy got picked up & syndicated Turns out success is overrated They called them blackfish, killers and the wolves of the sea But it's not right to keep a heart in captivity When is 'just a little bit more' just a little bit too much? There's a mean streak visible in all of us In all of us…
10.
The End Of The Golden Age It was St Andrew’s Day, you were leaving I remember it well, you didn’t really like that day I asked you why, you replied ‘It means nothing’ Did you mean us or the celebration of our patron saint? I used to keep your air mail letters Tied up in a bundle in a drawer Now they’re gone I think I threw them out Didn’t need them anymore So look up to the sky, kid Don’t lose your sense of wonder, boy This might be the end of the golden age Can’t you hear the rolling thunder? So look up to the sky, kid Don’t lose your sense of wonder, boy This might be the end of the golden age The fairground was back on the village green You could smell diesel fumes and candy floss in the air The lights from the rides they lit up the night sky And there were young lovers everywhere So look up to the sky, kid Don’t lose your sense of wonder, boy This might be the end of the golden age Can’t you hear the rolling thunder? So look up to the sky, kid Don’t lose your sense of wonder, boy This might be the end of the golden age

about

‘The End Of The Golden Age’ is the third album by Edinburgh-based band The Wynntown Marshals, and is the band’s second release on German label Blue Rose Records. The record is the follow up to the critically acclaimed LPs ‘The Long Haul’ (2013) and ‘Westerner’ (2009).

The album sees the band drawing on their Scottish roots to give their own uniquely personal take on the Americana genre – the cinematic lyrics on this Caledonian scrapbook tell tales of migrations from Hebridean islands and modern life in the capital city, the sights. smells and sounds of Aberdeenshire fairgrounds, and the rural landscapes of West Lothian.

The music is similarly widescreen in scope and the influences are diverse; the jangling, pile-driving guitars and rich harmonies owing as much to countrymen Teenage Fanclub as to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; the use of effects, horns and synths evoking the music of peers such as Jim Bryson, and The Weakerthans.

The central themes of the record are those of memories and nostalgia, and there are frequent references to times, people and places past. The lyrics speak of blossoming (and fragmenting) relationships and a yearning for days gone by and are sometimes tinged with regret, but there’s also an undeniable, unshakeable energy and a healthy undercurrent of optimism which tempers the downbeat subject matter of many of these songs.

While much of the instrumentation on the album is undeniably ‘classic’ Americana – the jangle of the 12-string guitar, acoustic and electric guitars interweaving with Hammond organ, aching pedal steel, and plaintive piano – not everything on ‘The End of The Golden Age’ fits so comfortably into the genre. Hushed horns, synths, and stacked harmonies add to the often expansive soundscapes on offer here, but the Marshals continue to do what they love most, and do best; lyrically strong guitar-driven pop and rock with plenty of hooks.

Album opener ‘There Was A Time’ is a 60s-inflected rocker about the tentative early stages of a relationship and showcases all the elements of the Marshals’ refined and road-honed sound – duelling guitars aplenty, a driving backbeat, swirling keys, and killer harmonies. ‘Dead Sunflowers’ is a slash-and-burn guitar track which demonstrates the power-pop sensibilities that are apparent throughout the record.

‘Red Clay Hill’ – with its wall of guitars - romanticises a local landmark and features a guest vocal from Hannah Elton-Wall of Redlands Palomino Company. ‘Better Than Yesterday’ comes off like an alt.country Replacements (think ‘Country & Westerberg’).

Rounding out the unbridled energy of many the songs are the album’s more introspective moments – ‘Being Lazy’, a heartworn ode to a failed relationship, ‘The Girl On The Hill’, a eulogy to a friend who died too young, and the dusty, reverb-laden ‘Idaho’.

The Marshals’ trademark story songs are present too, in evidence on ‘Metagama’ – an almost psychedelic ode to a lost island generation - and ‘Moby Doll’, the plaintive and brooding tale of the first orca in captivity, told from the perspective of a guilt-wracked journalist.

The record ends on a high – the title track, again steeped in Scottish imagery, alludes to a relationship that didn’t quite go the distance, but the uplifting chorus (which references classic ‘80s coin-op video games) and deftly-handled instrumentation are resolutely positive.

Featuring original album art by Tom Gauld (best known for his illustrations for The Guardian & New Yorker magazine), the cover imagery perfectly encapsulates the organic, melancholic, old-meets-new feel of much of the record.

credits

released May 8, 2015

Label: Blue Rose Records
Catalogue No: BLU DP0666 [CD] / BLU LP0666 [vinyl]
Release [EU]: 8th May 2015

Producer: Andrew Taylor

Keith Benzie: Lead vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Rhythm Guitar, Glockenspiel, Percussion

Iain Sloan: Electric Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar, Backing Vocals

Murdoch Macleod: Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Additional Electric Rhythm Guitar on track 8

Kenny McCabe: Drums, Backing Vocals, Percussion

Richie Noble: Hammond, Piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Synth, Glockenspiel

With:

Hannah Elton-Wall: Additional Vocals on track 4

Andrew Taylor: Mandolin and Percussion

Bruce Michie: Flugel Horn, Sax, Trombone, Trumpet

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The Wynntown Marshals Edinburgh, UK

Formed in Edinburgh in 2007, The Marshals tip their hat to The Jayhawks, Wilco, Drive-By Truckers, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams & Neil Young.

Their sound can loosely be described as ‘country rock' with powerpop hooks, but they love layered guitars, catchy choruses and have an unabashed belief in the power of rock music as a storytelling medium.
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