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Franklin Bruno - Hermetic Geometry (1993) [Baby Huey, BABY-005, 7"]

What Does This 7" Sound Like?

Solo Franklin!

Descriptions of this release from available catalog inserts:

[Insert from BABY 005]
"Solo bliss from Nothing Painted Blue's singer/guitarist. Two beautiful songs, two whimsical
earcandies and one early embarrassment. Is he overeducated or are you undereducated?"

[Insert from BABY 007]
"Solo bliss from Nothing Painted Blue's singer/guitarist. Two beautiful songs, two whimsical
earcandies and one early embarrassment."

[Insert from WALT 003]
"My favorite 7" of 1992 had me listening to "In A Sourceless Light" all summer. Five songs... ballads, beats, noise, and a harrowing version of "I Will Survive".

A1 - In A Sourceless Light
A2 - Soggy Girl
A3 - About You I'd Ask
B1 - Keeping The Weekend Free
B2 - I.W.S. (1987)

B2 is an acoustic cover of "I Will Survive". 

It looks like all tracks from the A-side, as well as B1, appear on Fayettenam compilation "Local Currency: Solo 1992-1998", though I'm waiting on a copy to tell you if anything sounds different. The "two beautiful songs" mentioned in the catalog inserts are "In A Sourceless Light" and "Keeping The Weekend Free", and wow, no kidding. "About You I'd Ask" with its sound collage and quiet talk brings Furniture Huschle material to mind. Great stuff here. Reissue, anyone...? 

Transcribed from the sleeve:

HERMETIC GEOMETRY. Franklin Bruno, 4-track, file cabinet. Recorded in Claremont, Winter 1992, except as noted. Mixed Feb.16
with Rob DeChaine at Brilliant Noise. Thanks: Annick Garcia, Bill Chen, Lucy Beloian, Joe & Jess, The Meandering Verga, Jupa, 
Shrimper, NPB, Refrigerator, The Bedshredders, Shoeface, Guffey, Nick's, Munchies, KSPC, The Altered Mind, Rollerderby, Brunos,
DiTommasos, five paperboard disks, covered with illustrations of shells and diagram of constellation Lyra. Songs 1-4 copyright control.
Baby Huey Records, 9028 Rancho Real, Temple City, CA 91780. BABY 005.
 

Lyrics by ear (open to corrections as ever):

A1. In A Sourceless Light

look at the day
dressed in copper lame
and it's trying your glass slippers on

i sit in the dark
and i listen to mark
asking where has that last firefly gone

look out for the glare
when you send up a flare
like an unanswered prayer to st. jude

but you'd

look better
in a sourceless light
in a sourceless light
yeah you'd look better
if your shadow didn't follow you around

watching you lean on the dim mezzanine
i take off my shades and i squint
i'm taking my time but i don't think that i'm
taking what you politely call hints
the road's bright as ice
and the same mistake twice
means i won't get my license renewed 

but you'd

look better
in a sourceless light
in a sourceless light
yeah you'd look better
if your shadow didn't follow you around

and it's so goddamn joseph cornell
glass unto glass unto glass
a pharmacy with nothing to sell
a bright brass clapper in search of a bell
in search of a bell
in search of a bell

it's filling with rust
and terminal crust
all bodies combust
when they lose altitude

you'd

look better
in a sourceless light
in a sourceless light
yeah you'd look better
in a sourceless light
in a sourceless light
yeah you'd look better
if your shadow didn't follow you around
but it looks as though you're tethered to the ground
just like every pound of flesh i've ever found

A2. Soggy Girl

soggy girl, so eager
makes you feel like a minor leaguer
soggy girl, so eager
top speed but you can't pity her
hobby horse, no recourse
crush yourself underneath the cheap boards
hobby horse, no recourse
use you up like a natural resource

[middle part here, i am lost on most of the lyrics]

drink the toast 
to the coast of brisbane

A3. About You I'd Ask

here comes your chariot
here comes your champion
he's testing out the reins so he can ride into your sun
no golden lariat
no mate to testify
i know you've got a lot to say
most of it's goodbye
most of it's good narrative
the thread that binds the bait
so why is it imperative
to stretch the truth so straight
when you could bury it
all crumpled in some drawer
an icon no one clicks on
a file won't retrieve and can't restore

B1. Keeping The Weekend Free

you're mental miles away
long distance some might say
but i can't hear you say it
time takes its toll but you still have to pay it

whose charges get reversed
all depends on who calls first
you hang up in anger
why raise a fist when you can't lift a finger

keeping the weekend free
in the event you call
keeping myself locked up
letting the weekend go
waiting for my parole

your seven digits far
however close we are
close to desperation
until you called with your canned invitation

you took to me
like an axe takes to a tree
i was felled, you followed
some lines are occupied
some rings are hollow

keeping the weekend free
in the event you call
keeping myself locked up
letting the weekend go
waiting for my parole

Click any thumbnail below to view a full size scan:

   

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