The focus is on the grievous awkwardness of physical longing, and of trying to articulate it without sounding macho, merely perverted, desperate, disloyal, or dopey..The resulting quest-for-truth middle ground staked out by Sex Brain is, again, plenty awkward" 8/10 - Pitchfork
"Sex Brain has the queasy, melancholic appeal of sex with an ex-lover or old friend....Singing about what jerking off is really like, the miniature pleasure and small sadness of the little death, takes balls." B+ - Stylus
"To say that the physical act is Sex Brain's theme is an obvious understatement, but for a melancholic like DeCicca, sex is never as simple as it sounds." - Nashville Scene
"In 2004, the Black Swans caught our attention with the luminously beautiful, dark folk of Who Will Walk in the Darkness With You. Ruminative, melancholy, shot through with wild swoops of violin and glowing guitar, it was an album charged with longing, the fear of death, the hope for connection with others." - Neumu
"Do not operate near children or pets" - Harp
Here, beside you, is the slow-burning new album by The Black Swans, Change!. With nods to Charles Simic, the Left Banke, and Fred Neil, it is their most melodic and emotionally diverse music yet.
Whereas their debut, Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? (2004), dove deep into the pond of existential doubt, and their self-released follow-up EP, Sex Brain (2006) examined the tragi-comic throes of intimacy, Change! deals in reconciliation and reconstruction of the spirit and self.
Heavy shit, it also includes the sounds of apple eating (“Purple Heart”) and word-less David Lynch style doo-wop (“Blue Moon #9”).
You see my bones
My coat is shed
Peel away the past
The epidermal dead
(from “Coats”)
It was recorded in the guitar player’s living room, mixed in the drummer’s basement, and mastered by Rob LoVerde (Springsteen and Dylan vinyl) at Sony Studios. As in the past, The Black Swans feature the broken broodings of songwriter/singer/guitarist, Jerry DeCicca and the classical, Appalachian swoop of Noel Sayre’s violin. To fund the finishing touches, DeCicca took a job for 3 months as an afternoon DJ at a strip club.
It is important to note the album cover painting, Untitled, by Debbie Porchetti, a member of Arc North Workshop. Arc North is a sheltered art workshop, a branch of Franklin County Board of MRDD. They provide services for 300 adults with developmental challenges and recognize their talents by offering an environment that reinforces their confidence and self expression. The limited edition vinyl version (LSE 007.5) features original, one of a kind artwork by workshop members who applied their expression to 500 blank album jackets.
Too, DeCicca recently co-produced the first new recordings in 30 years by former Monument recording artist Larry Jon Wilson (featured in the documentary Heartworn Highways). This new material will be released in the UK in early 2008 via 1965 Records / Sony.
Raw, pretty, and contrary, Change! is an earful.
Players:
Jerry DeCicca (acoustic guitar, vocals, electric guitar on “Purple Heart” ), Canaan Faulkner (bass, backing vocals), Chris Forbes (electric guitar, tenor guitar, backing vocals), Keith Hanlon (drums, percussion), Noel Sayre (violin, viola), Amy Alwood (backing vocals), Joe Peppercorn (piano)
Change! Tracklist:
New Face
Hope Island
Coats
Only be With You
Shake
Purple Heart
Fruitless Ways
Blue Moon #9
3 Broken Words
Slide on Down
Change
3 Chord Song
The Black Swans Live!
Aug 11 2007 @ Surly Girl Columbus, OH w/ Bird and Flower
Aug 31 2007 @ Carabar Columbus, OH w/ Mass Shivers and the Patsys
Oct 17 2007 La Société Expéditionnaire CMJ Showcase @ Union Pool Brooklyn, New York w/ Moon and Moon, Lewis & Clarke, Strand of Oaks, and Dragon Turtle
For more information, visit:
www.myspace.com/theblackswans
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