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The Burnside Church

by Matthew Pickering

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.

    Two free songs: 'The Burnside Church' and 'I've Got My Shoulders Under You, Love'
    About the album: scroll to the bottom of the page)

      name your price

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This album has been immaculately designed by Samantha Rouse of Wellington, New Zealand, and printed at Stebbing Recording Centre in Auckland, NZ.

    The 16-page booklet, cover, inlay, and back cover have all been hand-illustrated; a lot of time has gone into making these drawings look beautiful. Imagery from the cover corresponds to lyrical content and is continued throughout the booklet. All lyrics are included, as well as all guitar tunings.
    Super-jewel casing with rounded edges.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Burnside Church via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days

      $20 NZD

     

  • I believe this song, 'I've Got My Shoulders Under You, Love' can really bless people. It was a dream to write, and it is so so fun to play.

    Download it; it's free :)

    My really good friend Robbie Neilson has produced an absolutely amazing handcrafted book based on this song, the last song on the album.

    (You can see imagery from the book in the banner at the top of this page.)

    The song tells the story of a magical and mythical adventure down on Oriental Parade, here in Wellington, New Zealand. But it doesn't stop there! When Daisy arrives in a hot air balloon, that's when the story really takes off!
    Each scene from the song's journey has been drawn into 14 separate panels, and has taken many hours to complete. Each panel has been printed, carefully cut out, and glued onto wallpaper, which has then been cut out again, and folded into a concertina-like book. And it's all topped off with a red ribbon. Sweetness.

    Seeing as they take a bit of time to make, we are starting with a limited edition of 50. So snap 'em folks, snap 'em up!

    Much love

    Matthew Pickering & Robbie Neilson
    ... more
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 50 

      $20 NZD or more 

     

1.
The Burnside Church (free) 05:11
Hey love, we had a good run, I know. Well, I’ll see you down Pirinoa Road Hey honey, best resume this search, I know. Well I’ll see you at the Burnside Church You know, it’s funny. It’s just like Annie Hall Our quirks got the better of us both (or maybe I was too young) Just like some cruel nuptial I signed on the dotted line, it hurts But then I see you at the Burnside Church And promise me this one thing, babe: you keep those Binney birds up on their perch And I’ll see you at the Burnside Church See you at the Burnside Church See you at the Burnside Church See you at the Burnside Church…
2.
Did I hear? You found another one to carry you up the hill? Or was it my mind playing tricks? Did I tell you I met your brother in the street? He was busy moving cities with his bare hands Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman It’s inside every man too. Yeah it’s true, I found another one to carry me up the hill. It ain’t your mind playing tricks. Did I tell you I met your brother at the beach? He was busy building cities with his bare hands I won’t go blaming I won’t go blaming I won’t go blaming I won’t go blaming Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman It’s inside every man too. Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman It’s inside every man too. Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman It’s inside every man too.
3.
Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile" It might just be the richest word we have Our histories and the novelty of new love The one and only, and the here and now Long distance, age difference Oh oh oh Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile" It might just be the richest word we have What I called rites of passage You called frescoes of the heart You laid it on impasto, left me half a neenish tart And straight through the skin like a tattoo The marking of the marama moon Oh oh oh Why you’ll always be a ballerina Though you always did stand on my toes You see, when we first met, Astral Weeks was playing in my headphone Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile"
4.
The eggshell is breaking A new life hatching Its universe was inside the egg An opening flower Needs a pin drop to view it And we are witness to the newborn So that the kid may fly And may his eyes be wide And may his love be live And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve) And may we embrace his dream And show him that through grey is green The sooner we realise That kid must fly See how this moment can be reduced Remember when you were airborne? Corners breed busy minds when behind every turn Lies a hidden universe So that the kid may fly And may his eyes be wide And may his love be live And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve) And may we embrace his dream And show him that through grey is green The sooner we realise That kid must fly Up and away… So that the kid may fly And may his eyes be wide And may his love be live And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve) And may we embrace his dream And show him that through grey is green The sooner we realise That kid must fly
5.
I see you The arc of you Not far from where we once threw fate A dart of paper We’ll transcend on transparent wings Your body stretched out one foot longer in flight Lifted on a blue shimmer Up on your sequined wings Up on your sequined wings My concorde of Brooklyn The crisp air awaits us The houses on the hills Are blinking bright snakeskin And the phosphorescence takes hold As I climb into your saddle We rumble and soar Outta here Up on your sequined wings Up on your sequined wings Up on your sequined wings Up on your sequined wings
6.
I used to watch when the wind asked the curtain to dance And I’d be the one to accept on behalf Time is a ragged restless wind inside my heart And it’s inviting me to risk it all for love And I think I know the meaning of waiting on love The pier to the ocean is the bridge in between And, oh, we must all search for those primary colours (of hers) So freely all the ships pass by And with every one, the pier knows it’s tied And I think I know the meaning of holding on The true intimate transcends touch The comfort that comes when silence removes all distance And acting as both the pier and ocean I want a love that extends above both trough and crest, is both bridge and the expanse. And like the lighthouse, the lone lantern by the sea At home in the dark, and daylight its purpose defeats It shines so brightly as if wanting to meet Its outstretched arm in the form of a light beam And I think I know the meaning of the lonely stand The true intimate transcends touch The comfort that comes when silence removes all distance And acting as both the pier and ocean Our love extends above both trough and crest, is both bridge and the expanse The true intimate transcends touch
7.
Interlude 04:10
8.
Hey, didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air? Didn’t I hear you had a bad day? Well, hey, it’s OK I heard you were down so long, your black dog was going grey I heard you were down so long, your black dog was going grey Well, hey didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air? Woo! Let your senses come to you Hey, didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air?
9.
Say goodbye to the powder Welcome in the melting evening Venture out from your shelter To receive the warmest greeting And each and every songbird sings In an overflowing everlasting spring Such a hurried hibernation In aching anticipation of what the new season may bring We’re flicking coins over shoulders And keeping secrets from parents And each and every songbird sings In an overflowing everlasting spring And on my own, I would never have known To listen out for that guiding tune Our love deserves a season of melody and new shoots And each and every songbird sings In an overflowing everlasting spring And each and every songbird sings In an overflowing everlasting spring Call me silly, but I’m in love. I cannot help it. I fell in love with a woman and it feels like we have known each other for years, even though we just met last night. We snuck out at 11 p.m., when the moon was out. All the streets had been blocked off from the parade. We walked in the middle of the road. We pretended the streets were lined with thousands of people, all celebrating that we had met one another. You picked up a piece of tickertape and waved it round like a young ballerina. Down at the waterfront, we read alternating lines of poetry, cemented into the pavement. We held hands. We kissed. I’m not religious, but it is in the hands of the gods. Some things you learn from love that is never meant to last. Maybe that is not love. But sometimes, that is all we have. At least for one night, I was an act of love.
10.
Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down? Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town The angel asked me up to the ridge of love And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!” Awake O Sleeper The day it breaks like bread So lift your head For the day breaks like bread Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down? Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town The angel asked me up to the ridge of love And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!” Awake O Sleeper The day it breaks like bread So lift your head For the day breaks like bread We pray in circles, in silence We try to be disciples Together we can handle the weight of that title In an old Bible I plaited the ribbons like rivers Of red, blue, and yellow down the spine Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down? Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town The angel asked me up to the ridge of love And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!” Awake O Sleeper The day it breaks like bread So lift your head For the day breaks like bread
11.
So, so the story goes Up at Mt Zion Station How could we not draw near to You As we lie on our backs under the Southern Cross Oooo Down, down into town We hit up the Savemart A pair of boots for me and a summer top for you Thinking ahead through a Wellington winter How else can we get through, other than by purchasing ahead of time reasonably priced clothing? In the back of the ute We were soaked through in You Droplets running down our backs And still, there’s so far to go in what it means to know that Your beauty transforms every space...
12.
Back when I was young My father and I picked black doris plums He’d sit me on his shoulders as I reached for the highest one, and He’d say: “I’ve got my shoulders under you love. I’ve got my shoulders under you love. I’ve got my shoulders under you love.” I was restless! The other day we were down around Oriental Parade Just past the marina where my dad kept the boat he sailed across the Strait He made it all the way! He was reckless! Robbie and I were thinking about heading up to the lake (Lake Taupō). We were thinking bout how there ain’t no place higher than your daddy’s shoulders, there just ain’t no place. We stood near to the whale’s tail The one carved not from salt, but sweat More like the one that hangs around my neck. And Robbie said: “Close your eyes. I've got a surprise for you. I Know there's something you've been wanting to do for ages.”, and he Led me to the sand. It was a beautiful day. When we reached the water's edge, he said: “Are you ready? Are you ready for your surprise? 1, 2, 3 Open your eyes!”. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen! Now, I don’t know how many of you have seen a hot air balloon Land on a pontoon? That's what I thought. So I started swimming out and I free-styled and I duck-dived and I climbed up the little ladder and into the basket, and there was our friend Daisy (she flies hot air balloons in real life). So I said: I’ll put my arms around you, I'm glad to see you, see, I was coming up for air.” And she said: “I’ll put my arms around you, see, I’m glad to see you, I was coming down from thin air.” We were breathless! We were breathless! And I got a taste of plum And I felt the same breeze in my face that took my dad across the Strait And I saw St Christopher set in greenstone. And as we rose up above on the shoulder of pure love I heard God say to his children: “I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love. I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love. I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love … And that’s about the story of a hot air balloon landing on the pontoon down on Oriental Parade.

about

Hear ye! Hear ye! I proudly present the release of my debut album, The Burnside Church. The album has been a few years in the making. It is part lament, part Spring, intelligent, honest, personal. Recorded at the Braeburn Studio, Wellington, engineered by Robbie Duncan.

On the album, I play fingerpicking and slide guitar in a few different tunings, piano, ukulele, rain stick, and sing (plus a bit of throat singing and whistling), plus others play flute, violin, double bass, percussion, and there's a kids' choir right at the end (they don't really sing in tune, but that's not really the point!)

The album is rich in imagery and reference: scenes from the ups and downs of relationship, battling with depression and coming out the other side, a trip to an op shop and a friend’s farm, mentions of Don Binney, Woody Allen, and Van Morrison...
And speaking of Wellington, I mention: a mythical balloon ride above Oriental Parade, going to the Savemart, how to get through a Wellington winter (tip: it's linked to going to the Savemart), reading the poetry engraved in the cement down on the waterfront, visiting the Burnside Church ( in Martinborough), the way the lights leading up to the Brooklyn wind turbine look like a concorde ... among other things.

More on the ethos in the album booklet (also available in pdf with download of the album)

Influences/Sounds like:
Guitar: acoustic finger-picking in altered open tunings a la M Ward and Nick Drake;

Piano: influenced by Vince Guaraldi (Peanuts music), Thom Yorke’s Radiohead stuff, Erik Satie, Ketil Bjørnstad & Svante Henryson;

Voice: a bit like Dave Dobbyn, Chris Thile of Punch Brothers, early Van Morrison, Tim Buckley, and M Ward;

Lyrics: storytelling, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joanna Newsom, Sufjan Stevens. Interesting words that spawn scenes and stories.

Arohanui and God bless

Matthew Pickering

credits

released May 21, 2011

Robbie Duncan - mixing, mastering, gentle spirit in the studio
Lillian Fougere – flute, vocals
Arna Shaw – violin, vocals
Peter Cogswell - drums
Alistair Isdale - upright bass
Matua Dave – reading the passage
Samantha Rouse - graphic design

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about

Matthew Pickering Wellington, New Zealand

Matthew Pickering is a multi-instrumentalist folk-pop artist – think finger picking in alternate tunings,
stories put to song. He released his debut full length album, The Burnside Church, last year. It’s been described
as intelligent, personal, honest, and Wellington-centric. His new album, Up at the Bunkers, will be out in October.
... more

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