I Am the Polish Army.

As a matter of fact, yes, I have decided to write exclusively about /bandcamp. Sorry, don't know how it happened, but I am in the process of adjusting my meds, so we'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile.../bandcamp has a little News Feed-y kind of thing which shows you what folks are purchasing in real time, and sometimes an image (the writing is too small for my old orbs to see as the feed slips by) will catch my eye. Like this one, for instance:

Yeah, I know. I'll get around to that.

ANYway, once I'd clicked on that enchanting image, an album came up with a song entitled "David Bowie." Well. You had me at Tank Top, but yes, I believe I will listen to a song named after one of my favorite people of all time. And you know what? I don't really know why this song is entitled "David Bowie," but it tickled my fancy. So I listened to the rest of the album, And it was quite good. Here, check it out yourself (for free!):

You get 8 songs here. 

"You Don't Know" weighs in a 3:33. Starts off with a haunting guitar riff and a mesmerizing vocal line courtesy of Emma DeCorsey, who is the writer and co-arranger on all of these songs. Goes there until about the one minute mark, when the drums and bass kick in. And then around the two minute mark a fierce lead guitar line enters the fray. Fierce not in the sense of dazzling speed...which frankly just irritates me most of the time, like a tv show version of a hacker who types super fast...but fierce in tone, which is a perfect counterpoint to the slightly distant tenor of the vocal line. Yep, this is a very good song.

Second up is the aforementioned "David Bowie" (3:44), which hits the ground running with full band. This song has a really big sound, and the chorus just makes me want to shout. Yeah, if you start your listening session with this one, you won't end with it. There's one line which I presume does refer to David Bowie: "And every time I want to listen to his last song I have to listen to her at the same time." I have no idea who "she" is, of course, but you know...that works for me. It's kind of personal without being revelatory, which leaves some room for my imagination to work it out. A bit later on there's a clever reference to Robert Johnson ("Robert, come meet me down at the crossroads? Time I sold myself to the Devil") which made me quite happy, too.

And then there's "Throat" (4:09), which definitely has an Alice in Chains feel to it...but I don't mean that in any kind of "derivative" way. Besides which, Alice in Chains (whom I love dearly) stole that sound from Metallica, anyway, so Glass Houses. There's a part in the song when Emma (may I call you Emma?) says, "Get your hands off of my throat" several times...and the effect is quite chilling. There's just no doubt that this is a reference to abuse inflicted on Emma herself. It's just that real. Which makes my heart ache, because I do not understand men who hurt women, and it fills my soul with fury.

"Dead Cat" (3:42) starts off with a line which is pretty funny, actually: "My boy fought a dog, and he went down like the cat he was." I have to admit that I don't know what this song is about, but it sounds great. According to David Fricke (Rolling Stone), this is "Soundgarden-like," but tbh, I don't know Soundgarden from Shinola; I'm just throwing it down here in case you know them. 

Then it's "Setup" (3:03), with an intro guitar riff that sounds a lot like "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" played on Jimi Hendrix's guitar. No, really. Back it up and listen to it again. See? Some truly strange lyrics here...like, "Mama she swears I don't need no man / But man, my nicest tits are going to waste." Um...what?  It was with this song that I realized that there's something Aimee Mann-ish about Emma's voice on occasion...a slight tendency towards nasality. And since Aimee Mann is one of my five favorite female singers (+ Shara Nova, Kate Bush, Nina Simone, & Gladys Knight, if you were wondering), that's meant as a Rah-Lee Big Compliment. But all these comparisons are only meant to give you a peek so that you'll be enticed into listening to...and hopefully buying, because Shake-speare GOT to get paid...this album. Emma and I Am the Polish Army have their own sound...otherwise not only would I not be buying it, I sure as hell wouldn't be trying to encourage YOU to buy it. Okay? Okay.

Ahem. "The Woods" (3:57) showed Emma's lower vocal range, which made for a nice change of pace. Other than some most excellent drums, though, this song didn't really make much of an impression on me yet. Admittedly it takes a while sometimes. For instance, speaking of David Bowie, I hated The Man Who Sold the World the first dozen times I listened to it. I remember how dismayed I felt that I had "wasted" my money on such a wretched album. Needless to say I have since changed my mind about that. So we'll see how it goes with "The Woods." 

"Gene" (3:45): one of the most interesting things about this song is the way that the lead guitar...which is kind of buried in the mix--but not in a BAD way...follows and amplifies the vocal line. I'm also almost always a sucker for the Everything Drops Out Except For The Vocals & The Drums, which is used to excellent effect here. And the double Emma vocals as the song rounds the clubhouse turn is such a good idea that I wish it would be a regular thing.

"My Old Man" (4:12) is both the title and closing song, and it hits hard. It's a song about a sexual predator, but it's not of the simplistic condemnation variety which leaves you with a hot knife edge of hatred for the predator and some vague feeling of closure. Near the end of the song, Emma sings, 

"...cut off from you I am dried up, done for, I am tearing myself screaming at the sky for taking you away from me, and so I'll need another predator to find me, be another version of how much I loathe myself and want to hurt myself for never being good enough for my real old man."

Which is just very frightening, isn't it? Again, I'm assuming that this song comes straight from lived experience, which might not be true...but it sure feels that way. And if that is so, it makes me think about how all of the unkindness in our world just swirls around our souls, how innocence is attenuated and becomes a permeable membrane, how toxic the traditional concept of masculinity can be, how much damage it can inflict. I don't know what to do about that other than try to see and contain the beast in me...which I think I have been successful in doing for 40 years of relationships. But to be honest, the reward for that has been that I've often been abused by women...to the point where I have now officially given up on all of that shit...so even that isn't as simple as you'd think it should be. Listening to this song just makes me wish that people could be better than people have ever been, I guess...to approximately quote Daniel Quinn's Ishmael. 

Which is a low note to end on, I know...but I will listen to this album many times, so I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. It's a serious piece of work, and I think the world is always in need of that. 

BTW, the total running time is 30:05, which seems kind of short for an album these days...but I have to tell you, it is totally worth it. Throw your money down. You won't be sorry.

P.S. And yes, I am quite aware of the irony that I was pulled towards this music because I was attracted to the sexuality of the cover picture, and I ended up talking about the horrors of sexual abuse. But that's part of the complexity of the issue, too, isn't it? If a woman uses her sexuality in an overt fashion, certainly that does not invite rape or any kind of aggression...but on the other hand, it does invite attention, doesn't it? The cover of this album could easily have been a different image. But to be honest, I doubt very much that I would have noticed this album if not for the sexuality of the cover. So...what?

I don't know. But I think you should give I Am the Polish Army a listen.