What Is and Was, by Paula Frazer and Tarnation

What Is and Was

by Paula Frazer and Tarnation

supported by

Spaceman Si Paula Frazer’s beautiful crystal-clear vibrato has never sounded as lush, and Tarnation provide the perfect dreamy country style warmth laced with melancholy to accompany. This is the sound you might hear on a still night, high in the air that hauntingly evokes the vastness of the big country and ghosts of past times Favorite track: What Is and Was.

call-me-risley Paula Frazer is one of the greatest voices in contemporary country/folk (call it what you want) music. Inexplicable that she's not much better known. This stuff also has a certain cinematic air to it which makes it even more impressive.
Favorite track: North Wind.

Ian Rawlinson Everyone needs the sound of Paula Frazer in their life. Everyone! Glorious music.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

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

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
180 gram Translucent Red Colored Vinyl / Gatefold Cover.

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

ships out within 5 days

$20 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
The CD Version (w/ 2 extra bonus tracks not on the vinyl) of the Long awaited and much anticipated new music by Paula Frazer and Tarnation.

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

ships out within 2 days

$12 USD or more

1.	Between the Lines 03:59	lyrics	buy track
Motor boats along the green and words get in the way If you read between the lines what would you say What would you say Full on summer in full bloom Taking a trip to the moon To the moon You've been here by me but there's something I can't say I'm afraid to spoil the fun since words get in the way Words get in the way Running through woods pine smells so sweet Pine combs falling at my feet At my feet Such a heavenly glow on a summer afternoon On a summer afternoon
2.	What Is and Was 03:15	lyrics	buy track
Listen to your heart beat, it's here to remind you It's here to defy you and leave you in the dark A prisoner of your own mind, not all that is gold shines But it's just a fine line between hate and love Forget the lessons you have learned Forget the bridges that have burned And all the reasons that may be wrong or right They're with you day and night just because what is and was Listen to the night song, it's playing all the night long A song you cannot hide from, it's with you in your dreams It will surely find you and it will surely blind you From any fair reasoning Except the beating of your heart Forget the lessons you have learned Forget the bridges that have burned And all the reasons that may be wrong or right They're with you day and night just because what is and was
3.	Golden 03:50	lyrics	buy track
Everywhere that you know Everywhere that you go there are you are Then you turned and walked away Leaving behind your lucky start Is it all what it seemed Crazy schemes in a submarine Was it time to crash your plans By setting out for a troubled land When the fire in the sky Didn't burn and you wondered why You planned to ride upon the flames But didn't chance it to give your best So it will find you in a dream Nights, disco lights and a video screen Where the real is never seen And wasting time at the cost of your dreams Look at the sun it's a golden silence Look at the sun as it rises before us It tells us to follow It tells us of tomorrow
4.	In Some Time 03:20	lyrics	buy track
In some time it'll be alright Those are the things that we left behind In the know with no place to go Looking back now I think I always knew It was a Thursday you were on my mind I should have seen it coming there were so many signs But there's no reasoning with a heart that's left behind Time moves slow and all through the day I don't know my mind or what to say I let you go in my mind anyway Try to pick the pieces up along the way It was a Friday when you broke my heart I should have seen it coming right from the start But there's no reasoning with a heart that's left behind
5.	Followed You There 03:51	lyrics	buy track
So you've gone, gone, gone to the dark side and thrown it all away Searching for elusive tomorrow you can't live for today Careless vagabond always goin' but never stays runnin' from memories Wherever you go your heart will surely know The memories followed you there The memories followed you there Out on the sidewalks, in the streets where no one knows your name Knowing no one that you meet it's safer there from blame Careless vagabond passing by like a ghost runnin' from memories Given time your heart will surely find The memories followed you there The memories followed you there So you've gone, gone, gone to the dark side and thrown it all away Searching for elusive tomorrow you can't live for today
6.	Like a River 05:02	lyrics	buy track
Like a winding river calling to me Disguised as a mystery together we'll see Forgive night and winter and the flowers will grow We roll like a river forget all that we've known We could flow like a river and it's all I will know My heart falls with the water in the evening glow
7.	To the Ocean 04:55	lyrics	buy track
What are the colors of the roses that sleep When will they tell us the secrets they keep We went to the ocean on down by the sea We wandered through the darkest night hoping you'd follow me In shades of red and golden light This is the place where the skies will meet We went to the ocean on down by the sea We wandered through the stillest night hoping you'd follow me We set in motion writing letters in the sand Something tells me I must take your hand And go to the ocean on down by the sea We passed through the darkest hours hoping you'd follow me Follow me
8.	Western Star 03:47	lyrics	buy track
Western star in the sky Can't be wrong but it's not right To wait so long in this silence Where the dust has gone and stayed too long In this room words were broken Damaging the truth lies were spoken To feel so wrong in this silence Where the dust has gone and stayed too long You ask why, plead beg bargain In the silence of your eyes words were spoken To wait so long in this silence Where the dust has gone and stayed too long
9.	North Wind 03:04	lyrics	buy track
Living in the moment like a picture frozen in time Walking down the same hills I climb It's all been done before, that's how the story goes Fading in the sun I came back to this city even though it let me down That's how the north wind blows We're just fooling around with this town Fading in the sun Sure didn't give you time to change your mind You know how people just come and go Keeping to the road that travels to the sea Fading into just a memory
10.	People Say 03:23	lyrics	buy track
People say it will end with a broken heart Yes I knew it was true from the start But the flowers were blooming and the trees softly swayed Until the falling leaves had come and gone Through the night and the wind was so cruel In the fields of a deep winter moon I fell into a trance by the mistakes I'd made And the words were never told Through the night the winds blowing cold Over city lights the skies burning gold Burning gold With the passing of time, what lessons learned What goes down when the tables have turned What treasures lost, what treasures earned What could have been was never known What could have been was never known
11.	Distant Star 03:27	lyrics	buy track
Do you believe in a cold distant star Do you belong where you know that you are We began on a road very far Do you see in the cold of the night When you see back to where you once were Then you know that's all that you are On a hill on a cold winter night There's a bird takes to wing and it flies There are lights flashing in a glass jar Can you see through the fire in your soul It's a fire only you will know It takes you where ever you go Do you believe in a cold distant star Do you belong where you know that you are We began on a road very far
12.	Find My Heart 02:39	lyrics	buy track
No one sees no one knows as the breeze softly blows And says to me don't ya know come with me and we go All the while I'm with you in my heart falling true As the moon swims and sways in the harmony so fine So fine Find my heart So fine Find my heart It doesn't matter if the skies turn grey In the meadow it's summer every day So fine Find my heart So fine Find my heart Wait a while we'll find a way see your smile all the day You can't say it's not so Hunter's Moon sailing low In the sky Find my heart So fine Find my heart

about

Paula Frazer's first album in 10 years. This 8th release has been in production for 5 years. Her full current lineup, active for nearly 3 years, appears on just 2 songs. One may ask, how does it come to pass that such a breathtaking singing voice is allowed to languish in obscurity like this? When you consider the impeccable quality of her music, the ethereal purity of her voice, the string of near perfect records she released every couple years since the early ’90s (under both her name and the Tarnation monicker) … How does this happen?

According to Paula, it’s a combination of bad timing, a general lack of interest from record labels, resulting in no deadlines, and the Napster related downfall of music sales … Who really knows? Not to say she hasn’t been hard at work all these years, but by her own admission, she hasn’t had a real touring band since the late ’90s, at least not for more than a year at a time – that is, until recently.

Anyone lucky enough to catch the current lineup of Tarnation performing live gets to enjoy a startling combination of musical personalities. Their sets usually consist of one half Paula’s songs, while the remainder are written and sung by Jacob Aranda, and the combination may stir up emotions you didn’t know you had. Paula and Jacob alternate lead vocal duties song per song, accompanying each other’s grave and gentle yearnings with perfect, understated harmonies and instrumentation, reinforced by Sam Berman’s steady drumming and the lush pedal steel guitar of virtuosic David Cuetter (Big Still, That Hideous Strength). You will hear all 4 play together on this record’s tracks “In Some Time” and “People Say,” and also on Aranda’s upcoming LP recorded last summer by the very same quartet.

The rest of the new album features several of Paula’s longtime musical collaborators: Patrick Main and Justin Frahm on keyboards, 4 other drummers, and backing vocals by Elisa Randazzo, Amy Fowler, and Greg of The Moore Brothers. A half dozen other stalwart Bay Area musical entities appear, all adding to the gorgeous lush sound herein. For those unfamiliar with Paula and her music, the question may arise: “Where does this unearthly beautiful sound come from?”

credits

released June 30, 2017

All songs written by Paula Frazer - Tarnation Music Publishing, BMI

Recorded in San Francisco at Ellsworth Analog, El Studio, Nigel's place

Engineers: Nigel Pavao, Desmond Shea, Paula Frazer, Jay Bronzini
Mastered by Alex Oropeza at Obscura Digital
Produced by Nigel Pavao, Desmond Shea and Paula Frazer
Mixed by Nigel Pavao at Discrete and Studio C at Hyde Street Audio

Photos by Paula Frazer, Olivier Riquelme, Lyn Gaza, Christine Shields, Jay Blakesburg, Amy Blaschke, Greg Dubrow, Robert Tachoiresv vv
Design: John Borruso

Special Thanks to Tom Richardson and Discrete at Hyde Street, Phil Manley, Kelley Stoltz

license

about

New High Los Angeles, California

New High Is A Independent Record In Los Angeles , Ca.

TheNewHigh.net

contact / help

Contact New High

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like What Is and Was, you may also like:

Sun Racket
by Throwing Muses

supported by 23 fans who also own “What Is and Was”

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Pointless nostalgia? A sad reminder of better days? But as soon as Kristen Hersh's voice drops, it's clear this band is doing exactly what it wants, and you can get on board or get the fuck out the way. What a fantastic record. A truly unique sound and no time to wallow in the past. Five stars. chazzbot
go to album
HEY WHAT
by Low

supported by 21 fans who also own “What Is and Was”

Mimi was so unbelievably amazing. More is a perfect track in a flawless album. ollie gn
go to album
In Some Time
by Paula Frazer and Tarnation

supported by 21 fans who also own “What Is and Was”
go to album
Both Ways Brighter
by Mae Powell

The new LP from San Francisco musician Mae Powell draws on folk and early indie in its gently spiraling songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 20, 2021
go to album
Leave Me Be
by Lila Blue

Lila Blue is a singular voice, writing heaving, expansive songs that are as rich in melody as they are in expressiveness. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2020
go to album
Individ
by The Dodos

A guitar-driven, raucous 6th record, made as they finished up their last LP, Carrier, in order to stay on the right epic path. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 3, 2015
go to album
A Sky Record
by Damon & Naomi

supported by 17 fans who also own “What Is and Was”

Ghost’s Michio Kurihara is a Japanese guitarist whose spectral tone and majestic Ebow I can spot clouds away; among their many credits together, his work on 2000’s Damon & Naomi with Ghost is truly special. That magic remains, as Kurihara teases lustrous textures out of Damon & Naomi’s gently brushed and hushed songs. https://www.vikingschoice.org/archive/vikings-choice-guide-to-bandcamp-friday-aug-2021/ Lars Gotrich
go to album