In the Lap of the Goths – CD (Feb 2025)

Description

In the Lap of the Goths

Mini-album CD from Nick Awde & Desert Hearts 

Bandcamp: deserthearts-nickawde.bandcamp.com

“Four originals and two cover versions, the tracks are a mix of rock and synth-based that reflect the way I usually listen to music. Musically they’re subtly dramatic, lyrically they’re on the dark side with the occasional ironic interlude, representing a trip through my creative life from 1979 to 2024 – while my design for the cover shows how Nick the visual artist responds to Nick the musician.

‘Vernissage No 1’ (2012) is a moody ambient instrumental with sparse Mellotron and piano over trance beats. ‘Touch (New Blood)’ (2020) is a driving goth rocker about coming out of isolation and features Zal Cleminson on soaring lead guitar. I cover Zal’s world-weary ‘Jesus Strange’ (off his 2024 Orphans of the Ash album Ellipsis, with Billy McGonagle) in a minimalist synthesizer version.

‘Old and Wise’ is the album’s second cover, my 2024 interpretation of the 1982 Alan Parsons Project classic  – I always felt it might lend itself to a more synth-based arrangement and this is it. ‘Young Wild and Dying’ (1992) is a riff-driven tale about the burn-out of fame where rock guitar plays over Chuck Sabo’s fusion drums.

The 10-minute closer is ‘A Silent Scream’, the first song that I ever wrote, in 1979, when I was a teenager. It’s about lost dreams and the futility of violence, and builds in epic rhythmic waves. Powered by Andy Ward’s drumming, this track definitely sums up what I am as a guitarist.”

Track listing:

01 Vernissage No. 1
Nick Awde: Mellotron, piano, loops

02 Touch (New Blood)
Nick Awde – voice, bass, guitar
Zal Cleminson – lead guitar
Chuck Sabo – drums

03 Old and Wise
Nick Awde – voice, keyboards, Mellotron, Ebow
Chuck Sabo – drums

04 Jesus Strange
Nick Awde – voice, keyboards

05 Young Wild and Dying
Nick Awde – voice, bass, guitar
Chuck Sabo – drums

06 A Silent Scream
Nick Awde – voice, bass, guitar, Ebow
Andy Ward – drums

Contact:

For all inquiries, contact Nick Awde at nick@deserthearts.com / +44 (0)7961154590

CD | 30:57 mins | £10.99 | Release date 12 February 2025