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Crystal Thomas & the Flowers of Evil

by Crystal Thomas

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1.
Tom Foolery 06:24
Tom Foolery Two O’clock Monday morning Foveaux Street was like a ghost town Except for a handful of us Liquored to the eyeballs Making our presence felt Doing the fandango A Sunday night lock in down at the X An old bar transformed into fun house Debauchery at it’s finest and most ridiculous The love addicts brought the circus to town and made the carnival start Stalking the floor boards under a dim red glow in the back room There you were With kohl lined eyes that smeared and melted into panda eyes by the nights end Shirtless and unloading your lusting pleas into the microphone all hungry and predatory An aura of fornication and brutality A silver snake spine wrist chain made from the vertebrae of a python And inked skin One tattoo, two bluebirds with the words ‘To my one and only true love’ yourself Cause you can’t trust women to stick around I’ve been missing you Love and kisses to boot When the X closed it’s doors for the night The love addicts and an entourage of drunken weirdos’ sprawled out Onto Foveaux Street Heading towards Joes In the kitchen the fluros’ were buzzing And cockroaches were on the prowl investigating left overs We were handing around a rolled up five dollar note thanks to generous Joe Everything was strange, distorted, thrilling, grimy. I was wearing my route 66 boots and an evening dress You said “hey, great boots baby” You were wearing a pair of snakeskin boots and scarlet pants You said “ lets swap boots for the night” You wrote your number on my arm Said “ call me tomorrow and we’ll swap back” But we never did. This was an alternate world, a parallel universe Where the stars twinkled brightly And the ocean roared along with the night owls And the music never stopped And daylight never came round to shed light On the darkness. Sometimes I long for that carnival to start The neon frowns to fade into the blackness And the warm, The warm embrace of the night The judgements and criticisms of daylight to pale into insignificance Under the dim red glow in the back room To shed the suits off business types and lull them into the funhouse Bare and brazen. I’ve been missing you Love and kisses to boot You coloured in the world With big bloody red brush strokes Memories and snapshots of hard drinking, hard love And bruised hearts on torn sleeves There were belly laughs and open arms There was always something crazy going on We’d feast on each Others words Declarations through clouds of camel cigarettes and bourbon soaked vocal chords And thankyou for introducing me to Peking duck There’s no one like you Love and kisses to boot And Kisses to boot baby Kisses to boot Kisses to boot There’s no one like you No one like you No one like you
2.
Madhouse 03:49
Madhouse You are on the outside looking in Through the smoke and through the mirrors You reveal yourself Only in song And it’s a beautiful thing And it’s absurd You were Naïve But you got tough And you made me see Had I remained a stranger to your song Would I have been drawn to this? With lyric labourers’ Labouring in vain A melody merchant Sings to an ashtray The last remaining pleasures Sold for a song Your downfall Was my sing-A-Long. See the loners and the gypsies and the odd-balls See the starry-eyed fame chasers, reflection gazers The scammers, the schemers, the leeches, the preachers The jokers, the conmen and the people full of holes. Listen quietly when the wind blows Had I remained a stranger to your song Would I have been drawn to this? Had I remained a stranger to your song Would I have been drawn to you?
3.
No Vacancy 02:18
No Vacancy You loved me You loved me You loved me You eyes danced with mine And I loved you I loved you I loved you Under a neon sign And we loved We loved We loved A shroud of secrecy Over two bodies That would buzz Like neon Motel signs No vacancy No vacancy No vacancy Your eyes danced with mine
4.
Beauty And The Magician She’s a sweet young thing With a red ripe heart I’m just an old magician With a bag of tricks She moans so softly you're too good to be true Baby girl that’s cause I aint but I know a trick or two Love without the magic Is just a pretty picture Magic without the love Is just a bag of tricks She knows where I’m sore Her hands are healing I could make her believe Almost anything I call the shots And she plays along She gives herself So endlessly Love without the magic Is just a pretty picture Magic without the love Is just a bag of tricks I’m dashing and daring I’m cunning and clever I brighten up the colours Of her world See romantic love baby It leaves you wide open But she looks so pretty When she’s weeping As I’m leaving Love without the magic Is just a pretty picture Magic without the love Is just a bag of tricks
5.
Little Blue Flowers Jack watches his pretty neighbour Idle plough, wasted labour Hat on his heart, darkening fields Lonely crops that jut won’t yield Dirty fingers and sun baked skin A working mans stench and a hip flask of gin Heavy lids lift in sunken sockets A handkerchief and blade in his left pocket Where she lay, so still Little blue flowers bloom In seeds, dirt and agony Little blue flowers bloom The wind danced around her legs Whipping, taunting and teasing up her dress Her hands full of pegs and wet clothes She bit her bottom lip as he approached Water dripping her grip so tight Her knuckles started turning white He said do you live here alone? He broke her defences like little bird bones Where she lay, so still Little blue flowers bloom In seeds, dirt and agony Little blue flowers bloom He saw a thousand sorrows unfold She’s a beautiful disaster and I’m way too old But he could smell her hair like new mown hay It made him fell a certain way Her pink skin dusted in washing powder Her dress was white with little blue flowers It hung at her knees and split open Like an invitation Where she lay, so still Little blue flowers bloom In seeds, dirt and agony Little blue flowers bloom Pitchfork eyes and grinning The washing line spinning The wind moaned the trees’ groaned Where she lay, so still Little blue flowers bloom In seeds, dirt and agony Little blue flowers bloom
6.
Last Night’s Stars When moonlight it spills Across your skin Without speaking a word It’s time to begin In a pattern of shadows Desire remains One kiss before dawn And all will be changed When moonlight spills over the world And the edges are smudged When the light is muted I have a new sense of distance I float through ten crowds hanging on To last night’s stars Though the day is bleaching It won’t stop these feelings Coming on Come on Come on The endlessness of evening Come on The urgency of night Come on Allowing you concessions When you dim the light This morning I am dressed in dreams If not for you This world I never would see Floating through the rush of one hundred long faces When the sun is bleaching last night’s stars from the ceiling Hang on Hang on Hang on To whatever you can Hang on Like they’re invisible Hang on In Monday morning’s black and grey I am dressed in dreams Come on The endlessness of evening Come on The urgency of night Come on Allowing you concessions When you dim the light Stay Stay the whole night And don’t Run away In the light And if last night’s stars weren’t real I don’t care Close my eyes And I’ll find you there Come on Come on Come on
7.
Afterthoughts Gentle kisses Gentle lies Fingers pressing Into thighs Bodily percussion With lips and limbs Talking pretty stories As you reel me in I knew not of the hook I didn’t see the line In the heat Tangled like twine Your body all Caught up in mine Fingers pressing Into thighs He said, “Why do you, Close your eyes when I’m making, Making love?” Love to you, I’m aching love. Aching in the shadows of. Gentle kisses Gentle lies We’re half dressed In the half light Your eyes burn My skins on fire Let’s keep a score Of how many times One, two Three, four You say pretty things You reel me in I follow lines Round your crooked face As the sweat dries And desire dies. He said, “Why do you, Close your eyes when I’m making, Making love?” Love to you, I’m aching love. Aching in the shadows of. I close my eyes Cause I know I close my eyes Cause I’m hooked.
8.
Pretty Pink Clouds Remember, the weary service smile Remember, pamphlets and brochures Remember, silence heavy and loaded Remember, being bound by inertia Remember, arms folded tightly Remember a fluorescent room Remember, you’d have called her Violet Remember, that horribly familiar tune Powdered coffee in a plastic cup Confused and inarticulate I close my eyes and I picture you And I remember what we used to do How we used to Where we used to How good it used to be. Everything was sanitised Remember, you sat hushed and sterilised Remember, the metal was cold against your thighs Remember, counting back from ten Remember, you made it down to five Remember, your eyes closed like heavy gates Remember, there was no going back Remember, blood and water made pretty pink clouds Powdered coffee in a plastic cup Confused and inarticulate I close my eyes and I picture you And I remember what we used to do How we used to Where we used to How good it used to be. Plastic coffee in a powdered cup You held my hair while I was throwing up I close my eyes and I picture you And I remember what we used to do How we used to Where we used to How good it used to be. Remember Remember Remember Remember Remember me.
9.
No Return 03:37
No Return Well I guess I got over your original sin But you really shouldn’t have done it again Once is for maybe Twice is for sure Once is the couch Twice is the door One day one door opens You thought you were good at sneaking around Your sneaking turned into the talk of the town Once is for rumour Twice is for true Once is ok Twice is fuck you One day one door opens And you can’t help yourself The door the door It’ll slam behind you So don’t even think to turn Just keep, just keep Right on walking There is no, No return You thought you made peace the first time round Now I’ve gone crazy and you’ve gone to ground Once is for evening Twice is for night Once is for talking Twice deadly quiet. One day one door opens And you can’t help yourself So you walk through that door You said you were wrong you took the blame You said you were wrong then you did it again Once is for talking Twice it’s all said Once two are hurting Twice one is dead One day one door opens And you can’t help yourself So you walk through that door And the door slams behind you The door the door It’ll slam behind you So don’t even think to turn Just keep, just keep Right on walking There is no, No return From the time for you to go There is no return From the land of shadows There is no return From the vale of sorrow There is no return From the dark tomorrow There is no return From the end of sunlight There is no return From eternal midnight There is no return From the spiders funnel There is no return From the long blue tunnel There is no return You’re dead and gone
10.
Heat Is Rising I looked in the mirror And put some lipstick on To make me feel pretty To pretend nothings wrong There’s dead air in here And nothing’s getting done These lonely days all seem To roll into one Grief came crawling As strange aches and pains I think all of the fighting Has made me sick today The sun is rising The heat is rising There’s so much I could be saying But I’m not in the mood My bedside wind up clock Tells me I’m alive It’s almost soothing Hearing time ticking by I’ve nothing to show For all this time alone The guitar lazy on its’ stand An inkless pen in my hand The radio plays The same mindless songs This yearning almost bores me And nothing turns me on The sun is rising The heat is rising There’s so much I could be saying But I’m not in the mood The sun is rising The heat is rising There’s so much I could be saying There’s so much I could do

about

2008 - Debut studio album

The Flowers Of Evil released their debut album in October 2008 on Stovepipe Records, distributed through MGM. It is also available to download through Musicplug & Itunes.

The Flowers Of Evil’s self – titled, debut album was recorded in Matt Walker’s studio - the 8 Track Shack - recording their debut album, with Matt at the helm as mentor and producer. The album also features guest performances by Conway Savage (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds), Rui Pereira (The Drones), Matt Walker, Jen Anderson and Liz Stringer.

credits

released October 3, 2008

Digipak
Produced by Matt Walker
Recorded @ the 8 - Track Shack
Engineered by Dave Manton
Mixed @ Jim Moginie’s studio in Sydney by Dave Manton and Matt Walker
Mastered by Colin Wynne at Thirty Mill Studios, Melbourne
Cloud artwork by Kerrie Levier
Photograph by Tony Mahoney
Design by Myf Walker

Crystal Thomas: Vocals, Guitar, Piano & Clarinet
Matt Walker: Guitar, Piano, Tambura & Backing Vocals.
Clare Moore: Drums, Percussion, Vibes and Backing Vocals
Tim McCormack: Electric and Upright Bass. Backing Vocals
Matt Green: Guitar, Mandolin and Samples
Conway Savage: Vocals on No Vacancy
Rui Pereira: Sonic Landscaping Guitar on Beauty and The Magician and Pretty Pink Clouds
Dave Manton: Organ, Backing vocals and samples
Jen Anderson and Liz Stringer: Violin, Viola and Cello on No Vacancy and Last Night’s Stars

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about

Crystal Thomas St Kilda, Australia

Who is Crystal Thomas?

Crystal has spent fifteen years in Melbourne's music scene, has written and recorded two EPs and released two studio albums.

She's collaborated with musicians including Bill Chambers, Conway Savage, Claire Moore, Matt Walker, Spencer P Jones, Mick Harvey, Tex Perkins and Don Walker.

A music project dawning takes her to new territory musically and geographically.
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