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.

Life On A Pier

from A Decade Into Darkness by Shock Octopus

supported by
Shock Octopus
Shock Octopus thumbnail
/

about

‘Life on a Pier’ is, ultimately, my environmental grief existential crisis put to music. It is as much art-therapy for me as anything else.
The song has mixed origins. The title was inspired by Blondie’s ‘Love on a Pier.’ There was something about the imagery that appealed. An original title was ‘Flow My Tears’ inspired by the Philip K Dick Novel ‘Flow My Tears the Policeman Cried’ – an odd but beautiful title which seemed to encourage the gesticulation of the chorus. An inspiration for the sound is Tori Amos’ ‘Bouncing Off Clouds’.

Encouraged by the lush wide-screen art-pop of both ‘Siren’ and ‘No Easy Way Down’, ‘Life on a Pier’ was an experiment in home recording done my way. I layered all of the sounds the way that I heard them in my head, including the ‘keyboard’ version of guitar, bass, and drums. It was then sent by file share to Dave (guitar and bass), Damien (Drums) and Magda (backing vocals) to replicate respectively what I had put down. The result was the closest that I have come to recreating the sounds in my head to my own idiosyncratic and uncompromising vision.

The success of this song encouraged the completion of the ‘Enter the Exit’ EP with the same intent. I feel that with ‘Life on a Pier', Shock Octopus had kind of come full circle. Structurally, the song is as fractured and demented as anything that I’ve done with the band.
Lyrically, it mines the same thematic ground as ‘Safe Room.’ Except now you can hum along and even dance to what passes as the chorus – and now there are strings, bugle horns, and all the other bells and whistles that I could extract from the keyboard. Dave and I always had epic-pop in our veins. It is an incredibly difficult genre to pull off convincingly, but I think that after a decade and a half of experience, we developed the wisdom and chops to finally succeed.

‘Life on a Pier’ was released as the launch single from the EP. Some wondered if it was perhaps a little too weird and askew to work as a single but I was adamant. The EP got a lot of indie media coverage and the professional reviewers (finally) loved what we were doing with the release of this song. So sometimes you strike lucky!

- Michael Bayliss
Shock Octopus

lyrics

Life on a pier – life on the edge
Life on the brink – stepped to the edge

And I know and I know that the perfect storm
(Will sweep in from the sea)
And I know and I know that the perfect wave
(Will sweep us out to sea)
Flow my tears, flow my tears
(Surrender let go)

Love on the pier – love on the edge
Love on the brink – stepped to the edge

Would you lie for me? Would you die for me? If I asked you to?
Or is that you – shoreline receding
If I needed you? Could you see this through? With all hands on deck?
Or is that you - fading horizon
Flow my tears, flow my tears
(surrender let go)

The pier is creaking, the waterline creeping
Our past lives are catching, our future lives waning

All the things, oh all the things, that I wanted to do
(Oh scattered to the sea)
Possibly, possibilities now collapse into
(A singularity)
Those who know better must shoulder the burden
Whilst those heads stuck in sand with the shoreline receding
We’ll cry
Flow my tears, flow my tears
(The voice of hope sighed)
Flow my tears, flow my tears
(Surrender let go and)
But burn these years, burn these years

credits

from A Decade Into Darkness, released May 29, 2021
Music and Lyrics: Michael Bayliss

Michael Bayliss: Vocals, Harpsicord, Keyboards, Sound Effects
David Blair: Bass, Guitar
Damien Langley: Drums
Magda Wozny: Backing Vocals

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Shock Octopus image

Shock Octopus Perth, Australia

Contemplative, Existential, Art Rock.

A collective stream of consciousness and social commentary by Michael Bayliss, David Blair and Scott Andrews.

Ride the waves!

contact / help

Contact Shock Octopus

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Shock Octopus, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now