We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Kick & Rise

by ALEX ST JOAN

supported by
Tinfoil Daisies
Tinfoil Daisies thumbnail
Tinfoil Daisies The first song I listen to when I leave for work in the morning tends to have a decent impact on my mood, or outlook for the day. No matter what new music I find, I come back to this EP more than most to start things off. I love all four tracks, but Unbroken Thread is an amazing open to both this EP and the day. It often helps me to maintain an open and positive state of mind where I might otherwise shutdown and retreat into myself. I wholeheartedly recommend this EP. Favorite track: Unbroken Thread.
urvoss
urvoss thumbnail
wkv78
wkv78 thumbnail
LisbethMcMoch
LisbethMcMoch thumbnail
Christian Förster
Christian Förster thumbnail
Laura Kidd
Laura Kidd thumbnail
Stefan Röhrich
Stefan Röhrich thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €5 EUR  or more

     

  • SPECIAL EDITION - EP with book "Kick & Rise"

    ALEX ST JOAN was born next to a flooded valley in drought-prone Australia and raised on Greek myths and disco. Her debut EP "Kick & Rise" (Zellephan Records) features 4 distinctive songs that discard the posturing of youth and lay down what it is to be an adult; vulnerable and fully accountable.

    To celebrate this first release, ALEX ST JOAN has created a special edition book containing her own stories and artwork to accompany each song. Drawing from the likes of the Brothers Grimm but with a modern twist, each story and illustration mirrors the themes central to the songs and provides a window into ALEX ST JOAN's creative world. The book is signed by the author and comes with a CD (as well as an automatic download of the EP).

    Sold Out
1.
Unbroken Thread 04:20
lyrics
buy track
The morning is calling Your body is stalling The silence is daunting But the day demands you play your hand And make an entrance This ride is over but you do not know it yet This nightmare has closure but you can’t let go of it Look over your shoulder and see the unbroken thread You are only ever one step away from the clear Because you see, my dear There’s less bad than good here This strife is over but you do not know it yet This nightmare has closure but you can’t let go of it Look over your shoulder and see the unbroken thread All of the things that you see as your failings are made up All the reasons you give for negating yourself, you have made up You are only ever one step from giving the shame up, dear Behind the grey it’s clear There’s less bad than good here This fight is over so you can let go of it A new life draws closer so you should grab hold of it Look over your shoulder and see the unbroken thread You are the sailor come home, free Riding in on the driftwood You are only just beginning to see What it is that you’ve misunderstood That there’s less bad than good here There’s less bad than good
2.
Kick & Rise 04:50
lyrics
buy track
Black, the black has blossomed A crack an ocean wide The pilot has abandoned Her palace in the sky And I - I wear your crown Like a drowning man keeps Reaching out for the one Dragging him down I love, I love the darkness The silence in the dell The swelling of the morning And all the tales you tell But even in sunlight I cannot see myself Reflected in them very well My form shifts and swells If your love, love, is endless If your confidence crosses divides If your joy is my joy is your joy is my joy Let me kick, kick, kick - and rise For those of us who are breathing The air we draw into our lungs Is also always leaving The breath it is always completing Just as it’s begun And yet it returns If your love, love, is endless If your confidence crosses divides If your joy is my joy is your joy is my joy Let me kick, kick, kick - and rise
3.
Fish Lament 05:27
lyrics
buy track
Well into half the night, light shifted Broke up the colours and hues She let go of reason here, toes dipped in crimson Black blossoms the current And custom dictates she give in Your only opponent is the salt water Why alter your fate, oh you land-lover! Oh daughter… And walking on knives is no light price to pay, my dear Souls are no lighter than love undeclared Scissor-steps bring you much closer to splendour But when that coat’s worn through you’re bare Be wary of your yearnings Such burnings die out with the dawn We all long for glory But you want to write your own and leave us alone Leave us alone But you’re our salt and bone You are sunlight and foam You are bracken and brine You’re the fall and the climb And you’re only a child So - stay! With the light on the waves With the ocean’s embrace With the shadows and shale With the pearl and the pale and the pull of the moon With the twist of our tails and our stories and tunes With the fall and the dive and the call of the whales With the salt and the brine and the billowing sails With the rule of the tide where the baleen holds sway And you’re with your kind Do not leave us behind
4.
The Heart Of It 03:55
lyrics
buy track
Get to the bit where it hurts Get to the dregs and the dirt - the best of the worst Just get to the part where it bursts Skip to the heart of the curse - get to the bit where… Get to the heart of it I offer up my glitches, colourful and bold You offer words of comfort when comfort is cold I believe you, oh I believe you The fire is building, the building’s burning down I would leave here, oh I would leave But I’m built for the battle So get to the bit where it hurts Get to the dregs and the dirt - the best of the worst Just get to the part where it bursts Skip to the heart of the curse - get to the bit where… Get to the heart of it I string my phrases like a necklace made of gold You pole-vault over form with nothing to withhold I believe you, oh I believe you The fire is burning, your words are going down I would leave here, oh I would leave But I’m up for the outcome So get to the bit where it hurts Get to the dregs and the dirt - the best of the worst Just get to the part where it bursts Skip to the heart of the curse - get to the bit where… I believe you, oh I believe you The fire is burning, your words are going down I would leave here, oh I would leave But I’m in for the long run Oh get to the bit where it hurts Get to the dregs and the dirt - the best of the worst Just get to the part where it bursts Skip to the heart of the curse - get to the bit where… Get to the heart of it

about

ALEX ST JOAN is the avant-garde pop project from musician and producer Alexia Peniguel. She works with layered vocals and sampled sounds to create a brand of avant-garde pop that could only come out of Berlin. Her debut EP KICK & RISE (Zellephan Records) features 4 distinctive songs that discard the posturing of youth and lay down what it is to be an adult; vulnerable and fully accountable.

Whether using fractured synth-saxophones to hammer out a paean to self-determination in title track KICK & RISE or building the poignant UNBROKEN THREAD around a heartbeat both literally and metaphorically, ALEX ST JOAN is not taking the easy way out. “All of the things that you see as your failings are made up” is a contender for one of the most emotionally sharp lines of the year, yet it’s delivered with such hopeful romanticism one might be forgiven for not noticing the thorns amongst the flowers.

On the surface, the songs have a softness and beauty to them, brought about not only by the clarity of ALEX ST JOAN’s voice, but through an underlying thread of compassion. At the same time, they share an edge and unflinching candour that can only come about when you take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror. These are adult dilemmas; not boy meets girl, but woman meets morality, agency, self-actualisation.

“Get to the bit where it hurts / get to the dregs and the dirt / the best of the worst”, is ALEX ST JOAN’s brave demand and indeed she does. In merely 4 songs, she builds a framework for us to face our fears, ask the tough questions and then let them go when we realise that we do not have all the answers and we probably never will: “The fire is burning / your words are going down / I would leave here, oh I would leave / but I’m in for the long run”.

credits

released May 3, 2019

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

ALEX ST JOAN image

ALEX ST JOAN Berlin, Germany

ALEX ST JOAN is the multi-faceted creation of musician, producer and writer Alexia Peniguel. Born next to a flooded valley in drought-prone Australia and raised on Greek myths and disco, she has been based in Berlin since 2004.

contact / help

Contact ALEX ST JOAN

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like ALEX ST JOAN, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Beans joins the show to discuss his album release, "ZWAARD".

listen now