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In Waves

by Norma MacDonald

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    140 gram BLUE vinyl. Lyrics printed on back cover. Cover photo by Megan Tansey-Whitton, graphic design by Corey J. Isenor

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    140 gram BLUE vinyl. Lyrics printed on back cover. Cover photo by Megan Tansey-Whitton, graphic design by Corey J. Isenor

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $30 CAD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Vinyl copies of 'In Waves' AND 'Old Future'!

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    In Waves 4-panel digipack. Lyrics printed inside

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    In Waves 4-panel digipack. Lyrics printed inside

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $20 CAD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Vinyl copies of 'In Waves' AND 2020s 'Old Future'! Save a few bucks!

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days

      $50 CAD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Cd copies of 'In Waves AND 2020's 'Old Future'! Some a few bucks!

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days

      $30 CAD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD copies of 'In Waves' AND 2020s 'Old Future"! Save a few bucks!

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Waves via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days

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1.
January 03:31
January I was feeling worried, feeling wary So I changed my name to January We were sitting at the kitchen table Feeling more willing than able Oh, the time comes, pull out your big guns Lay it all out on the line Oh, the time comes, but in the long run Nothing is gone, everything’s here It’s just another year I was full of hope and feeling grateful So I changed my name to April Cherry blossom, sweet magnolia Winter always ends I told ya I was trying to make you remember So I changed my name to September Walking on the moonlight river You touched my hair and made me shiver
2.
Glass Flowers Whoever said you can’t be too careful they were wrong Whoever got what they wanted by holding their tongue I have been standing stock-still, watching it go buy Instead of asking how I’m always asking why So I’ll hold these glass flowers and while away the hours here Hold these glass flowers and while away the hours here Nothing will get broken, the words will not be spoken, no… Whatever season’s changing I always want the last Whoever’s heart that’s breaking wants it over fast I have been standing on this edge for so long now I could just walk away but I just don’t know how Can’t you see that I’d love to believe In these dreams of guitars and rock n’ roll bands But these flowers would fall from my hands…
3.
Comes In Waves Oh, it comes in waves A feeling a wanna cut my hair and burn my things and move down South and change my name Oh, it comes in waves A feeling that everything needs changing but every day can’t help but stay the same And I’ve got somewhere to be And I’ve got some place to go Will I wait here forever I don’t know And I’ve got somewhere to be And I’ve got some place to go Will I wait here forever, I don’t know Oh, it comes in waves A jackpot beam of light that shines on me and next thing I wash it down the drain Oh, it comes in waves It all just comes and goes and ebbs and flows but somehow it never goes away
4.
The Heart Wants I’m taking out my hand-me-downs I’m sharpening my skates A hundred miles from paradise is this all that it takes but we forget And I hope I don’t say something I regret A splitting of the faculties, a buzzing from the wires The ticker tape from long ago still glitters like desires we swallow down And it’s just another day here in this town I’m a ghost still looking for a place to haunt I tell you, oh, the heart wants what it wants This to-and-fro devotion, this slow and sticky haze The tricks spun from the movie light that leave us all amazing til we forget And I’m always saying something I regret I’m a ghost still looking for a place to haunt I tell you, oh, the heart wants what it wants Oh and you can trade your pennies for its thoughts I tell you, oh, the heart wants….
5.
Co-Star 04:21
Co-Star I read my horoscope in bed It said the opposite of what yours said Stay the course and toe the line Burn it all down you’ll be fine In through the shades here comes the sun Another night-long battle is won I didn’t know it but I knew And I think you knew it too Oh, in this moment There’s no question That feels unanswered And I’m waiting for the night to follow through And I’m waiting for the night to follow through Might’ve got lost along the way Was it just Mercury in retrograde Moving in and out of time Always looking for some sign Can’t make up my mind, sit on the fence Put far too much stock in coincidence But you always pull me back Painting gold right through my black
6.
Blues and Greens I think I got lost in this machine It’s all I know Fumbling for the spaces in between I can’t tell the blues from the greens There’s no line Trying to find the words for all I’ve seen I remember when you told me that I live inside my head And I never really noticed ‘til you said that I did And I remember how you told me when you hung up that night Don’t listen to those words behind your eyes Shake off all the ashes from my dreams They still hang on Colours start to shimmer ‘til they scream And then you’re there and pulling on my sleeve And I let go Safer than the safest place I’ve been
7.
Eastern to Atlantic The days are moving slow since you’ve been gone Every morning back into the grind I tell myself it’s only for so long Eastern to Atlantic time The city where you live is sweet in spring But here the weather’s heavy on our minds And like a bird I’m waiting for to sing Eastern to Atlantic time I know it’s such a breeze to stay in touch With all of these machines that hold us down And although I’m known to love my time alone I could really use you here right now It’s only an hour but I’m always Surprised at how it throws us out of line And I won’t get to kiss you on your birthday Eastern to Atlantic time
8.
Same Mistake 03:34
Same Mistake Woke up in the early morning rain Windows open, soaking through the papers Your face ringed around with coffee stains Summer dreams just turning into vapour Time never tells you How long all this hurting’s gonna take I don’t wanna make the same mistake I don’t wanna make the same mistake I don’t wanna make the same mistake Again Windy Saturday walking downtown I can always forget when I’m walking I keep thinking I’ll see you around Then I remember why we’re not talking Time never tells you When the last piece of your heart is gonna break I fell for it time and time again And I’m still falling
9.
Trying to Try Why’d you get so serious? Is the weight of the world on your back I’ve been missing the punch lines Blaming all the timing that I lack See the world through rose coloured glasses Walking around with our heads up our asses So much left but so far gone The answer has probably been here all along In someone’s head In someone’s head So once again, here we sit Hoping to make some sense out of it So worn down but trying to try Looking up at a big starry sky You warned me and I warned you This won’t be the place that we knew Don’t think too hard Every golden age is over way too soon How’d it get so serious? I blinked my eyes and we were here Baking up in the summer sun Lost control of the ship we’re trying to steer A mile-long list of good intentions And songs I song at my friend’s weddings Such much left but so far gone Someday my bones will be singing this song In someone’s head In someone’s head
10.
Rescue Mission It’s not a golden road I get trapped by fear and doubt Then you whisper in my ear the truth Where would I be without you? Not quite a voice of reason, more of faith and hope That sweeps out all the faded blue Where would I be without you? And I’m not sure that you could understand When you walked through the fore and took my hand It was a rescue Mission no one could have planned As if it’s not enough that you stood by me But you held me up, kept my dreams alive and new Where would I be without you?

credits

released October 27, 2023

All songs by Norma MacDonald (SOCAN 2023)

Produced, engineered and mixed by Daniel Ledwell at Echo Lake Studio (Lake Echo, NS)
Mastered by Peter J. Moore (Toronto, ON)

Album art/design by Corey J. Isenor
Photography by Meghan Tansey-Whitton

Musicians:
Norma MacDonald—lead and BG vocals, acoustic guitar
Adam Fine—Bass
Jodi Comstock—Drums
Nick Maclean—Electric guitar, additional acoustic guitar on track 7
Daniel Ledwell—Keys, mellotron, pedal steel on track 10, “electronics”
Rachel Bruch—Violin
Carmel Mikol—BG vocals on tracks 2, 3, 6, 9
Melanie Stone—BG vocals on tracks 2, 3, 6, 9

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Norma MacDonald Halifax, Nova Scotia

The opening chords of In Waves set the record spinning in January, but the mood is wholly autumnal: lush, then resolute. A harvest and a hope.

On her sixth album, Norma MacDonald explores new songwriting tactics, reimagines old demos, and conducts sound experimentations that expand her folk and country influences into 60s pop, Motown harmonies, and jangly early millennium indie-rock.
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