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Madhouse of Invention

by The Contrast

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1.
Bureaucrats 03:12
lyrics
i’m ten feet up red taped to the wall by the bureaucrats got a fifty page tax demand triplicate form from the bureaucrats damned by the detail in their complicated minds i’m a file on their laptops a projection on their blinds a pre-disposed rejection i’ve been stamped and displayed i have made a complaint but the hearing’s been delayed they’re the devils in the detail they’re the storm in the night they can’t be wrong they’re never right they’re infecting the infection and they’re not very bright my identity has fractured in a hard drive crash with the bureaucrats they believe I am two people and my eyes don’t match that’s the bureaucrats
2.
Madhouse of Inventions 03:13
lyrics
yeah i’m an inmate in the madhouse of inventions got so many crazy bad ideas i’m phasing through dimensions hit the river in my aquaplane i’m turning green with envy i’m incurring an exclusion zone existing in a frenzy yeah i’m a shadow in the ghostly calculations i can see so many worlds i’m fine-tuning calibrations i’m reflected in the ice against the backdrop of creation i’m driving through the angry crowds in my madness celebration i am an inmate in the madhouse in the madhouse of inventions i can see the light and all the false gods are around me wearing paper bags and losing their serenity insults run to boiling point existence winding up the joint expanding ever bigger can’t suppress my insane snigger there’s an insect in my head and it’s buzzing right through me there’s sudden flash of truth i can’t quite see
3.
The Holy Grail 03:26
lyrics
we’re on a mission searching for the holy grail out on the dark highway there’s a singing ghost and a talking whale the sunset burns the orange sky the shadows stretch the demons fly there’s something out there i’ve never seen it rain so hard this road is like a river we’re skidding through the heat haze we haven’t seen a single sign of the holy grail we’ve been through every pawn shop north of the moon and south of union square this world is crazy the price is high the deal is never fair there’s a bright red blimp blocking out the sun we can’t hide we can’t run there’s something out there we got ourselves a pile of trash gold-plated junk and tarnished shattered glass we’ve all gone crazy we are as mad as hats it’s clear that we are deranged and we’re not coming back there’s a big black truth blocking out the sun we can’t hide we can’t run there’s something out there
4.
Your Secret 02:57
lyrics
your secret’s safe with me ‘cause i just won’t remember i am busy throwing tin cans at the devil in my head your secret’s safe with me i’ll be talking in a mad voice i’ll be running down the highway wearing my exploding hat and i never get it right did i tell you you were dreaming were you even there last night were you shaking were you screaming your secret’s safe with me your secret’s safe with me but you’ll still get found out you’ve been wearing your confession like a big fat neon sign your secret’s safe with me ‘cause i don’t pay attention but you’re clearly being followed there’s a mad man in the trees the radio is breaking up watch out for electric shocks the microphone inside your phone is humming now you’re not alone the walls have eyes the air is thin the details gone better watch out the dummies are moving in your secret’s safe with me but you are in great danger there’s a deadly crash test tory coming flying through your door
5.
Before This Caper Goes Down 02:56
lyrics
it won’t be long before this caper goes down the air is thick with obnoxious words in this town i may be the one you seek but i can’t think and i can’t speak and it won’t be long before this caper goes down i’ve been watching you through the hole in my paper your cover’s blown i will get you later you may be behind the whole thing with your taped up mouth and shining bling but it won’t be long before this caper goes down you blend into the crowd so well you are incredibly conspicuous your eyes reflect like burning hell and your lips are quite ridiculous but it won’t be long before this caper goes down i’m a spinning top i’m a moth in the flame i’m trapped with you in your sinister game and it won’t be long before this caper goes down
6.
The Vulture Squadron 03:07
lyrics
how did you get so nervous i thought you lived in real time what made you slip and uncertain wasting your lips and being unkind what if we’re the vulture squadron how did you get so precious you counter attack every line you’re bleaching your hair to submission you’re not being fair and i resign what if we’re the vulture squadron our flying machines always fall apart our technical expert can’t communicate it’s a world of lies and plastic hate and we’re turning around and it’s not too late but what if we’re the vulture squadron how did you get so angry i know how you feel i’m the same as you i know you don’t want to believe me it’s very hard to see what’s true
7.
What Do You Get 03:32
lyrics
what do you get if you cross a pig with a fly something big and mean in the evening sky what do you get if you cross a man with a flea something talking rubbish you can hardly see what do you get if you cross a squid with a bat or a vulture with a vintage trilby hat or a panther with a purple swarm am i getting close am i getting warm am i getting close am i getting warm i won’t fall for the big blue killer van i won’t fall for the propaganda idiot plan i won’t fall for the man-eating credit card i won’t fall but i know it’s gonna be hard what do you get if you cheat and lie and scheme if you talk a lot but never say what you mean your experiments always take too long and you say you’re right but you know you’re wrong am i getting close am i getting warm
8.
Pigless Head 03:39
lyrics
i’m a pigless head sitting in the bathroom wondering what happens next i’m a pigless head how did I get here was i alive or was i dead i’m a duckless beak singing love songs i’m trying to squawk but it comes out a shriek somehow i know i’ve forgotten how to speak what if I am a mouseless squeak and i love you so much but i’m wearing thin i’ve got bad feeling i could be a manless skin the buzzards and bugs are closing in i’m a pigless head i’m a manless skin i’m the cowless horns a double entendre a wave of trash in the falling sky i’m a carless wheel i’m a sharkless fin how do you like my shit-eating grin i’m outrunning the storm and all the things i said i’m so clever i’ll burst and my name will be fred i will never forget you i’ll burst open instead i’m a pigless head i’m a pigless head sitting in the bathroom wondering what happens next the buzzards and bugs are closing in i’m a pigless head i’m a manless skin
9.
Updates 03:52
lyrics
rachel is connected to frank robert is connected to nigel simon isn’t feeling so good and brewster has his head up his ass coddy is connected to janet suzy wants to talk about demons patrick is connected to davros and gustav has a picture of fish hey hey i’m getting updates updates on my wall updates of updates so much stuff that i don’t wanna to know richard is connected to dumb waiter harry isn’t talking to slater alexandra is having a spasm and david believes he’s insane pablo is connected to satan lucy has a talking raven bill’s collected evidence that he doesn’t exist almost everyone’s reporting that they’re lost in the mist johnny had a good cup of coffee roger is a big fat phoney lucy is experimenting with fruit and joe has listed everyone he’d like to shoot willard is connected to the stuffed man spider is connected to the great charlie chan willhelmina has been talking to god and jesus
10.
Sinister London 03:41
lyrics
the zeppelins and biplanes are clouding the city and the fog’s hanging heavy over belsize park there’s a puffed-up blue tory in the sky over battersea and the radio waves are shining clear in the sky there’s a villain with a video making porno for youtube and the taxis are frozen and the lights are all red there’s a dangerous fashion for confusion and inaction and the papers take pride in having nothing good to say it’s gone dark and there’s something misplaced it’s a very mad chase down in sinister london did you see it were you even there something’s bad in the air down in sinister london did you dye your hair did you start to care why do you feel so let down what’s your poison what’s your weed don’t believe what you read down in sinister london ahh ah something sinister’s going down in london there’s a clown dodging hammers and knives in trafalgar square there’s a plastic messiah selling company shares there’s an infamous impostor singing shakespeare and chaucer there’s a lost broken start in this station don’t stare it’s gone dark and there’s something misplaced it’s a very mad chase down in sinister london did you see it were you even there something’s bad in the air down in sinister london did you dye your hair did you start to care why do you still feel so let down what’s your poison what’s your weed don’t believe what you read down in sinister london ahh ah something sinister’s going down in london
11.
Passion 02:37
lyrics
i’ve got a passion for electric lights i’ve got a passion for disturbing sights i’m having visions in the dead of night i am a spring and i’m wound up tight i’ve got no reasons for the things i say i am an ipod stuck on random play i’ve got a passion for dark mysteries i’m stuck in every single frame you freeze i’ve got a passion for your bright red lips i’ve got a passion for the phantom ships i’ve got a passion for the psychic lies i’ve got a passion for your crazy eyes i will be waiting in the rain out by the station i’m changing i’ve got a passion for tight leather straps i’ve got suspicions but they’re under wraps i’ve got a passion for conspiracies i’ve got a passion for mad prophecies so many people seem to look the same i don’t like this propaganda game i don’t want to be a parody there’s so much stuff that i don’t want to see
12.
Demons From Your Id 03:56
lyrics
when you gonna see the funny side with the demons from your id you’ve been saying some pretty bad stuff you’re gonna wish you never did all the signs are flashing amber and red the ghosts are real they’re coming out your head no matter how you try you’ll never get rid of the demons from your id baby you better get ready for the demons from your id they have something to tell you and you’ll wish they never did baby you better get ready for the demons when you gonna see the irony of how you screwed up so bad i’ve been taking pictures quietly i know you’re gonna be mad all the dead are coming out of the ground there is a crack in time there’s a buzzing sound no matter how you try you’ll never get rid of the demons from your id
13.
Atmosphere 04:00
lyrics
there’s a catfish x-ray laser beam firing into the back of my mind again and something’s going mad things are not what they seem it’s coming to a head but who knows when the atmosphere is very thin on mars my antenna is picking up all your scars i missed your name i missed your act i hope you didn’t fall for that suicide pact your smile’s blank it’s insincere don’t get lost in the atmosphere i’ve been sending coded messages to keep my mind blank i don’t want to end up like my dead friend frank i’ve been calling you for hours sending artificial flowers trying to distract you from all the dark powers the atmosphere is terrible in here there’s too much love and hate and fear i saw a plastic fox with the wings of a bat an unknown face in my mirror i was trying not to tell you any of that but it slipped out when i saw you shiver the atmosphere is charged with nervous monsters there’s a trap but you can’t see it
14.
River of Infra-Red Light 03:05
lyrics
i’m in a frenzy i’m all shook up i’m a bursting psychic squid in the river of infra-red light i screwed up big time i’m feeling proud i’m a fractured rip in time in the river of infra-red light i’ve been working hard making my character up i’m so fictional now i’m not even here or there i’m out of my mind i don’t care in the river of infra-red light i’m in a deep hole it’s just my luck i’m a broken latex smile in the river of infra-red light i’ve got a contract i’m way too sharp i’m a melted waxwork shark in the river of light
15.
Intelligent Life 04:39
lyrics
i was painted in the corner of my smashed up telephone i was doing all I could to be a stranger i was looking very carefully for your deadly motivation i was regressing back in time to the first day of the creation someone stole the gravity and looks like i have lost my sanity i really don’t want to deal with your hypocrisy somewhere out there there’s intelligent life but it’s not here i was giving all my words away to phoney tv reporters i was talking very seriously about all the ghosts inside my house i was being so evasive that someone said i was obnoxious i applauded their perception but my god what a buffoon i was gift wrapped like the devil i was drunk like richard nixon i was changing faster than the naked eye could see somewhere out there there’s intelligent life i applaud your perception but my god what a buffoon
16.
This Final Day 04:03
lyrics
it’s good to see you one more time do you still remember how it felt when you were fine i’ve got to say your eyes are haunted they’re giving you away but all the same it’s good to see you on this final day it’s good to know you’re still alive i couldn’t have predicted if you ever would survive regardless of your perfect smile i know what you are thinking but all the same it’s good to see you on this final day i should have told you i wish i could have told you but i guess you had to find out the hard way i don’t really think you’ve changed at all but all the same it’s good to see you on this final day it’s good to see you one more time you were taken for a sucker but that wasn’t your own crime i have to say i love you and that’s me it’s not the wine but all the same it’s good to see you on this final day

credits

released November 30, 2018

All songs: words and music written by David Reid

David Reid: Lead Vocals & Guitars
Richard Mackman: Bass
Thorin Dixon: Drums, Percussion & Backing Vocals
Simon Russell: Keyboards

Neil Saunders: Backing Vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 8 & 15)
Aimee Reid: Backing Vocals (3, 10 & 14)
Kieran Wade: Backing Vocals (7, 9 & 11)
Kat Moore: Violins & Octave Violin
Strings on ‘What Do You Get’ arranged by David Reid and Kat Moore

Recorded at Secret Shark Studios
Mixed by David Reid, Thorin Dixon & Sharon Reid
Produced by David Reid
Mastered by Tom Savage
Photography: Marc A Price
Sleeve design: Sharon Reid

Special thanks to: Jim McGarry, Steven Van Zandt, Peter Purnell,
Sharon, Aimee, Sue, Fi Stimpson, Ron Graves, Dan Turner, Zach P,
Habib Khan, Jerome Hunt & Pep Fasulo for the best pizzas.
This one is for Overend Watts and John Moseley

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The Contrast UK

The Contrast’s sleek, edgy, chiming guitar pop embraces influences spanning genres, wrapped up into irresistible 3-minute pop songs.

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