Get all 5 National Steel releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Anemoia, Hiraeth, Threnody, Anomie, and Anhedonia.
1. |
Hiraeth
03:02
|
|||
|
Take all the grievous signs when you’re down again
All these lives behind; but you never know what to wait for
Now and then you get a glimpse of something deep down inside you
But there’s no more ways to go home
there’s no more roads to lead home
All the days past have left you numb
But may the sun shine on days to come
When you fear what you’ve become in the dead of night
Stoned, cold, and hiraeth
Longing for a sense of place when you fall again
Keep all the memories but you never know which are real
Now and then you get a glimpse of some place down inside you
But there’s no more ways to go home
there’s no more roads to lead home
All the days past have left you numb
But may the sun shine on days to come
When you fear what you’ve become in the dead of night
Stoned, cold, and hiraeth
|
||||
2. |
This Old Heart
03:36
|
|||
|
There’s a moment in time
when everything falls away
When there's nothing to know
and nothing left to say
When I’m falling behind
the stars in your eyes keep calling me home
Please just give me a sign
Something to hold
when the waves start breaking again
I’m hiding alone
like the sun on a rainy day
I’m down in this hole
just looking for a way
I’m taking my time
memories don’t go away
I’m closing my eyes
to give this old heart away
When I’m falling behind
the stars in your eyes keep calling me home
|
||||
3. |
No Memory
03:26
|
|||
|
There ain’t nothing left here for us now
Nothing we can do anyhow
There ain’t nothing I could say that could ever change your mind
Nothin I can do to turn back the hands of time
There ain’t no Memory in my mind that could ever compare
To watching you breathlessly coming down the stairs
Now the wind blows cold outside your door
But the tears they don’t fall for you anymore
I once had the key to unlock your heart
But now that key don’t fit the hole and darling I don’t fit the part
There ain’t no Memory in my mind that could ever compare
to you kissing my forehead running your fingers through my hair
Now things just couldn’t stay the same
Because everybody grows and then they change
All the plans that we once had are gone
And I just can’t get used to you darling never coming home
There ain’t no Memory in my mind that could ever compare
To coming home to find you no longer care
|
||||
4. |
Without You
02:39
|
|||
|
When time gets in the way
and the moments are gone
All the old scenes appear
Like stars in this sky
When you do what's right
your doors will open
At the dawn’s first light
I’m dreading the days to come
days to come, days to come
cause I’m finding
It’s a waste without you
it’s a waste without you
I’m finding
it’s a waste without you
at the end of the day]
When life gets in the way
and love is left on the floor
All the old signs appear
like clouds in the sky
When you’re scared you might
close doors still open
When it’s dark as night
I’m dreading the days to come
days to come, days to come
Cause I’m finding
It’s a waste without you
it’s a waste without you
I’m finding
it’s a waste without you
at the end of the day
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
I moved your picture
From my walls
And I replaced them
Both large and small
And each new day
Finds me so blue
Nothing
Takes the place of you
I read your letters one by one
And I still love you
When it's all said and done
And oh, my darling I'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh nothing
Takes the place of you
I, I write this letter
It's raining on my window pane
I, I feel the need of you
Because without you
Nothing seems the same
So I'll wait
Until you're home
Again I love you
But I'm all alone
And oh my darling
I'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh, but nothing takes the place of you
|
||||
6. |
Don't Leave Me Alone
03:56
|
|||
|
The cold dawn
We were standing there in the rain
The twilight
had/is faded and gone away
But we fought on
When the dreams had fallen astray
Give ‘em back or give ‘em up
But don’t give ‘em away
Hey now
We’ve all been too naive
But when it comes around
The feeling still grows
Hold on to my heart
Hold on to my name
When this feeling turns to anger and it’s all slipping away
Leaving me here on a long night dark and cold
Don’t leave me alone
Hope on
When you're dreaming a brand new day
The old times (the daylight)
Made it too hard to carry the weight
But we fight on
When the dreams are falling away
Give ‘em back or give ‘em up
But don’t give ‘em away
Hey now
We all need some time to grieve
But when it comes around
The feeling still grows
Hold on to my to heart
Hold on to my name
When this feeling turns to anger and it’s all slipping away
Leaving me here on a long night dark and cold
Don’t leave me alone
|
||||
7. |
Spread the Light
03:47
|
|||
|
When your mind is in the way
are you gonna find the time
To silence all the sirens in your heart
In times when lies are called the truth
In days when fear is sold as proof
Go find ways to go and spread the light
and take good care of me and you
When the lies are here to stay
Is there a way to walk the line
When they’ve trampled the horizons in your heart
In times when lies are called the truth
In days when fear is sold as proof
Find ways to go and spread the light
and take good care of me and you
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
Mercy holds the night like a child
Streaking sunlight from a wink and a smile
And the softness of your memory is blowing my mind
Like the coldness of the goodbye you’re hiding behind tonight
Drowning my soul with the blink of an eye
Still the world with a softly held sigh
Now I’m not looking for the right words to say
And I don’t expect things to turn out my way tonight
And the river won’t run and the sun it won’t set
Stars wouldn’t shine without you I bet
Lord knows that I don’t want to be here like this tonight
The pain and the sadness just keeps getting worse
Loneliness won’t kill you but you goddamn it hurts
And I feel like I did everything I could
Loneliness won’t kill me
I just wish that it would tonight
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
Every time the siren calls and I'm finding my way from home
Carrying all the weight of lives in the fog of a dream alone
Soul aside and memories drive me on in search of rhyme
I raise myself to southern skies and call on the sun to shine
We're living down these years like a shadow that’s lengthened away
but the memories are comforting somehow
No regrets and no remorse in the shadow of such a time
The only thing to care about now is who will get left behind
Desperate nights and solemn days in the tone of a wailing ode
Cast my sounds out to the sky to return from whence they go
We hide behind a veil of the sorrow long after we go
but the memories are comforting somehow
We hide behind a veil of the sorrow long after we go
but the memories are comforting somehow
but the memories are comforting for now
|
||||
10. |
Stand
03:09
|
|||
|
We’re lost at the end of a dream
but there’s a place in this world
for all who believe
We've got time on our hands
blood in the streets
and a past in the way
Stand when the bleeding is done
It’s all down to you once again
Stand when our grieving is done
It’s all down to us once again
Are you up for the fight?
Walls come crashing around
without a sound
but they're gone all the same
Only time here will tell
what leads us to stand
but not to rebel
Stand when the bleeding is done
It’s all down to you once again
Stand when our grieving is done
It’s all down to us once again
Are you up for the fight?
|
||||
11. |
It's in the Way
03:03
|
|||
|
Why do my skies turn so gray
every time you go away
you leave like a late autumn day
I’m tired of feeling so blue
every time I’m without you
Because it’s in the way
you make it all brand new
it’s in the way that you do
The moon’s hanging low tonight
I’m keeping you right by my side
I’ll follow you down to the end
It’s much too early to be in love
so why am I thinking of
spending the rest of my days with you
if you’d say you’d love me true
Because it’s in the way
you make it all brand new
its in the way that you do
|
||||
National Steel Galesburg, Illinois
National Steel is the retro lo-fi Americana/Indie Pop recording project of Michael Hattem, who, in addition to writing the songs and playing almost all of the instruments, self-produces the records. Referred to as "cosmological freak-out Americana" by one reviewer, National Steel melds indie folk songwriting with retro pop instrumental and production sensibilities. ... more
If you like National Steel, you may also like:
Fear of Frying
by Eggs Over Easy
In honor of the band’s 50th Anniversary, Yep Roc have reissued the 1980 album by pub rock pioneers Eggs Over Easy.
go to album
The latest from Peel Dream Magazine is a conceptual exploration of isolation told via narcotic psych pop inclined towards the whimsical.
go to album
Continue Normal Living
by Absent City
Dreamy, intricate guitar pop from Oakland's Absent City; splashes of accordion, sitar, lap steel, and mandolin add textural richness.
go to album
Soulful indie pop with an ambient twist, the latest from Deau Eyes is ghostly and bewitching.
go to album
Move To The Trees
by Winter McQuinn
Winter McQuinn mixes soft rock and psychedelic folk for a sound reminiscent of classic pop purveyors like Cut Worms and the Lemon Twigs.
go to album
Restless Spirit
by Tucker Riggleman & The Cheap Dates
West Virginia trio showcase strident country rock anchored in bold, anthemic songcraft and deliciously twangy tones.
go to album
A roadtrip-worthy LP of sunbaked cosmic country with lots and lots of riffs from this longtime Oakland band.
go to album
