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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited run of the album on compact disc. Comes in slimline gatefold card case, in a square design, reminiscent of an LP, and which will perfectly reflect the vinyl album when it is produced.

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    Includes unlimited streaming of Playing With The Truth via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    7
    releases

    Get all 7 Darren Black releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Empty Halls Can Feel Like Crowded Rooms, Playing With The Truth, WISPERAU, Lord Abergavenny's Hills, Rise Above the Mumblings, Thinkers & Fools, and Silent Poetry. , and , .

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1.
Shadows Leave 04:06
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Ornament, ornament In the window, silhouette Holiday, holiday Rustic cottage far away Shadows leave when I think of there All my Christmases at once come there In my ever changing frame of mind Solace comes to re-awake and reinstate my smile Sentiment sentiment Wish me well and say I’m meant for this I refuse, I refuse To lay down and shed this happy muse Shallow boxes full of sifted sand On the sideboard so they’re close to hand Put your worries in and watch them fall Through the grains and filter out and heal your troubled soul Shadows leave when I think of there All my Christmases at once come there In my ever changing frame of mind Solace comes to re-awake and reinstate my smile
2.
The Clown 02:52
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You lie like you’re telling the truth Smile but the joke is on you But think again if you take them for somebody’s fool You play an insidious game One where you’re never to blame Everyone’s fault but yours, it’s always the same The mouth it may smile, but look at the eyes They’ll tell you all you should know Who loves a clown when the veil comes down and goes Boom, boom, boom If they won’t take your own rule You’ll twist and you’ll pull ‘till it’s through Run down the clock ‘till it’s too late to stop it, that’s you Less than one percent brought you in The rest could only look in They weren’t asked and they’ll take you to task if you win The mouth it may smile, but look at the eyes They’ll tell you all you should know Fooled by a clown when the veil comes down and goes Boom, boom, boom You lie like you’re telling the truth Smile but the joke is on you But think again if you take them for somebody’s fool
3.
Historical Amnesia 03:20
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Someone keep an eye on these times Document the crimes The history books will overlook They won’t want it understood Just how real it was But concealed of course We are told the days of old Colony are to behold Whitewash the past Whitewash the last Shades of a darker past Easy to play innocent Feign reticence Sleeping dogs left because Cages shaken - trouble caused Teachers made to tell Of a deeper well With us there, simply share Historical amnesia Whitewash the past Whitewash the last Shades of a darker past
4.
Social Cemetery 03:43
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Spending time alone agin You need a holiday, some time to get away Playing with the truth You said you’d never be a social cemetery Away away away Away away away Away away away Away away away Intellectual You are more shocking than a flaming caravan Enigma through and through No jaded prophecy, or wasted legacy Away away away Away away away Away away away Away away away Painting with your hand Helps you understand The way the light can twist and turn Painting with your mind Maybe you will find The way the light can twist and turn and turn And turn Spending time alone agin You need a holiday, some time to get away Away away away Away away away Away away away Away away away
5.
We Might Drown 03:56
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A course of events draws me to contend With endless sentiments driven by dissent Crossing taboo lines increasingly banal Though some make me smile when perceptively declined But some break the laws for a cause easy to applaud By the lost and supple kind And we walk beside the river Draw swords inside the river If our scorn becomes much bigger we might drown From secluded eyes, bitter, endless lies Spreading through the wires hoping to inspire Feeding the unrest, acceptance of less Becomes meaningless when there’s nothing left Save your hollow words, spare the hurt, spare the hurt, Step out from your fake disguise And we walk beside the river Draw swords inside the river If our scorn becomes the river we might drown Throwing stones, safely holed From behind hidden doors Watch, it might come back twice as hard And we walk beside the river Draw swords inside the river If our scorn becomes the river we might drown
6.
Tiny Steps 03:45
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So dear, it’s a new year What shall we do What we didn’t do last year That’s what we shall do Write down all the failures Nail down where they grew Burn them in the garden Feed the roses in the ruins Tiny steps become less tiny steps As legs leave the ground, defences comes down Leave the rest, and their need to repress Nothing’s done with them around So dear, it’s a crime we’re Prone to looking back Onward is the byword Take the chances while you can Tiny steps become less tiny steps As legs leave the ground, defences comes down Leave the rest, and their need to repress Nothing’s done with them around Crisp new fallen rain dew Morning’s swollen glow Beauty is what I see When I look at what it holds
7.
Take It All 04:46
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Feel the air, watch them stare Thieves, there, every one Waiting for frost to thaw Then move in and some Biding time, faking lines Feed you what you want Give you all one last call Steal your one last coin Take it all, take it all, take it all and run Easy to let them rule Easy to lay back Give away, trust and play Servant to the facts Sign the right dotted line Resign the right to choose So the split that was writ’ Favoured all but you Take it all, take it all, take it all and run Knot the rope, twist and choke Tie you in for good At the gate, dogs will play Toy then chew you up Take it all, take it all, take it all and run Have it all, have it all, grab it all and run
8.
Less In Common Than We'd Like 03:32
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Torn apart and thrown apart This cold spell will give us hell But through the mist some insist it’s fine Funny how we know now The choice between in or out Didn’t have any clout or spine Ever felt that you’ve been dealt Promises that can’t be held Now the spell is broken so we find Less in common than we’d like Some would always bid to stay Others leave, minds up made But the rest played into your hands Sold a dream of days gone by Take control back, now’s the time Trouble is, no-one made a plan Ever felt that you’ve been dealt Promises that can’t be held Now the spell is broken so we find Less in common than we’d like

about

We live in unsettling times. An age where nothing, and everything, is to be believed. Fake news, fake leaders, fake promises built on little but vanity and self gain. Nothing is seemingly out of bounds, especially if it means garnering popularity. Education has always been tailored and spun, according to what a ‘great colonial State’ wants us to absorb. Musicians; charmed into signing on the dotted line, only to reap a disproportionate slice of the rewards they'd been promised. The internet; all consuming for some, and a medium through which communication, compassion and
exchange are facilitated. But also a place from where cowards can hurl their poisonous missiles under inscrutable anonymity. 2020 is the year we left an institution which helped shape our lives and our livelihoods over two generations. Culture, education, arts, shared values and ideas. Freedom to travel, play and work without boundaries or prejudice. But, ultimately sold an insular, utopian dream whilst painting misleading pictures of a big bad ogre. We must however strive to be optimistic, so much good can still be found on this planet. We need to re-model and re-connect, in so many ways. These and other notions are what this album is about.

Much gratitude goes to Stewart & Rob, whose cool playing and arrangements have breathed an indefinable spark into these songs. Our collaboration on this album is a worthy fruition to a seed that was unknowingly sown when we first played together at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2016. Working together on this project, and the sharing of sounds, ideas and vibes, has been a hugely inspiring and rewarding experience.

credits

released September 4, 2020

Darren Black (vocals/guitar)
Stewart Prosser (trumpet/flugelhorn)
Robert Sword (piano)

All songs (words & music) by Darren Black
Trumpet/flugelhorn arrangements by Stewart Prosser
Piano arrangements by Robert Sword

Recorded & produced by Darren Black at The Orchard, Hampshire
Mastered by Al Heslop at Creative Control
Cover design by Darren Black
Cover photograph by Mr. Alec Bowman

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Darren Black Winchester, UK

Darren Black is a Hampshire UK based musician, songwriter and composer whose songs are rooted in sociological and political observation. His latest album 'Empty Halls Can Feel Like crowded Rooms' was released in January 2023.

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