FAWM: "Black Dot"

Black Dot

2 weeks ago by @adforperu

Liner Notes

Decided to write a song about Shirley Jackson's short story 'The Lottery'. I tuned my tele to a Nick Drake tuning of which I now forget...

The mix got away from me a little here, but it's 1.30am and I want it on the board, so there

#indie #indierock #poprock

Lyrics

"lottery in June
corn be heavy soon"
rumours that we are the last of us
it’s something that we always have done
are you mob or are you herd?
collectively we drain the colour
not from our name but another

there on my slip
a black dot
tells a thousand words
believe it or not

in a cleared space
wide panned attention
people have their own bit of earth
digging with their hands, scraping up the dirt
and with their stones
they go to work on me
shaping me like pieta
eroding my persona

there on my slip
a black dot
tells a thousand words
believe it or not

is this how it ends?
i’m not ready yet

Comments

@delahannah 1w

Ahh Ad, this is super :)
Very dreamy and catchy. Love your vocals and guitar throughout - so good!! Well done pally, listened twice already.
Ohh and you’ve inspired me to read this book

@mdavisto 1w

The thing you do is very special, Ads. Just so you know.

I never know who to compare you to, but I know that when I spin one of your jams, I generally have no clue where it's going, but it's a lovely surprise every time. Love those harmonies in the chorus.

@jinx 1w

I've always loved that story but never thought of writing a song about it – this is brilliant. Love the "spacey" sounds in the chorus, and the lively bass line.

@wynia 2w

Also - I wish this was available for streaming already because it would be an immediate add to one of my favorite playlists

@wynia 2w

Love the bass wandering everywhere and driving this and those vocal harmonies are so delicious! I love the whole feel of this song!

@leepat 2w

yep, I heard "last of us" and I thought I never said thank you for turning me on to it (even if that means watching the series like five years after you mentioned the game). so thanks. and yeah, love the guitary/Radioheady second half. that lottery sounds suspiciously lobstery too...

@karlsburg25 2w

Catching up post flu illness and what better way than a gorgeous floaty indie style tune from the master. I love the inpiration for the lyrics and then the chorus i got a total super furry animals vibe, with of course gorgeous harmonies that hit my musical buttons all over. Bloody awesome matey

@mikedebenham 2w

Beautiful groove shift. Sounds v breezy and loose - you can't hear the 1.30am-ness of it at all. Couldn't quite crack my way into this one lyrically, but reading the Shirley Jackson will probably fix that. Top stuff.

@communitykickabout 2w

The verse structure with the 2 short /2 longer lines was super interesting to me. Love the is this hot it end sections with the stabby guitar and the bass line.

@owl 2w

You had me at “Nick Drake tuning”! This got crunchier and more psychedelic-sounding than I anticipated from that intro though—love those springy high guitar flourishes. Great idea for a lyric, “shaping me like pieta” was an especially striking line given the context.

@loveonamixtape 2w

Big OOF this is so friggin good. Great inspiration for a song, and I love how you much you convey with such an economy of words. That chorus harmonies are yummy as hell, and that the sunny melody and production are such a perfect contrast to the lyrics and story, evoking the false utopia of it all. That extended ending groove is amazing, too -- haunting and groovy? Fab stuff.

@iwilleatyou 2w

I like the chord structure and melodies. However you shouldn't double your vocals on the verses. I'm not getting paid to produce your songs Adam. A little bit of appreciation goes a long way.

@judypie 2w

Point out to me where the mix got away from you pls?
I thought you were singing about the Last of Us when I heard you cooing this one out, for shame.
I don’t know what you’re blathering on about tbh but it sounds wonderful like everything you do ❤️

WHERES MY CUPPA?!

@andrewthewood 2w

A stone-cold Follett classic! That chorus is the business.

@oddbod 2w

Love that drum beat and the bells (?) mixed with jangly guitar in the chorus.
The clean guitar twiddles in the second verse are super too. You just love an extended outro don't you? It's a goodun though and no mistake

@bijou 2w

Oh that middle bit and ending hits the spot. I love that transition. This is a great glimmer pop rock song!

@hanley 2w

Firstly, Lovely chord prog. And that bass, so grounding and beaut.
Vocals on chorus are real kick in the pants.
Then your jazzy ‘Mac Miller’ guitar vibes on the Outro are a rad shift.
I like how the lyrics of that are drawn out/repeated too, reflecting the need to sustain that poor sods life through the song!

@scottmcb 2w

Man, those chorus harmonies are so good. Such a great vibe. Love the guitar interlude. Production is amazing as usual.

@drivebylovefest 2w

The falling verse melody creates such a perfect opposition to the ascending melody line in the chorus. Coupled with the almost speak-singing of the verse and then the lush full force of your voice with harmonies on the chorus just hits in all the good places. The instrumental at the end is tasty af.

So...when are you going to do a production tutorial? Or do you have one somewhere?

@build 2w

B A D B O Y
Leave some Fawm for the rest of us.
This will be my fave of this year guaranteed.

@afterschoolclub 2w

Some really lovely vocal harmonies in that chorus. That shift half way through caught me off guard - I like it though! Enjoyed this, loose and quirky - it's definitely got a 1.30am mix vibe too!

@billwhite51 2w

the music is no sunny and optimistic that the situation is fairly easy to deal with until that terrible reality becomes apparent at the end,.

@balancelost 2w

Those echoey harmonics in the intro/interludes are magic. Beautiful guitars in the first half this , which I for one would like to hear more often from you. Great bass playing too. Very sun-drenched atmosphere. The ending has slight surf elements which is cool.

@lonelyrobot 2w

Really like the laid-back feel to this, and the way the bass and vocal melodies wander throughout is bloody lovely.

@susyblue 2w

Ah you always got such good vocal melodies, n harmonies. N production, geez pretty polished to me. This sounds fully formed, love the outro too sir

@davecuthbertson 2w

Great stuff as ever. So many wonderful little details in this one that really elevate it, great harmonies and an arresting bassline. Release ready stuff

@vomvorton 2w

Lovely soaring chorus! Lower register vocal on the first couple of lines sounds a bit like recent commenter @thelowestbitter to me! Interesting shift into the second half, guitar playing has a nice looseness to it, bit Coxon-esque maybe?

@thelowestbitter 2w

First half is lovely, I know how much you love a comparison so I’ll say the guitar work and vocal melody in the chorus especially remind me of everything everything’s more laid back stuff, things like The Actor and City Song. Like the shift midway through and that long coda as well. Great inspiration for a song and there’s some really cool lyrics here. Just great all round

@med4th 2w

I'm liking the chorus, especially the harmonies
Basslines good throughout 👍

@ddd 2w

Amongst the best fawm I've ever heard. A cut above!

@ampersandman 2w

Halfway through I forgot that I was listening to a FAWM song. The production is glorious, I love how it shifts between sparse instrumentation and wall of sound. My favorite bits are the bass and the gorgeous vocal harmonies!

@bigmood 2w

Oh hell yeah this is some candy. Incredible work w the production, the voices work together *super* well. I love how the chorus goes in and out, and the imagery of the earth and the eroding persona were mad effective

@coolparadisoMod 2w

All the parts play together so well and the Vox and production are spot on! It really builds into a super wall of sound in parts! An earful of music!

@guatecoop 2w

I really love your bass playing in the verse, as you leave spaces that I wish I could. Man your harmonies are just glorious. I’m really digging this tune! Great great!