After a series of successful European shows throughout 2014, including opening the David Bowie exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin and supporting The Irrepressibles in London, Alexander Geist returns with his third single. An emotive and immediate track, “Malediction” continues the dandyish lineage of provocative pop, compounding on Sparks, The Smiths and Fosca. A dreamy and conflicted love song with a wry lyrical outlook, the Italo-tinged ballad showcases a new poignancy in Geist’s arch vocabulary. Following the tune’s popularity in the live shows, bandmates Joey Hansom and Ben Jackson produced the song in Berlin this winter, providing an icy aura that almost captures the condensation of Alexander’s breath as he sings.
After the 7″ vinyl of “Bad Language” and the artwork poster of “A Woman’s Right to Choose”, the physical release for “Malediction” arrives as a handwritten love letter from Alexander Geist himself, mailed out to fans across the world, with an enclosed photo shot in collaboration with photographer Adrian Lourie. The image was inspired by discarded and rediscovered family snapshots, imagining scenes from the song played out for the camera.
lyrics
We meet in Treptow late at night
We go shoplifting in the snow
We walk for hours, we don’t go home
And we can really talk for miles
Of the great, the good of old film noir
From Crawford to Raymond Chandler
And you have all the charm in the world
Your body’s Apollonian
A night with you’s utopian
It’s just the junk that makes me sick
But tell me, who on earth am I to judge?
You thrill me when you’re not on drugs
But when you are
But when you are
But when you are
Oh, we make love
I have the greatest nights with you
No, I never want to leave this room
The walls could fall, and I would be entombed
I guess we squander too much time
All those wasted hours I can’t begrudge
Oh how you thrill me when you’re not on drugs
But when you are
But when you are
But when you are
Oh, we make love
credits
released 09 March 2015
Written by JJ Bibby & Joey Hansom
Produced by Ben Jackson & Joey Hansom
Saxophone by Matthias Mann
Recorded at Stroller Studios by Snax
Mixed by Justin Merdsoy
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