A demo from a new solo project I'm calling Strictly Casuals, a band name I've been waiting to use for decades.

My heart has been broken in the best possible way by recent releases from @slumberland-records, specifically Glenn Donaldson's songs as The Reds, Pinks & Purples, which make me feel like I did when I first heard Felt or the Go-Betweens.

"Completed Songs" by Sloping on @soundaslanguage also inspired me to write again. 

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"I Only Changed the Names," Strictly Casuals

The story's true, I only changed the names
The plot seems cruel, but you're only half to blame
And you'll learn to face the shame
Just like any other day

But it's not over, 'til she gets onto the plane
No it's not over, 'til she goes to change her name
It had to be this way

The story's changed, but you're feeling the same way
You found no comfort, in turning night to day
There was nothing left to save
The grief it came in waves
Which you rode to outer space

But it's not over, 'til she enters into orbit
No it's not over, 'til you learn to teleport, kid
Did you teleport yet?
Did you teleport  yet?

Strictly Casuals - "I Only Changed The Names"

Just trying to make something. Anything.

Image: Incredible photograph of a Gabriel Dawe installation at the Renwick Gallery taken by Caroline Schroder (IG: carocaro.22).

Strictly Casuals -- "Echo Escape"

Strictly Casuals -- "Certain Perfect Way" SUPER ROUGH

180tapesvox3 - 22:03:2022, 20.17.mp3

Very quick cover of the fist verse of a Belle & Sebastian favorite. 

I still don't know how to work Ableton Live (?!).

It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career
--Belle and Sebastian

He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Painting lines in a school that was too well known
Painting lines with a friend you had gone before
She challenged everyone to a fight
But the people all backed down
And they ran her out of town
'Cause she drank and swore and spoke
Out of turn, she was the village joke.

"Brilliant Career" Belle & Sebastian (cover)

Lost shoegaze transmission from the late-90s incarnation of The William Academy.

Recorded in an apartment in Allston, Massachusetts. One guitar, Yamaha CS1x, Yamaha RM1x, and Cakewalk.

Vocals/lyrics: Ebin Flow (Sandler)
Guitars, synths, programming, recording: Kevin Haus.

The William Academy, "Half Past Four"

Certainly, Sir – For Me It Is No Problem
I discovered Certainly, Sir (Nicklaus Hubben and Michael Brodeur), on a lunch-break visit to Other Music (RIP) in Harvard Square around 2000. Within the first listen of their self-released debut, “For Me It Is No Problem,” I was smitten with the gentle vocals, introspective lyrics, and electronic textures, a combination that presaged the avalanche of artists attempting this aesthetic in the aughts. (Sample lyric: “Don’t dream of water or of snow/don’t dream of people you don’t know.”) 
The band inspired my work in The William Academy, a duo that also employed a palate of complex emotions over dance beats. I return frequently to the six tracks that make up “For Me It Is No Problem,” wishing only that Certainly, Sir’s output had exceeded the work with which we are left.
More info:
Certainly, Sir: certainlysir.bandcamp.com/ 
Nicklaus Hubben SC: https://soundcloud.com/klaushubben
Nicklaus Hubben web: http://nickhubben.com/

For Me It Is No Problem (EP)

Certainly, Sir - It's Not Love (My Bad)

Certainly, Sir - Hello

Certainly, Sir - Hawaii

The William Academy, "Regret"

Band: www.discogs.com/artist/3945973-The-William-Academy
Review: www.adequacy.net/2003/12/the-will…-fight-songs-ep/
Photo: Marisa P. Murdoch https://www.instagram.com/marisapmurdoch/

One of the earlier songs we recorded in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in 2003.  The track made it onto our EP "Five Fight Songs," which was played, produced, arranged, and masterminded by the ever-brilliant Kevin Haus (http://kevinhaus.com/).

"Regret" remained a staple of our live sets in venues like 'Tiswas (Don Hill’s), The Knitting Factory, Pianos, CBGBs, and Lit, where we opened for Stellastar, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Stars, among others.

Five Fight Songs

The William Academy - Regret

The William Academy, "Northern Boys"

Band: www.discogs.com/artist/3945973-The-William-Academy
Review: www.adequacy.net/2003/12/the-will…-fight-songs-ep/
Photo: Marisa P. Murdoch twitter.com/mpm1122?lang=en

Kevin and I wrote this back in Boston and it was one of the few earlier tunes that we put on the EP back in 2003, which got play on college radio and earned us a spot on the CMJ Marathon Festival.

"Northern Boys" remained a staple of our live sets in venues like The Knitting Factory, Pianos, CBGBs, and Lit, where we opened for Stellastar, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Stars, among others.

The William Academy, "Northern Boys"

We once stood solidly on land, but now sway silently on spindly stilts in the surf.

spindly stilts

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