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Ordinary Life

by We Are The Union

supported by
Jim W
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Jim W Joyous, upbeat, comtemplating big things with skankin' joy! And as queer as 2023 should be! Favorite track: Morbid Obsessions.
werederg
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werederg God this album is a banger! It always surprises me how much queer music hits different for me. Not that this isn’t fantastic all on its own, but god as a trans person myself it just resonates with my soul. It was so hard to pick a fave track, too! I’m sure it’ll change every time I listen to it, bc they are all just so good! Favorite track: Short Circuit.
kette_cat
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kette_cat The most important album of 2021. It makes me so emotional to list to it and every minute is just beautiful. Favorite track: December.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" Vinyl LP of ORDINARY LIFE on Neon Green Vinyl.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ordinary Life via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $22 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD Version of "Ordinary Life" by We Are The Union. Comes in Digipack case with full printed lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ordinary Life via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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

      $12 USD  or more

     

  • 12" Vinyl Ordinary Life - 5th Pressing
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" Vinyl LP of Ordinary Life by We Are The Union, on white with green pink and yellow splatter.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ordinary Life via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
Pasadena 02:42
you woke up to an empty apartment in pasadena counted back on the calendar every month you knew you had to leave her and it’s a shame your secret smokes in the alleyway to numb the pain to escape the everyday mundane every day somber and despondent on a sunlit afternoon digging in the graveyard every argument you ever had exhumed and it’s a shame your secret smokes in the alleyway to numb the pain to escape the everyday mundane every day’s mundane every day is the same underwater you can’t breathe without her underwater you can’t breathe without her and it’s a shame your secret smokes in the alleway to numb the pain cause you still carry all that weight alleviate and escape the everyday mundane every day’s mundane every day is the same.
2.
let go of these morbid obsessions every thought feels like a confession she said, she said, she said: “if i get one life, gonna do what i want if i get one life, i’m gonna do what i want” she was a mess she was a mess at seventeen running down a dream stuck in this endless empty feeling give it a rest give it a rest chasing the girls around her lonely heart was a ghost town they said “son, you better settle down” and let go of these morbid obsessions every thought feels like a confession she said, she said, she said: “if i get one life, gonna do what i want if i get one life, i’m gonna do what i want” now in come the drugs in come the drugs and the booze razors, wrists, and self abuse trapped like a rat, got nothing left to lose she wanted a dress like all the other girls a head full of curls they said “son, you can’t always get what you want in this world” let go of these morbid obsessions every thought feels like a confession she said, she said, she said: “if i get one life, gonna do what i want if i get one life, i’m gonna do what i want” woah, oh a heart of glass, a head of stone woah, oh a head of stone let go of these morbid obsessions every thought feels like a confession she said, she said, she said: “if i get one life, gonna do what i want if i get one life, i’m gonna do what i want i’m gonna do what i want if i get one life, i’m gonna do what i want.”
3.
i get fed up with myself my mind went manic and jumped over the details again flat tires and amplifiers can we go back to the beginning? sorry getting used to the side eye the constant feeling i let you down when i can’t sit still missed anniversaries the broken horse on a carousel the circus is in town you wanna go, but you’ve already seen the clown it’s always half as fun as we think but i don’t wanna let you down i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t trace all the loose wires in my head wander under the night sky my therapist says i’m self aware, not great with boundaries afraid to disappoint so i fail everyone around me walk the bridge at caltech, retrace all my past steps i’m one thousand thoughts a second, now you’re headed to the exit i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t trace all the loose wires in my head i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t blame you before i short circuit again hello, distraction, you’re the rain to my little cloud hello, distraction, take me down hello, distraction, you’re the storm chasing me now hello, distraction, take me down i’m too impatient with myself my thoughts went silent and lost track of the motivation i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t trace all the loose wires in my head i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t blame you before i short circuit again i can’t blame you for leaving i can’t blame you before i short circuit again short circuit again hello, distraction take me down.
4.
Broken Brain 02:40
rest in pieces, my broken brain if it’s all the same to you then i’ll come unglued motionless on the lawn, staring off into pale blue racing thoughts in the photo booth hey, yeah what do you want me to do? hey, yeah when i’m lost in my thoughts again lost in my thoughts again lists inside of lists, a labyrinth how do people do the things they plan to? lost the day again laying in the grass sweating every conversation i’ve ever had what do you want me to do hey, yeah when i’m lost in my thoughts again lost in my thoughts again it’s not that i wasn’t listening but i struggle with attention and i’m lost in my thoughts again pull me out before i drown in all my awkward memories lost thoughts and “what was i gonna do todays?” pull me out, just pull me out when i’m lost in my thoughts again lost in my thoughts again it’s not that i wasn’t listening but i struggle with attention and i’m lost in my thoughts again lost in my thoughts again lost in my thoughts again it’s not that i wasn’t listening but i struggle with attention and i’m lost in my thoughts again.
5.
Make it Easy 03:48
i’ve been thinking ‘bout your taxidermy dreams conjured future memories of you and me i’ve been thinking ‘bout your taxidermy dreams conjured future memories of you and me between the evergreens what would you do if you knew i think your cold-hearted act is cute and I wanna drive west and kiss you? i can’t speak and i can’t sleep tessa, tell me that you love me, make it easy i’ve been thinking bout a silver screen love just a supercut of us in faded colors like wes anderson i’m painted porcelain traded drags outside the melody, hey your friends asked if we were on a date you said “ask me again in a decade” i can’t speak and i can’t sleep tessa, tell me that you love me, make it easy i can’t speak and i can’t sleep tessa, tell me that you want me, make it easy tell me that you love me, oh cause in my heart it’s the day i met you and it’s butterflies at the bar and in my mind you dream about me too backs on the hood, staring back at the start in heaven with you in heaven with you i can’t speak and i can’t sleep tessa, tell me that you love me, make it easy i can’t speak and i can’t sleep tessa, tell me that you want me, make it easy tell me that you need me, oh.
6.
we hear the jokes you make we hear the nasty words you say i’ll never get it, it’s so pathetic does your tiny brain make you this way? maybe mama didn’t tell you that she loved you enough now you’re feeling extra small, and you want to feel tough well i’ve got some news for you we don’t give a shit what you do or at all about you boys will be girls girls will be boys and everybody in between we’ll all be who we want to be oh, who we want to be was there a thought worth exploring when you woke up this morning? cause nobody’s laughing, and your ego’s lacking must be sad to be so boring maybe you should take a look in the mirror, love cause your outfit and outlook are ugly as fuck and i’ve got some news for you still don’t give a shit what you do or at all about you boys will be girls girls will be boys and everybody in between we’ll all be who we want to be boys will be girls girls will be boys and everybody in between we’ll all be who we want to be oh, who we want to be throw a tantrum, hold a sign as the infantry arrives we’ll take back the city tonight the kids will be alright your old ways will die in the darkest depths we’ll stand here in the light boys will be girls girls will be boys and everybody in between we’ll all be who we want to be boys will be girls girls will be boys and everybody in between we’ll all be who we want to be oh, who we want to be oh, who we want to be.
7.
Wasted 03:03
it’s a beautiful day to waste away turn off your brain and disintegrate shoulders wide, nausea at your knees self destruction to kill the lonely so we swim in dread, we’re crawling the walls, and falling in to madness intoxication and now i’m wasted, where did everybody go? wasted, where did everybody go? now i’m all alone singing “hey hey hey, why didn’t you say so?” talk to statues in the entryway needles and green pills and tooth decay had to quit cigarettes for the third time... ...today please inject me with iced coffee and estrogen we’re panicking again and now i’m wasted, where did everybody go? wasted, where did everybody go? now i’m all alone singing “hey hey hey, why didn’t you say so?” wasted, where did everybody go? wasted, where did everybody go? and now i’m all alone singing “run, run, run, we’re running in circles every damn day, just running in circles.”
8.
Big River 03:14
man, i feel like shit today head full of doubt, and i can’t carry all that weight catch my reflection and it’s killing me i’m not what you see woah when you don’t fit in your skin locked in a permanent prison are you feeling disconnected? out of sight, out of mind, wearing down big river, carry me away hold my head up as i float into the gray find me an island where i can be me woah when you don’t fit in your skin locked in a permanent prison are you feeling disconnected? out of sight, out of mind, wearing down are you feeling disconnected? like a song without a sound a song without a sound diagnosis depression and dysphoria when you’re alive, but your friends and family’s mourning ya but if our stubborn bones can grow new on their own then we can change ourselves, and build a better home are you feeling disconnected? out of sight, in your mind, wearing down are you feeling disconnected? out of sight, out of mind, wearing down are you feeling disconnected? like a song, a song without a sound a song without a sound.
9.
she got in over her head chemicals race and cover her in concrete in her bed let the devil show find the fear inside and walk through the night alone in those recurring dreams the ones where shadows crawl from every crack in every seam she found a place to hide where death and dying ease her mind, cause she still wakes up alive twisted like twine, but that’s alright can’t live an ordinary life she can’t live an ordinary life city life was a drag she packed her bags and picked a random spot out on the map let the ghost guide her home drove into the night and found she was better off alone twisted like twine, but that’s alright can’t live an ordinary life can’t live an ordinary life she could never just shut up and color between the lines can’t live an ordinary life find hope in the strangest places moonlight hallucinations and we’ll find our own ways find our own ways meditation and medication can’t live an ordinary life can’t live an ordinary life she could never just shut up and color between the lines can’t live an ordinary life.
10.
i’m always lonely on crowded holidays with your family i’m wilted flowers drying by the window pane bumming everyone out throw me away we left the party separate ways cause i’m married to the music and my stupid dreams twelve calendars in flames, but you can’t stay you got tired of waiting around for me we’ll say it’s better this way but if i’m being honest it’s a bust smoking cigarettes alone instead of doing nothing with you smoking cigarettes alone instead of doing nothing with you i’m difficult, exhausted always chasing half baked plans flying through the sky like a saucer darting light speed through each misfired synapse you deserve a good life with someone who can make it home for dinner order takeout food and hang out on the couch all night but i’m a disappearing act, i wander and take flight we’ll say it’s better this way but if i’m being honest it’s a bust drinking white claws alone instead of watching tv with you and if i’m being honest it’s a bust doing everything alone instead of doing nothing with you instead of doing nothing with you instead of doing nothing with you instead of doing nothing with you instead of doing nothing with you.
11.
December 03:42
change your clothes in the shadows let nothing pass through lonely doorways your sand castle crumbles, but you’ve never been better is it real if we don’t swim in the shame? like a swing set in the sea we are anything but ordinary you’ll be dead in december you’re always on guard in a beach house of cards keep watch through fragments of glass i know about your secrets in the ceiling, while you’re screaming every night about the shape of your hands like a swing set in the sea we are anything but ordinary you’ll be dead in december there can’t be two of us forever embrace the endless changes, flames to corners of our pages there can’t be two of us forever a slow weave through abandoned streets technicolor tapestry, as half of me is dying the only difference between a garden and a graveyard is what you bury in it you’re not who you think you are so let go of old ghosts, let your hair grow you’ll be dead in december there can’t be two of us forever embrace the endless changes, flames to corners of our pages there can’t be two of us forever dead in december there can’t be two of us forever forever like a swing set in the sea we are everything but ordinary.

about

We Are The Union is a band with many homes, but is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Drawing heavily on ska, pop, and punk rock, the band’s 2021 full length, ‘Ordinary Life,’ balances soul crushing lyrics about dysphoria and heartbreak with endless hooks and furiously catchy choruses. The album, which serves as vocalist Reade Wolcott’s coming out as a trans woman, was recorded in secret in a rented house in Joshua Tree with producer Jon Graber.

credits

released June 4, 2021

All songs written by Reade Wolcott
All songs performed by We Are The Union and:
Tenor Saxophone on tracks 1-9 & 11 performed by Kevin Miller
Baritone Saxophone on tracks 1-9 & 11 performed by Kevin Miller
Trumpet on tracks 1-9 & 11 performed by David Miller
Trumpet on track 9 performed by Scott Klopfenstein
Background Vocals on tracks 1, 2, 4-9, & 11 performed by Nicole Oliva
Background Vocals on tracks 2, 4, 9, & 11 performed by Jon Graber
Synthesizer on tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, & 11 performed & programmed by Jon Graber
Synthesizer on tracks 1, 3, & 4 performed by Reade Wolcott
Drums on track 6 performed by Kenny Lane Schwartz
Auxiliary Percussion on tracks 1-9 & 11 performed by Kenny Lane Schwartz
Additional Auxiliary Percussion on track 5 performed by Jon Graber & Reade Wolcott
Additional Drums on track 1 performed by Kenny Lane Schwartz
Rusty Goat Bell on track 7 performed by Kenny Lane Schwartz
Electronic Drums on track 6 programmed by Reade Wolcott
Guitar Solo on track 7 performed by Jon Graber
Bass on track 9 performed by Jon Graber

Produced, Engineered, and Mixed by Jon Graber
Co-Produced by Reade Wolcott
Mastered by Alex Dobbert at The Hitlab
Additional Engineering & Mix Assistant - Reade Wolcott
Additional Engineering - Kevin Miller

Ordinary Life was recorded at a house in the desert, Splendor 2 in North Hollywood, CA, and Pot of Gold Recording in Orange, CA

Artwork Layout & Design - Justin Gray
Cover Photo - Rae Mystic

We Are The Union is:
Reade Wolcott - vocals & guitar
Brandon Benson - bass
Ricky Weber - guitar
Jeremy Hunter - trombone
Brent Friedman - drums

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We Are The Union Los Angeles, California

Drawing heavily on ska, pop, & punk, WATU’s 2021 full length, ‘Ordinary Life,’ balances soul crushing lyrics about dysphoria & heartbreak w/ endless hooks & furiously catchy choruses. The album, which serves as vocalist Reade Wolcott’s coming out as a trans woman, was recorded in secret in a rented house in Joshua Tree w/ producer Jon Graber. ‘Ordinary Life’ releases June 4th via Bad Time Records. ... more

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