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Play Like This

by Aisle Knot

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Dan Goldin
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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    High quality cassette tapes made at National Audio Company. J-Card features original painting by KC McCarthy. Run of 50

    Includes unlimited streaming of Play Like This via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
Clean Inside 03:42
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To shut an eye to empty islands Keeping time in more than one way We can reinvent the space between us Change our disposition In my climate I am secret I'm an agent of the one Who dwells in blindness Who knows left but knows no right Breathe inside Suggesting violence out of fear That they will one day find a cure For absent minded jurisdiction For eviction For a pattern, for a poison For to obfuscate with boredom Break the circle, exit slowly Look for fruit for this they know me inside Clean inside Know when to go home
2.
February Rain 02:53
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Fuck me in the rain Fuck me when you say my name Fuck me I want pain Fuck me make it go away Diamonds in your veins Diamonds make me feel okay Try the other way Try what always not to play Fuck me in the middle of February Rain Woke up feeling strange Woke up with the same jaw pain Woke up in a rage Woke up screaming where's my fame Fuck me in the rain Fuck me when you say my name Fuck me I want pain Fuck me make it go away Fuck me in the middle of February Rain
3.
No Fun 02:41
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No fun You played the game, you never won No fair They broke the rules and no one cared You believed Things would come easily Diamond rings Stupid shit that I don't need I don't care about that
4.
I'm Dumb 02:25
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I don't want anybody to know I'm dumb I don't want you to know I'm dumb Gettin home late on a Friday night Got a swagger in his step and a pack of strikes He says "I'm not pretty, but that's alright I've got a wife who loves me and a kid who tries I wanna be that booger who gets all the likes I'll be a pilot, or a pirate, or a thing that's hype" She says "Come on, baby, let's go back to sleep I can be the one to make your wildest dreams I can be the one to make your wildest dreams You're a baby who screams, and that's alright You're a baby who screams, and that's alright" I'm dumb
5.
Perfect Daughter 02:51
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Variations on the same theme Taking Pieces from the past Turning pain Into something that can last I lied three times It's an ugly way to die I lied three times It's an ugly way to die Lately waking up with Aimee Trading Time inside my head To sustain Aisle Knot exercise instead I lied three times It's an ugly way to die I lied three times It's an ugly way to Fall It's not your fault You just tried to do it all And that's alright It's not a fight You just tried to do what's right No one is a perfect daughter
6.
Play Like This 02:31
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Find me in the back room I'm playing my guitar Reach behind the curtain And tell me who you are Take me to your shadow And tell me what to say Teach me the guitar And show me what to play Show me what to play Show me what to play Play like this
7.
Horses 02:53
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Some people have gotta change Some people are gonna worry all day Some people just want the pain away I've been going through a change I've been saying what I wanna say I've been feeling like I've always And there were horses Running down the white way
8.
First Time 03:52
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Can't say it's the first time I tried Had a little on me that night I lied Doesn't matter if it feels right Feels right You're always asking if I'm doin fine Doing fine Perfect pattern in the gutter light Gutter light Perfect pattern in the gutter light Gutter light It's abandoned Body acting like it Knuckles pressed in Understated leverage You're pretending I was fishing for a fall I was fishing for a fall I was fishing for it
9.
Whatever We Want 03:05
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Okay you got just what you wanted Okay you became a big star Turns out that house is actually haunted No one can tell you who you are Oh no We can do whatever we want Oh no We can do whatever we want
10.
On Your Phone 03:31
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Lately I've been wondering Am I getting closer to the end Or am I just beginning Turns out living's easy Sounds kind of cheesy But you Yeah you You just gotta love your friends Are you still out there all alone On your phone Do you know I'm there With you If I could hold you in the sun You're the one I love I love I wanna finish strong I want you to sing a long So tell me what you wanna hear I'll sing anything I'll do anything for you To keep you here with me Are you still out there all alone On your phone Do you know I'm there With you If I could hold you in the sun You're the one I love I love

about

As Aisle Knot, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Connor Bush makes music that feels transportive. Where it takes you may initially ring familiar and comforting, but spend just a moment in a space Bush creates, and you’ll soon find its dimensions expanded and design distorted. All the while, the natural, beautiful, and - at times - unsettling intimacy that drew you in remains. Play Like This, the third full-length Aisle Knot album and first with Bush and a full band, pulls you in even closer. Each wistful guitar melody and weary vocal line is like an undefinable apparition that soon takes hold of the rest of the house, as well as anyone inhabiting it…

For the last several years, Bush has released a steady trickle of singles and EPs under the Aisle Knot name. Though the project originated as a duo, the passing of founding member Ryan McCormack in 2018 led to Bush continuing the project as a solo venture. While the sound across Aisle Knot’s releases could loosely be described as “bedroom folk,” Bush has never shied away from sonic exploration and experimentation. In 2020, he released his debut full length album, the bucolic and Arthur Russell-esque Woke Up Feeling Strange, while later following it up with the icy ambient of 2021’s Fishing in the Dark. Despite the seeming sonic disparities, it has always felt like the singular world of Aisle Knot. The newest album, Play Like This, makes good on the promises of his prior output: using his signature brand of “bedroom folk” as a starting point, and showcasing even further creative ambition and abilities.

If listening to Play Like This feels like being in seclusion with Bush and his collaborators, that’s not incidental. Recorded in a rented house in Connecticut over a two-day period with producer and collaborator Brendan Principato (Boon, Saapato), the 10 songs across the album each bear their own tactile auras while nonetheless finding solidarity with one another. At times, this is expressed through a measured resolve, like on opener “Clean Inside,” with Bush’s metronomic phrasings and Jordan Rapaport’s steady percussion. Other times, it’s expressed through frantic unravelings, like on the nervy self-flagellation of “I’m Dumb.” At one moment, Bush may recall the meditative calm of Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, while at another, it may be the unfiltered existential purgings of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock. At all times, however, his own perspective is in place: that of a keen observer all too aware of the worlds both outside and inside of his mind.

Based in part on the concept of the holy fool, Play Like This continues the proud tradition of great albums about people holding onto whatever sliver of optimism they can in the most trying of times. It’s the sound not of torrential downpours nor oppressively bright days, rather, it’s the transition from stormy to sunny skies, where the soaked surfaces gradually begin to dry as a certain aroma lingers. Bush and his bandmates don’t deny or protest the storm. Instead, they find shelter from it and with each other, leaving the door unlocked for anyone who needs refuge from anything at any time.

With mixing courtesy of Jesse Paller (June Gloom) and mastering courtesy of Carl Saff, this album near-perfectly replicates the experience of seeing Aisle Knot perform live, with every slide of fingers down the fretboard and every blissfully bittersweet harmony between Bush and Neufeld resonating in the moment and beyond. There’s no telling what else might occur in that beyond, but Play Like This makes a cathartic case for forging ahead all the same.

credits

released October 13, 2023

All songs written, performed, and produced by Aisle Knot
Recorded in Oxford, Connecticut, Long Island, New York, Brooklyn, New York, and Red Hook, New York
Engineered by Brendan Principato
Mixed by Jesse Paller
Mastered by Carl Saff
Album artwork painted by KC McCarthy
Album bio written by Mimi Kenny

Aisle Knot is:
Jordan Rapaport (drums/percussion/vocals)
Aimee Neufeld (guitar/vocals/flute)
Troy Vetri (bass/vocals)
Connor Bush (guitar/vocals)

Special Thanks:
Gil Israel, Liana Kleinman, Kristie Chua, Ari Rinaldo, Dan Goldin, Isabel Martin, Jenny Nelson, Casey Hardmeyer, Logan Kruidenier, Kevin Hammer, Adam Finchler, Ben Jones

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Aisle Knot Brooklyn, New York

aisleknot@gmail.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsA-JS7CrIc

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