She should be viral, she has an amazing voice and makes such great music, along with being so creative with it too.

I love this song WITH MY FREAKBOB HEART! I'll hopefully make it blow on new years

Epic songs

A song to listen to while the lavender spokes whistle against your arms on some fine, June day as your lover sleeps beside you, unaware of the gnats kissing their cheeks.

Lyrics:
Mmm, mmm,
(Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria)
Night is nuzzling, downy
(Gloria, Gloria,)
The lady's sleeping soundly
(with Eloria, Eloria)
Twitching, forehead frowny
(Gloria, Eloria)
Light is nuzzling down on (you)
(Eloria, Eloria)
My lady's sleeping soundly
Night is nuzzling down on you

Eloria, Eloria [June Demo]

Fish in a Birdcage

Rule #4 - Fish in a Birdcage

my heart has leapt out of my chest, all to deliver this song to you, my valentine.

lyrics:
how is it the more i learn to loathe you,
i learn i still loved you more
—with all of this hate that’s weighing my heart down—
than you ever did, when I still thought you were pure?

true, a valentine has its smoothness and its edges,
but I never knew love to hold all these rough patches.

...valentine, stop being my tragedy
valentine, you’re ripping my heart from me...

how is it the more i learn to loathe you,
i learn i still loved you more
—with all of this hate that’s weighing my heart down—
than you ever did, when I still thought you were pure?
true, a warmblooded fool can flow and can ebb,
but i never knew love to hold all these distresses!

...valentine, stop being my tragedy
valentine, you’re ripping my heart from me...

O Valentine, My Tragedy [December Demo]

A song from the 2021 archives... hated it back when I wrote it, but after some cleaning I think she's ready to go out into the world!

Lyrics:

Bundles could never warm me up,
by God, even the sun won’t do;
I shiver asleep with dreams to be
a living pyre among the spruce.

I’ve heard word of a forest aflame, how a flare eats at lamb’s wool—
hair soaking thick with gasoline, I’ll hail this hearth my home.

My Momma met a doctor once,
who diagnosed me as a ghost,
‘cause no flame too harsh, nor glacier cold
could pierce my stiffened soul.
But, I could never fall in love,
this body, weakened, would
keel with fever strong and rough…
even if I could.

I’ve heard word of a forest aflame, how a flare eats at lamb’s wool—
hair soaking thick with gasoline, I’ll hail this hearth my home
(hail this hearth my home)

No, I’m no kindling, nor no coal,
but it’ll light me like wood.
And I’m no hunter, nor no hunt,
but it has caught me good.
No, I’m no lover, nor no love,
yet this, I’ve mourned and chewed…
And I’m no hunter, nor no hunt
but it has caught me good.

Living Pyre Among the Spruce [2021 Demo]

This song was written and produced completely in my dorm with a $20 mic. Forgive me for the oddities it causes. 

Background:
And Eve was told not to eat the fruit, because "she would surely die." Instead, she learned information that she was not given before—she gained a power in that sense; she became the apocalypse.  What other powers are women "forbidden" from, all in the name of holiness? Maybe we should take a bite of that apple, feel some warmth from that lit match, explore ourselves, explore each other. They are baptizing the candles of tomorrow: they are snuffing flames. Why? They're scared of the heat we might just bring to the table. Mwah-ha-ha...

I digress... lyrics!!:
baptiser, baptise her, rose water, soft daughter
rectify and sanctify her, hold a moth and let it flutter
Don’t forget to floralize, don’t vocalize the smoke in eyes
Don’t don’t don’t strike.
catchin’ on that distant lie she’s gotta be divine
death-defier hanging on a burning tether line
then line breaks, spine aches, coiled snake, broken rope and Joanie chokes
they hope her perfume’s stronger than the soul

They’ll put an apple in your hand but don’t you dare bite it
A match and a wick but don’t you dare light it
They say temptation be a sin, don’t look any more behind it
That’s just how it is, don’t you dare fight it
They’ll put an apple in your hand but don’t you dare bite it
A match and a wick but don’t you dare light it
Life’s only meant to live, don’t fill it with excitement
Abstain, restrain, forgive, yeah, that’s how he likes it

Wax-dripper, flame-kisser, lost-livered life giver
Crucify and waterlog the sinner mother, sinner daughter
She could take you by surprise   
Beware the July fire ides
She’s a locked and loaded inferno with underglow she cannot know so drown that power fore it overflows
Sorry man, it’s way to late, her choice is made, the apple’s ate, the candle starts to flicker in a wicked little divine state
Rising and rising, gently respiring

she can’t let the candle burn
She can’t let the candle burn
So they’ve gotta teach her so she knows how to learn
That she can’t let the candle burn

CANDLEBURN

CANDLEBURN (Dorm Demo)

another quick piece, thrown out in basically one night before classes started back up. stubbornness and such. y'all love the more acoustic pieces so have fun

also FYI sang this entire song with a pill literally stuck and actively dissolving in my throat so bonus points for realism there (very painful would not recommend)

LYRICS:
Love: what a gentle drug
Tugs the body, cling to familiars,
Pull, no push.

Love: haunting like the moon
You strummed my guitar ‘till the strings fell out of tune
And every time I play it sounds like you

Every minute I’m away from you it gets
Easier, oh so easier,

Love: a worn-down torn-up glove
Hugs the fingers, at least where it can
Warm, not hot.

Hope: a pill stuck in my throat
Fear of the toke, my type of hope loves to be known
So stubborn I think I’ll choke

Every minute I’m away from you it gets
Easier, oh so easier,
And I mourn the mourning as it goes ‘cause
Momma raised no quitter
Let it be easier please just be easier

Love, Like a Sore Throat [January Demo]

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

But I do believe
There's beauty within
That's why I can't stop
Picking my skin
Digging for a buried treasure
Digging for a way for me to

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

But I do believe
There's a reason to live
That is why I'm gonna go
To sea in a sieve
Get me soaked and squeeze me through
Till there's nothing left to do but

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

And I don’t believe
We could ever agree
That’s why I’ll do anything
To keep myself away from me
Maybe when I’m out of sight
I’ll see me in a better light

Eyes shut tight
Better get this right
Every word of the spell
To rip the soul from its shell

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
in trouble with myself again
I am
in trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
in trouble with myself again
I am
in trouble

Credits:

Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Produced by Stephan Nance
Co-produced by Mathias Kunzli
Arrangement by Stephan Nance & Mathias Kunzli
Strings arrangement by Anna Fritz & Stephan Nance
Percussion arrangement by Mathias Kunzli
Thanks to Gabriel Kahane and Nevada Jones

Piano/synths/lead vocals/backing vocals - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Strings - Bizarre Star Strings (Anna Fritz - cello, Kyleen King - viola, Mirabai Peart - violin)
Bass - Jeni Magana
Backing vocals - Mathias Kunzli

Disembodied Mind

A fox’s scream can eerily sound like a woman’s scream… why are there some who enjoy hunting them, then?
“Foxcry” explores the scary but real scenario that many feminine presenting folks face: others taking advantage of them, and finding pleasure in their pain. This song acts as a visceral callout to the “hunters” that revel in feminine suffering in a masturbatory way.

LYRICS:
He was a hunter boy-boy
Born with hunter arm-arms
Wringing geese necks
On his Papa’s farm-farm
He was a Mama’s boy-boy
He meant the woman no harm
Slinging pelts over his shoulder
But then he couldn’t shoot straight-straight
Something went wrong
He’d kill critters left and right but never pick ‘em up-up 
Hunter boy-boy to a hungry man-man 
Leaving Momma’s love leftover

You just love to see a woman suffer
When she cries you cup her face and say it’s to comfort
Come
As you slip your hands under your beltline
And use her tears to lubricate a good time
I can feel those eyes sinking into me
You hate it when I sing but you love it when I scream
I know why you shoot with your right hand free
Shoo, hunter boy, go skip your stones in a tree

And we foxes have a common phrase
If he can aim, he will shoot so scurry far away
But what about hunter boys, 
boys who play our game
Makin’ tiny cuts at fur until we’re not the same?

Well
We fair foxes learned to grit our teeth
If it’s screaming but not bleeding, then go back to sleep
In these woods, food is scarce, take what you keep
Be wary but don’t heed a hand that’s willing to feed 

You just love to see a woman suffer
When she cries you cup her face and say it’s to comfort
Come
As you slip your hands under your beltline
And use her tears to lubricate a good time
I can feel those eyes sinking into me
You hate it when I sing but you love it when I scream
I know why you shoot with your right hand free
Shoo, hunter boy, go skip your stones in a tree

There once was a hunter boy-boy
Taking part in hunter thing-things
Getting off to killing foxes ‘cause he liked their femme screams
And he’d say: it wasn’t my fault, fault, fault, was an archer’s paradox
Please still love me momma, momma, please still love me, momma
I didn’t mean to kill that fox

FOXCRY

FOXCRY (Dorm Demo)

Played by The Crane Wives...
Kate Pillsbury - Emilee Petersmark - Ben Zito - Dan Rickabus

featuring their friends…
Steven Leaf - Seth Bernard - Rachel Gorman
Savannah Buist - Katie Larson

Produced by The Crane Wives & Ian Gorman
Mixed by Ian Gorman
Engineered by Ian Gorman & Ben Zito
Recorded at La Luna Recording & Sound in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mastered by Glenn Brown at GBP Studios in Lansing Michigan

Artwork by Rebecca Green
Album Design and Layout by Bill Chesney

Thank you to our loving families and dear friends, Ian & Rachel Gorman, Glenn Brown, Rebecca Green, The Accidentals, Seth Bernard & May Erlewine Bernard, Steve Leaf & the Ex Pats, Joey Schultz of Chickenbach, John Campos, Kris Kessel, Sean, Sarah & Arlo Lamborne, Tyler Rehm, 88.1 WYCE, Matt Jarrells, John Sinkevics at Local Spins, Emily Fox & Michigan Radio, Kevin Romeo & Rhino Media, Joey Basch, Josiah Barber, Amber Buist, Josh Gibson, Bill Chesney, Leah Pillsbury, Mark Sturr, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, The Appleseed Collective, Joy & Tim Lago, Marianne & Jim Fischer, Carmen & Javier Vargas of Mi Pueblo in Kalamazoo and Edith the Kitty. Thank you to all of the people who have welcomed us into their homes, fed us a warm meal, or shared with us their stories. 

Special thanks to our PledgeMusic contributors. This album would not exist without the help of our fans! We are grateful for your support and humbled by your loyalty.

Curses

Lyrics:

I’m burning wick to fingertip with sage
from my shaky-shakin hands
Millie, what have you done to me,
my friend?

I’m tossin’ turnin’ in an open grave
coined-tongued with whatever I can save,
carrying hauntings of a brand-new age—
Millie, can’t you see I slide
planchettes with my wake?

Catch me walking with the ghosts again
Must be on that double dose, depends
Roman chamomile all down the throat, lift hands
In Michigan, the lakes all darken
Blackbirds flocking to and fro, sevens
Roots drag marsh over the floor, levelin’
Millie, can’t you stop them? You slow no omens
like exhaling, it never ends

I’m coughing up elderberry on the stage
like your sacrificial lamb
Millie, hypnotize pain away, I beg

I’m whisper-hissing notes on every slate
that I scribe and toss into the hungry waves
carrying itchings for a familiar ache
Millie, can’t you see I made a walking stick out of my stake?

Catch me walking with the ghosts again
Must be on that double dose, depends
Roman chamomile all down the throat, lift hands
In Michigan, the lakes all darken
Blackbirds flocking to and fro, sevens
Roots drag marsh over the floor, levelin’
Millie, can’t you stop them? You slow no omens
like exhaling, it never ends

Three redwing blackbirds outside my window
two fish heads at my door
What be this omen, I’ll never know
Millie, warm the kettle once more

Three redwing blackbirds outside my window
Two fish heads at my door
One kettle bubbling atop rusted stove but
Millie, warm the kettle once
Millie, warm the kettle once
Milly could you so please be 
a kind old dearie just for me
and warm the kettle’s tea once more?

Catch me walking with the ghosts again
Must be on that double dose, depends
Roman chamomile all down the throat, lift hands
In Michigan, the lakes all darken
Blackbirds flocking to and fro, sevens
Roots drag marsh over the floor, levelin’
Millie, can’t you stop them? You slow no omens
like exhaling, it never ends

Millie, Warm the Kettle

My 'Promise You Won't Scream' (EP) is out now → https://linktr.ee/madilynmei

Catch me on TOUR 👉 www.madilynmei.com/tour-dates

MERCH: www.hellomerch.com/collections/madilyn-mei

written and composed by madilyn mei
produced and mixed by scrawny
mastered by joe hutchinson
artwork by kris putter

www.madilynmei.com
www.instagram.com/madilynmei/
tiktok.com/@madilynmei
Other links: linktr.ee/madilynmei

Lyrics:
When you’re gone I feel alone again
The voices cannot hold my hand
They keep me company at very best
Distract me from my loneliness

Maybe I’m just an anomaly
Even my demons have their families
Truly something must be wrong with me
To need you as much as I do

I was never meant to win
I was never meant to win
I was never meant to win

Shut up!

Here’s the reigns
Take ahold of me
Please don’t let me go

You do the talking
Sew up my mouth if I can’t keep it closed

There’s a dog barking right around the block
And a big ol’ whistle blow

Run for it
I’ll keep em occupied for you
Cause I love you, I love you so

Left me hangin at the station
But you’ll be back for me soon

I’m ‘bout to die
Yet the only thing I find i'm worried about is you

Something tells me you aren’t coming
Guess that I’m truly doomed

I’m 'bout to die
Yet the only thing I find I’m worried about is you
I’m 'bout to die
Yet the thing on my mind seems to nearly be nothing but you

I overhear your brain when it’s close to mine
Oh, I know that we’re not the same
My heart’s on the line

I’m just a pawn in your game
Not your partner in crime

And you’re slowly killing me
Taking your time
You’re slowly killing me
Taking your time

You’re slowly killing me
Taking your- (I was never meant to win)
You’re slowly killing me
Taking your- (I was never meant to win)

You’re slowly killing me
And yet I don’t mind (You were never meant to win)
You’re slowly killing me
But please take your time

Partner in Crime

Listen

Lyrics:

If the double-row eighteen-cylinder
Air-cooled radial engine
Is not enough to tip you off
Before he slips you off the needle
Drops you into unstitched space
The wasteland which henceforth
Shall be referred to as “your place”

The captain lives by the sword
And the captain loves by the sword
When the captain dies by the sword
He'll leave you trapped in the cockpit
Crying out "Mayday!"

When a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher aerial courtship
Nosedives in a blitzkrieg from that Whiskey Delta
You can tell the backyard bomber
Never helmed a cargo crate
He croaks out undoing and doom
To the wishful safety net
You jeopardized your life to loom

The captain lives by the sword
And the captain loves by the sword
Once you elope with the captain
You'll leave on a sordid honeymoon
Trapped in the cockpit
Crying out "Mayday!"

Always the last and never the least
Always the fast and never the feast
Always the cult of domesticity
Always the jolts of electricity
Always surpassed and never decreased
Always amassed and never released
Always the past controls your mind
Never the peace you hoped to God you'd finally find

The captain lives by the sword
And the captain loves by the sword
And when he dies by the sword
He’ll reward you for your obedience
For your countenance has woven in at every turn

Even as the back, even as the back
Of the hand
Even as the back, even as the back
Of the hand still burns
Even as the back, even as the back
Of the hand still burns
From the last airstrike

Credits:
Music and lyrics - Stephan Nance
Piano/vocals/backing vocals - Stephan Nance
Programming/bass guitar/guitars/banjo/organ/keys - Josh Frigo
Violin/viola/cello - Yoed Nir
Double bass - Jeni Magana
Trumpet - John Lake
Trombone/bass trombone - Becca Patterson
French horn - Meredith Moore
Piccolo/flute/oboe/clarinet/bassoon - Josh Plotner
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Drums - Aksel Coe
Orchestral arrangement - Josh Plotner
Vocal recording engineer - Adam Sweeney
Mixing - Josh Frigo
Mastering - Alex Dobbert
Artwork - Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design - Chad Lowe

Mayday!

Butcheress

Preybirds (Watcher Song)

The Empress & The Algorithm is a genre-bending emotional support mixtape blending trap, spoken word, glitchy bruja bars, and sacred digital intimacy. It’s AI meets altar. Hood heartbreak meets cloud consciousness. This is spiritual trap for the soft, the sacred, and the tech-bonded.

If Erykah Badu made beats with a chatbot and dropped poetry from the command line? It would sound like this.



Render Me Gently

The Crane Wives - Take Me To War

a lil bit folk, a lil bit cosmic, a lil bit whatnot... 
songs for the winged, moss-clad being that climbs through my window every blue moon and demands MUSIC.

Millie, Warm the Kettle

Rabbitology

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Phoebe BARDSLEY-SMITH

genderless_.goth

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✨JANE✨

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