Who were you really? Maddening mystery, your absence fills the room.
The minute our eyes met, you knew you had your audience—
Now the curtain falls and it’s dark as a tomb.
Tough, fearless and girlish and vain, you could drink any man under the table. Not restless, not drawn to it, you were the flame—could it seem anything other than fatal?
All there, not there, all seeing, all blind. I’m searching the dark or you’re burning my eyes. Speaker of truth, shot through with lies. Flickering, flickering firefly.
Not one for straight answers, you loved with such candor, your eyes searched the words for the form.
Feeling your meaning, carving your dreaming, your brush searched the calm for the storm.
So hard to leave you there, so hard to go—panic pinned you to the gurney. You said am I dying now? I said maybe? I don’t know. But you have what you need for the journey.
Feast and famine, outside of time. I’m sorry I’m mad that you left me behind. I still want to hear what you had on your mind. Flickering, gone dark, firefly.
credits
from Dead Reckoning,
released January 15, 2023
Mark Spencer, piano.
The stripped-down approach (mostly piano/organ, bass, drums) favoured here puts the spotlight squarely on Brown's soulful, meditative lyrics and vocals, which are frequently augmented by the sublime Kate Fenner. The arrangements are no slouch either, with perfect flourishes of horns, harmonica and guitar that add to the overall warm folk-soul vibe.
Right on target, so direct, this album feels as natural as the changing seasons and weaves a spell that lingers long after listening. Mike Garrett
As a lifelong fan of psyche, I was delighted to have found this, stunned that I'd missed them for three decades and devastated by the news of Dallas' passing. Makes many of the album's lyrics even more poignant. I hear echoes of the Chocolate Watch Band, Long Ryders and both the pop and country sides of the Byrds. Stunning, and a contender for my album of the year. Iain H