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Lava Lamp

by Jonah Tolchin

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musicsavageryan
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musicsavageryan I love this album because it is fire! Every song is outstanding and it was hard to choose a favorite track. Lava Lamp will be a top ten release of 2022 for sure. Favorite track: Car You Drive.
Eric Perkins
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Eric Perkins Easily my favorite Americana album of the year. Seriously difficult to pick a favorite track--I like this album from beginning to end. Favorite track: Never Giving Up.
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1.
Black Hole 04:02
There’s a black hole in the center of your mind And It’s a dark road out here in the morning time And I don’t mind leaving now There ain’t nobody in this damn town It’s a black hole Mmhmm And when the clouds cry Rain falls like nails From the black sky Black as a panther’s tail And I don’t mind leaving now There ain’t love in this damn town It’s a black hole Uh huh And baby don’t send your soul Into a black hole Baby don’t send your soul Into a black hole Baby don’t send your soul Into a black hole Baby don’t send your soul Into a black hole Into a black hole And it’s a long ride to find yourself On the inside when the devils on your trail I can’t hear my heartbeat There ain’t no blood when I bleed It’s a black hole And baby I lost my soul In the black hole Baby I lost my soul In the black hole Baby I lost my soul In the black hole Baby I lost my soul In the black hole In the black hole In the black hole In the black
2.
I keep a pen in hand to make sure I’m counting score ‘Cause I don’t trust things I can’t see anymore I don’t love you for the things you say When are you gonna realize They don’t mean nothing I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I was always scared of the things I didn’t know Now it’s all so simple, it’s a safer way to go I don’t love you for your dedication When are you gonna realize It don’t mean nothing I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I don’t waste time wondering how I really feel these days It makes me happy to think of all the hours I’ve saved I don’t love you for the way you care When are you gonna realize It don’t mean nothing I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw I love you for the car you drive Yeaaaa-ah-aw
3.
Oh, my, my, fire’s in my bones Angels and devils talking on the phone Moonlight hits me like a hungry train Injects my spirit with a wild hurricane Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up the fight Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up, that’s right In the night, night, night Shadows come like waves Blood running hot Lava in my veins Anchor on my ankle Trying to keep me down No white flag waving I’m rising stronger now Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up the fight Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up, that’s right Oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up the fight Oh oh oh Never giving up Oh oh oh Never giving up, that’s right Oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh
4.
One, two, three, four When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! There’s too much stimulation, hey hey There’s too much simulation in your face There’s a hole in your chest where the wild things grow And I’m gonna meet you by purple glow, yeah When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! I wanna take my heart And wring it out like a wet sponge I wanna take the blood And paint a pretty picture in the thunder Hey, what’s wrong with the world today What’s wrong with the world, say hey (Hey!) What’s wrong with the world today What’s wrong with the world, say (Hey!) When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! When I watch my lava lamp I don’t want to feel a fucking thing No! When I watch my lava lamp When I watch my lava lamp When I watch my lava lamp When I watch my lava lamp
5.
Oklahoma 03:36
She appeared like lightning in the dark Laser beam straight to my heart Never felt like this before Everything is moving slow, all I see is a blur She's taking me with her On a ship into the stars I think I found love for sure And I can't see Oklahoma anymore I've been hypnotized My eyes are forever open wide Exhaust is thick from the tailpipe And I can't see Oklahoma anymore Too late to go back The sky is bible black And the stars are needles Putting holes in the skin of the night Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma Can’t see Oklahoma
6.
Aliens 03:06 video
Pale yellow star is all there is now Since the aliens come to town How that ol' giant sun used to shine Suddenly everyone is blind The signal is always static Pins and needles are sticking to my fabric My heart is beating to a different sound Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Even the moon, it won't rise I can’t tell what’s behind their eyes All the stars have turned brown Since the aliens come to town Tiny little bunny rabbits, nowhere to be found The oceans are gone, there’s nowhere to drown Yesterday is better now Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town Since the aliens come to town
7.
Grew Up Fast 03:11
We grew up fast and no one seemed to notice We grew up fast and we grew up alone Mom and Dad were never what we wanted We grew up fast and we grew up alone And we grew up alone Well you know who I am So don't treat me like I'm someone else Well you know what I am So don't treat me like I'm someone else You never act like that with no one else We grew up last when lies were just a fact of life We grew up mad 'cause we never had a home We faced the past and forgave the revolution We grew up smashed and we grew up alone And we grew up aloneHey, my brother I got no fight with you I just can't lie down Hey, my brother I got no fight with you I just can't lie down Just can't lie down Well you know who I am So don't treat me like I'm someone else You know what I am So don't act like I'm something else Well you know who I am So don't treat me like I'm someone else So don't act like I'm somewhere else You never talk like that to no one else You never scream like that for no one else
8.
Bridge 06:40
When your pride’s got a hold on you And your mind’s made up But your heart’s confused And you might even think That your love’s gone sour So you sit and you wait Hour after hour after hour The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us Sometimes it seems so hard to understand But you might not know the thorn in your lover’s hand And the pain that’s concealed is the pain that is most real And if their thorn makes you bleed once or twice Maybe you can both heal The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us The choices we refuse Are they a bridge or a wedge between us
9.
Wooden Leg 01:17
Play “Wooden Leg” again! Play “Wooden Leg!” Play it again! Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg Ah! Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg Yea yea yea I can’t find my wooden leg

about

“I wanted to let go and cut loose with this album,” says Jonah Tolchin of Lava Lamp, his fourth studio album, “I wanted to explore new terrain without any kind of rules or restrictions.” It’s that joyous sense of freedom and endless possibility that defines the bold and adventurous new collection. Built around a series of loose, live-in-the-studio performances, the record is more sonically diverse than anything in Tolchin’s catalog, expanding on the folk-blues style he’s become known for to incorporate elements of indie rock and grunge fueled by gritty electric guitars and a muscular rhythm section.

“I was a pretty rebellious kid,” says Tolchin, “and I mostly listened to alternative rock and hip hop and punk growing up. Somewhere along the way, though, I feel like I lost that part of myself. These songs are my way of reclaiming it.”

The songs here are still raw and emotional, reckoning with alienation and escapism in a modern world defined by 24/7 stimulation, but there’s a buoyancy to them that belies their intensity, a mischievous playfulness that Tolchin credits in part to his new role as a stepfather. In that sense, Lava Lamp can be heard as the sound of Tolchin reconnecting with his own childhood, casting off the burdens of expectation and returning to a musical sandbox in which the only limits are the bounds of his imagination.

Born and raised in central New Jersey, acclaimed singer/songwriter/bluesman Jonah Tolchin began his career as a DIY artist, hitting the road as a teenager and self-releasing his own music until signing with Yep Roc Records for his critically acclaimed 2014 label debut, Clover Lane. Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and Deer Tick's John McCauley, the album prompted Uncut to rave that Tolchin "demonstrates the finesse and maturity of someone like Jason Isbell” and NPR to proclaim him "a promising new artist who artfully occupies the gulf between old-school tradition and contemporary appropriation.”

In 2016, Tolchin followed with the similarly well-received Thousand Mile Night, which racked up more than 10 million streams on Spotify with its title track alone, and 2019’s Fires for the Cold, a bittersweet meditation on loss and redemption that featured appearances by Jackson Browne, Rickie Lee Jones, and Sara Watkins. Along the way, Tolchin has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively, sharing bills with Mandolin Orange, Chuck Prophet, Gregg Allman, Chris Smither, Dave and Phil Alvin, Joseph Arthur, and the late Tony Joe White.

credits

released July 15, 2022

2022 Yep Roc Records.

Produced by Nic Coolidge & Jonah Tolchin

Jonah Tolchin - Vocals, Guitars, Banjo, Resonator, OP-1
Kevin Clifford - Drums, Percussion, BGV’s
Nic Coolidge - Bass, Guitars, Organ, Synth, BGV’s
Eliza Coolidge - Background vocals on “Lava Lamp” and “Never Giving Up”

Engineered & Mixed by Nic Coolidge
Mastered by Alex Deturk

Artwork by Miles Wintner
Additional Layout by Nathan Golub

All tracks written by Jonah Tolchin
[Cement Mixer Songs (SESAC)/Cosmic Pyramid Songs (SESAC)] except:

"Car You Drive" (Josh Flowers) [Universal Music Publishing Group (PRS)]
“Aliens” + “Oklahoma” (Marvin Etzioni, Jonah Tolchin) [Peer Music (SESAC),
Cement Mixer Songs (SESAC)/Cosmic Pyramid Songs (SESAC)]
"Grew Up Fast" (Tom Petty) [Gone Gator Music (ASCAP)]

“Bridge” inspired by Diego Sharon

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about

Jonah Tolchin Princeton, New Jersey

Born and raised in central New Jersey, Tolchin began his career as a DIY artist, hitting the road as a teenager and self- releasing his own music until signing with Yep Roc for his critically acclaimed albums Clover Lane, Thousand Mile Night and Fires for the Cold. Tolchin has shared bills with the likes of Mandolin Orange, Chuck Prophet, Gregg Allman, Chris Smither, Dave Alvin, and Tony Joe White. ... more

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