I hope these guys make enough off of the few that listen to them to make a living and to continue to make music

Turnaround

All songs written and produced by The Rare Occasions.
Mixed by Brian McLaughlin in Pasadena, CA.
Mastered by Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston, MA.
Album art by David Navas.

Into The Shallows

Shutting You Out

little vulture come down from your nest
until you catch your own the world is not impressed
you built a culture of lies; a fortress fit for no other
so is it any surprise when there’s shit to uncover?

own the sonnets sweeping through their heads
move the sand that blocks the roots you wish to spread
all you need is control; eyes at every corner
there’s nothing you couldn’t know; not a speck of disorder

buildings glisten all around
cities rising from the ground
buildings glisten all around
cities rising from the ground

but I know the shape of your heart
when you drag them out in the dark
 
oh paranoia led you to detain
more than a million getting in your way
you feel that commerce pulsing through your veins

oh paranoia led you to detain
more than a million getting in your way
you feel that commerce pulsing through your veins

little vulture come down from your nest
until you catch your own the world is not impressed
you built a culture of lies; a fortress fit for no other
so is it any surprise when it breaks it breaks it breaks it breaks

and I know the weight of war
said I know the weight of war
I’ve held it off before
still I cave
I cave
I cave

Control

will you go out of your way to be kind?
and will you leave a better place behind?
will you drop that old friend a line?
set it right
set it right

do you go dancing out in the rain?
and do you sing your songs with no shame?
do you remember the bus driver’s name?
set it right
set it right

yea you know what you gotta do
when the sound isn’t cutting through
yea you know what you gotta do
you gotta live on the ground
you gotta give ‘em the truth

yea you know what you gotta do
when the sound isn’t cutting through
don’t wait for Alan Shawn Feinstein
to tell you what to do
yea you know what you gotta do
when the sound isn’t cutting through
yea you know what you gotta do
you gotta live on the ground
you gotta give ‘em the truth

will you go out of your way to be kind?
and will you leave a better place behind?
will you drop that old friend a line?
set it right
set it right
set it right
set it right

Set It Right

I close my eyes and I drift into another life
one where I’m only the sparrow in the window

my wings flutter fast and I see myself inside the glass
pacing and pondering how we fell from happy

my love she turns a shoulder
scrolls the web with her eyes glazed over

and I have seen it all
I’ve seen it all
I’ve seen it all

I fall to the ground, feel this darkness pull me down,
and crash in a harrowing plume of smoke and feathers

she wanders over to piece me back together

Big Whoop

Sparrow

call me when you get there
call me when you get there

you know traffic is a nightmare
still I’m gonna drive there
pick you up and get you home
it’s been weeks since we were racing
from check-in to your gate
and all the while I’ve been alone

so won’t you call me when you get there?
call me when you get there

do you know what time you’re landing
where you will be standing 
out beside the terminal?
I’ve been losing my my mind
my sense of space and time
this feeling’s so impossible

so won’t you call me when you get there?
call me when you get there
said won’t you call me when you get there?
call me when you get there

I’m here. where are you? call my phone

call me when you get there
call me when you get there
said won’t you call me when you get there?
call me when you get there
won’t you call me when you get there?
call me when you get there
call me when you get there
call me when you get there

Call Me When You Get There

whenever someone offers me drugs
I sing to myself this little song:
do not do drugs
do not do drugs
I will abstain from the drugs

Do Not Do Drugs

pop it do it flip it I wanna see it
however many tries until you get it
send it catch it stick it I wanna see it
however many tries it takes

I feel it go
zip down the road
shinners and razortail
and I couldn’t give a damn about it

flick of the toe
don’t land primo
just have to find the grip 
stomp it. bolts.

the end is near

I feel it go
flick of the toe
just have to find the grip 
stomp it. bolts.

Wallenberg, El Toro, MACBA three
just like I have seen on my TV
ok ok ok ok ok ok 

pop it flip it catch it stick it

I feel it go
zip down the road
shinners and razortail
and I couldn’t give a damn about it

flick of the toe
don’t land primo
just have to find the grip 
stomp it. bolts.

Bolts

I don’t know where I am
facing the great unknown
we move in circles
and find our way back home

a quiet country house
with horses in the yard
oh steeplechaser
you’re not getting very far

I know you far too well to get cynical
things seem to turn around when they’re miserable
breaking apart the worst you’ve been through 
that never knocked the wind out of you
I know you far too well to get cynical

so when the story sets
over this fractured land
d’you think they’ll notice?
d’you think they’ll understand?

that we are all that’s left
we are the pioneers
and there’s no pretty way
to make it outta here

I know you far too well to get cynical
things seem to turn around when they’re miserable
breaking apart the worst you’ve been through
that never knocked the wind out of you
I know you far too well to get cynical

clutching the hand of the ever-present heartbeat
the tower’s ticking but it never reaches empty
and you can’t pull the fire down into the dark
when the kiln is burning deeper than the dusk

I know you far too well to get cynical
things seem to turn around when they’re miserable
breaking apart the worst you’ve been through
that never knocked the wind out of you
I know you far too well to get cynical
to get cynical
to get cynical

Cynical

sometimes I fade into the dark
and set my heart wild
unravel in your arms so tired

I try to be there all the time
and pull my own weight
but I don’t know why you stay

through the old maze where we used to wander
there’s a cold weight that never could be conquered
when the starlight was never quite enough for you
had to realign everything I thought I knew

some people wait in silence
until they forget what they want
and some people fight with a resolute heart
for each breath on this earth that they’ve got
I try and find the courage
to carry myself to the start
cuz I wanna be the one you think to call
when you’re lost and your tires are shot
but I’m not
no I’m not

sometimes I fade into the dark
and set my heart wild
but I don’t know why you stay

stay

stay

Stay

bright are the pictures kept in our minds
a canvas of something once left behind
and I still remember the tilt of the earth
bloom of the dogwood sweat on my shirt

but places change there is no returning home

tried to be something I couldn’t be
seven years later it caught up to me
and death doesn’t care about anyone’s plans
when you last spoke or how soft you land

the days push forward there is no returning home
once you go

nights of silver days of gold
all these faces that I used to know
and signs on all the shops that changed
we drift apart we’re turning away

and I was wrong about
the way the words would
fall out of my mouth

signal to turn off Wickenden street
the kid’s dozing off in the backseat

The Fold

New song "Darling, The Planets" out now + We're on tour!👇
https://linktr.ee/therareoccasions

The Rare Occasions are an LA-based, New England-bred indie rock band known for their explosive garage rock anthems with catchy vocal harmonies.
Brian McLaughlin (singer) and Luke Imbusch (drummer) have been making music together since their early teenage years. They formed The Rare Occasions while attending college in Boston where they met Jeremy Cohen (bassist). Since then, the band have toured nationally, won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and released a vast catalog of music online.
In 2021 the band released their first album as a trio, Big Whoop, which received significant press and radio play. Around the same time, their 2016 track “Notion” went viral on TikTok and continues to make waves, topping Spotify’s viral chart in the US and several other countries, and later landing on Billboard’s alternative charts and top 100 singles charts in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. 
The Rare Occasions are set to release a new EP this fall. The first single “Seasick” has already garnered the attention of radio DJs across the country including SiriusXM’s Alt Nation. The band looks forward to sharing their unique blend of hard-hitting riffs, danceable grooves, and ear-catching melodies with audiences across the US and Canada during their upcoming fall 2022 tour.

The Fold

The Rare Occasions

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