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Middle Man

by Old Coast

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1.
Middle Man 03:51
You're running your mouth like a marathon. Then you turn and reverse when you learn I'm nearby. And you're ringing your hands like a telephone. I know the older you get it's just the better you lie. What I'd do for a little peace of mind. All that you do is a waste of my time if you only talk with a middle man. You see a fool such as I. If you're saying it, then say it to me. If you're putting me down, then do it right. But, you never can cause you only talk with a middle man. Now you push me along like a rat in a gutter. I try to move my way through till I'm caught in a maze. To get less confused I run faster and further Just to find pretty soon either way it's a cage. What I'd do for a little peace of mind. All that you do is a waste of my time if you only talk with a middle man. You see a fool such as I. If you're saying it, then say it to me. If you're putting me down then do it right. But you never can cause you only talk with a middle man.

2.
If Im Alive 03:15
I want a job where I make a lot of money and waste it all easy in a matter of time. I want a bartender calling me honey as if she cared I was there till the end of the night. I need a drink. A glass of water. I want to wake up tomorrow with bags under my eyes. A little drunk. A little high and my heart's still wandering, I don't know why. I want a girl that no one ever wanted who will leave me alone whenever I'm not at home. I want a lover I can love when I want to and never again unless I'm drunk or I'm alone. I need a drink. A glass of water. I want to wake up tomorrow with bags under my eyes. A little drunk. A little high and my heart's still wandering, I don't know why. If I'm alive after what came over me, I've got a feeling I would do it again. If I'm alive, well then would you marry me? I've got a feeling I would leave you either way if you did. What came over me? What came over me? I want a lover I can kiss her if I miss her and wake up in the morning to a coffee and a beer. I want a dealer I can call and he'll deliver and hook me up cheap, and other times free. I need a drink. A glass of water. I want to wake up tomorrow with bags under my eyes. A little drunk. A little high and my heart's still wandering, I don't know why. If I'm alive after what came over me, I've got a feeling I would do it again. If I'm alive, well then would you marry me? I've got a feeling I would leave you either way if you did. What came over me? What came over me?

3.
Still There 02:59
I've been grinding my teeth tonight. Worked up, drawn out and tongue tied. Meet me in the bathroom, dear. I'm lonely, fucked up and nearby. I walk to the docks and then home and I'm pumping my fist in the air and I'm holding your heart in my palm. You're still there. Too much here to dwell on, dear. I'm messed up. You're pissed off. I'm strung out. No sense in remembering, dear. A hotel. Good friends. A new year. I walk to the docks and then home and I'm pumping my fist in the air and I'm holding your heart in my palm. You're still there. I walk to the docks and then home and I'm pumping my fist in the air and I'm I'm folding my hands till they're raw. Holding your heart in my palm. You're still there.
4.
The Shift 04:36
Can you see a shift in my mind? Can you tell I'm no longer tired? You woke me up early. My mind's moving clearly. I'm no longer cold at night. I see you shine like a dime. I feel you breathing at night. This time I see it, you gave what I needed. You've got nothing but love for me now. But a woman like you could have any man you want. Breaking hearts around the country. Yes a woman like you could have anything she wants. Take any man easily. Wherever you are. Do you know what you do to men? Would you even care if I said? I'd tell you now gladly, but you're sleeping soundly while I'm lying awake in your bed. Just another reason I've learned, Never trust pretty girls. You're used to be doted on, praised and then chased around. You'd string me along when you could. But a woman like you could have any man you want. Breaking hearts around the country. Yes a woman like you could have anything she wants. Take any man easily. Wherever you are.
5.
Austin 03:31
I'm sick and I'm tired of working so hard. I wake up each day to scrape the snow off the car, then I head into work and I think about Austin. Another 10 hour shift just spent avoiding my bosses. And then I show up to early and my boss is complaining of the hours work and the overtime that I'm making but there's no sense in changing, I'll keep it the same cause if I show up on time then they complain that I'm late. I'm sick of busting my back just to keep them content. Making money like that you're barely paying the rent, but if you keep it on task until the end of the day you get a pat on the back instead of getting a raise. The money I make goes to the beer that I'm drinking, and the bartender knows me and she saved me a seat. She fills up my glasses just as fast as I drink them, so I tip her in cash as a way of beating the system. I've got s a firecracker loosened in my mind and any second now it's gonna blow me away. I'm gonna get lit and I'm gonna get high. I'm gonna blow up and say "I'm heading down to Austin today." Well it could be worse, I could be married with kids and then in bed and at home instead of taking a piss at a bar in a parking lot, ready to ditch, but then I look for my car and i don't know where it is. Well I wasn't born lucky, I wasn't born rich. I learned pretty early not to hope for the best cause if you're gonna get in you better be on the list because we're all getting fucked and that's the way that it is. I've got s a firecracker loosened in my mind and any second now it's gonna blow me away. I'm gonna get lit and I'm gonna get high. I'm gonna blow up and say "I'm heading down to Austin today."
6.
If I could I'd take you out and we'd ride around this town. We'd trade blood for blood in paper cups and you could hang me up again. But if you never made your mind up, darling, I'm amazed. You fold a paper plane, you're born again, you wake up every day and you grow. But if I ever break this town I'm gonna pick you up again, I'm gonna fill up the tank of my pickup truck with a quarter from a can. I'm gonna ride down to the desert with my guitar and a tent and once I'm there I'm gonna breath that air, I'm gonna fill my lungs again. But you know I miss my mother and my old dog and my old friends and my pain. I'm gonna build myself a house out there on a little plot of land. I'm gonna finally ask you if you'd marry me, wrap a band around your hand, and I'm gonna be just like my father. I'll build all the things that I have. and I'm gonna sit down and write you a letter. I'll tell her how proud I am. And one time when she called me I was nearly brought to tears. She said she'd mostly thought of me the whole time she were there. And I've never truly made my mind up why it brought me here. Now blood on blood, I raise my cup and you know how much I care. But you know I miss my mother and my old dog and my old friends and my shame.
7.
Let It Roll 04:18
If you're stopping in for gas in my old home town just let it roll. Just one more place that you pass through when you're on the road. When you call me on your way back home I'll tell you anything you want to know. I'll tell you honestly I knew I wouldn't stay. I'd let it roll. When you're driving through the heartland doesn't feel like you see for days? Ride past churches, farms and fields onto an open plain. When you call me on your way back home, you tell me anything you need to say. I'll tell you honestly I never thought I'd be where I am today. I guess if I had wanted you that bad, I would have stayed. I guess if I had wanted you that bad, I would have stayed. But I let it roll away. You better get tough in the American west before you get too slow. So you're living fast as a way of forgetting that you're getting old. When you call me on your way back home I'll tell you anything you want to know. I'll tell you honestly I never thought too much of letting go. I guess if I had wanted you that bad I would have stayed. I guess if I had wanted you that bad I would have stayed. I let it roll away.

8.
Tennessee 02:55
I fell asleep for the first time in days, it didn't feel right but it was all I had. I feel alone and I keep out of your way. I'm so tired of living life in the past I know a woman who came from Tennessee. She kept me company when I got down. Yeah I know a woman who came from Tennessee. I feel these days I Iive only in pain. I get drunk and then I drive through this town. These days it's a rush just to feel ok, and the cops here never seem to be out. I know a woman who came from Tennessee. She kept me company when I got down. Yeah I know a woman who came from Tennessee. I never was bored, never felt I should be. Sooner or later I guess everyone pays for living too fast and maybe living too free. I thought about death again the other day. I know a woman who came from Tennessee. She kept me company when I got down. Yeah I know a woman who came from Tennessee. I push a little closer to an easier road. I pick up my keys and I walk out the door. I catch myself. I can't feel it anymore. I drive a little slower, now I'm driving too slow. I know a woman who came from Tennessee. She kept me company when I got down. Yeah I know a woman who came from Tennessee.
9.
You may fly your own way home now. You may spread untethered wings. Is that not the way we learn to fly? We slice the cord and rise in wonder. You must live with your desires now. As I have lived with mine. Yes, it's true we touched in lust, as fireflies we burned as one in tandem. Yes, I've learned the ways of love, we cast our faith into the hands of others. I don't want for love, cause it will surround me. It took what it pleased and it beat me to dust and forever imprisoned me. Yes it will surround you. It will fool you with promise of things that will come, and then take you for everything. But I guess if you want more than me take it on. We must cast our stones aside now. We must rise up as a choir and raise our voices high enough to form a chord that only gods have rendered. We must make peace with each other. Release each clenching fist. Cause love may not be bound by time. No ticking clock, nor hissing snake may harm it. And yes we know as all things go, each moment we still feel as though we're falling. I don't want for love, cause it will surround me. It took what it pleased and it beat me to dust and forever imprisoned me. Yes it will surround you. It will fool you with promise of things that will come, and then take you for everything. Yes it will surround you. But I guess if you want more than me take it on.

10.
Where are you going? Don't climb up those stairs. I've heard stories of what goes down up there. They pull out your teeth and they cut your hair. We pace these halls till there's blood on our feet. I hear rats in the walls, first they sleep, then they feed. Did you hear that, man? Or was it just me? Was that a long moan? A twist of your hair on your throat. Pause and then pause again, wait this one out. You can make it still, but don't make a sound. Don't chatter your teeth. Stop trying to breath. Hey, where are you going? Don't leave me alone. I feel like I'm soaking wet. Sweat on my clothes. There was a whisper. There was a long moan. I swear it was a long moan. A feeling of breath on my neck. Has it been 7 days yet? Has it been 7 years? Or just a few minutes, I have no idea, But it feels like a lifetime that Ive been here. Hey, where are you going? Man, is this the end? I wouldn't care anymore, but I guess that depends Are you hungry yet now? That smells pretty good. There is a long moan and the feeling of my hand on your neck. I swear it was a long moan and the feeling of my hand on your neck.

11.
These Days 04:39
More and more these days, my heart is just a punching bag, far too old to change a thing but young enough to still feel pain. A pen within my hand. The pen begins to bleed. More and more these days, the ink, it flows like holy wine. The pen begins to move with no excuse for every line that shouldn't be improved upon or even written down. More and more these days, I stare into a looking glass. I don't like what I see, I don't like who I am. The strangest thing occurs to me. The story ends. More and more these days, I fall in fits of jealousy as epilepsy swings through me. A cancer in the raw, dancing through my heart. The beat begins to pound. More and more these days, I take my pills and fall asleep. Medication flows through me but every now and then it doesn't fill the hole. It doesn't draw me in. The page begins to burn. More and more these days, the stories I repeat again. The cycle never ends. They end and then repeat again, are forgotten then in turn. A softly spoken word. More and more these days, the pen begins to feed itself. There's strength in written word and peace in subtle verse like psychedelic strings to wind and chase through every line and get eaten then in time. More and more these days, I stare into a watch to find each moment swinging by like places on a highway sign. A star begins to burn. A measurement of time. The story ends.


about

"It's been more than eight months since we've released any music. That's because we spent the better half of this past winter cooped up in our rehearsal space writing, rehearsing, and demoing songs for our first, full-length record, Middle Man. We teamed up with Ed Brooks of Resonant Mastering Studio (Fleet Foxes, Deathcab For Cutie) and began a month of intense pre-production under the direction of Ed and our own Luke Dumke in January of 2018. After cutting numerous demos and reworking songs, we eventually had a pretty good idea of what songs were going to make the cut and headed into Studio Litho to start tracking with engineer Floyd Reitsma (Courtney Marie Andrews, Noah Gundersen). We spent four days at Studio Litho, laying down basic live tracks, as well as instrumental and vocal overdubs, then fine tuned the record over the course of the next month and a half at Pinehill Studios with Luke Dumke. Once all the tracking was complete, we then headed back into Studio Litho for three days of mixing with Floyd Reitsma, who was able to artfully piece everything together. From there, we moved on to mastering with Rachel Field of Resonant Mastering Studio, who confidently took our final mixes to the next level and did an absolutely stunning job of polishing up Floyd's mixes. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with everyone involved in helping us make this record, and we're all extremely proud of the work we've done and what we've created."

-Old Coast

credits

released August 25, 2018

Written by Asher Deaver and Old Coast
Produced by Old Coast, Luke Dumke, and Ed Brooks
Tracked and Mixed by Floyd Reitsma at Studio Litho, Seattle, WA
Post-Production by Luke Dumke at Pinehill Studios, Seattle, WA
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering Studio, Seattle, WA

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Old Coast Seattle, Washington

Seattle-based Old Coast melds a spirited and diverse mix of whisky drinking desert songs with driving indie rhythms and hard working, old time harmonies, to create a unique brand of Pacific Northwest Americana.

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