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Misery is a butterfly of rarefied beauty and chaste love.
It is the quintessential symbol most widespread in the cultures of peoples, it is the expression of soul and psyche, representing the most delicate and beautiful thing one can imagine, a spectacle of intoxicating colors and innumerable species, where the wings move in flight, like in an eternal musical dance, transforming it into one of the most touching moments nature offers. How many times has our gaze been captivated by the grace and love emanating from its artistic yet frenetic movement? And then add the astounding metamorphosis of matter, an egg that hatches, a larva in the form of a caterpillar becomes a pupa and transforms into a butterfly, which reaches splendor in a wonderfully perfect and ethereal form, almost immaterial. Popular belief teaches that butterflies are the souls of the dead approaching the places of their lives. Every death is followed by life, every end by its beginning.
The eleven creatures of "Misery Is A Butterfly", the twin birth, Simone and Amedeo Pace, the fluttering wings, the fragility and elegance of Kazu Makino, can only be the perfect embodiment of this. An array of declarations, between the piercing voice of cupid Amedeo and the untouchable voice of fine porcelain of the Japanese Kazu, an electro-pop melody with dilated and caressing atmospheres, disarming beauty, transpiring pain, from a crystal-clear source, from an irresistible melancholic lullaby, the pursuit of flight in a sensitive rhythm and, as with the great David Sylvian, the perceptible amalgamation between West and East and a romantic orchestral melody of violins, cellos, piano, drums, guitars, keyboards, poetic arrangements, in full pathos.
The representation of reality and beauty is in art the same thing, where it feels like beauty is missing, nothing but the perfection of representation itself is lacking.
"Elephant Woman" an iridescent opening, penetrating arpeggios, hypertrophic strings, and Kazu's shrill and atrophying voice - "Messenger" transcendent pop, affected and subdued, Amedeo leads a dramatic vocal refrain - "Melody" an extraordinary lullaby, Amedeo's self-pity sliding over the rhythms of brother Simone's drums, two bodies, one soul - "Doll Is Mine" violins, cellos, piano, and the poignant tale of a love story - "Misery Is A Butterfly"- Kazu reads aloud a letter, for a desperate love, a butterfly bending on its own wings -"Falling Man" the instruments pluck endless dreamlike pop songs - "Anticipation" fantastic track, keyboards that still touch the sky and Kazu's dream pop flight - "Maddening Cloud" a whirlwind of acoustic guitars and an accordion that provides a backdrop in a crescendo of final choruses - "Magic Mountain" an enchanted tale, gentle pop but embodied by distressing cellos and a piano that accompanies Kazu in the magic - "Pink Love" Amedeo and Kazu alternate, overlapping their wings in an illusory journey - "Equus" a magnificent closure, bass and pop rock guitars, are enchanted by a chorus of a slightly naughty and spoiled Kazu.
One believes they can fill the minutes with the passion of the senses, deaf to the increase of birthdays, or by building palaces and wealth, which will soon fade. Instead, in the soft heart of the night, in the warm embrace of dawn, in the stupefied equilibrium of the cosmos and its creator, in intelligence, in art, in music, hides the shelter in which to take refuge.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Elephant Woman (04:49)
Angel, I can see myself in your eyes
Angel, won’t you feel for me from your heart?
Ah, do return my heart to me
No, don’t insist, I’m already hurt
Elephant girl, it was an accident unfortunate
Angel threw me like a rubber man, aiming for the ground
Why amuse yourself in such way?
No, don’t insist, I’m already hurt
Lay me down on the ground, softly softly
Don’t remove, my head hurts much, too much
Ah, you never return it, well, I wouldn’t miss it
I shed no tears for broken me
Ah, you never know it, my peace of mind
Now inside and outside are matching
Ah, you never return it, well, I wouldn’t miss it
I shed no tears for broken me
Ah, you never know it, my peace of mind
Why amuse yourself in such way?
No, don’t insist, I’m already hurt
Ah, if you never return it will it break your wings?
Will you shed no tears for broken me?
02 Messenger (03:21)
Stay still, be still
No wonder you are always lost
If a messenger you must be known
Then messages you must return
To be seen by demanding hands
And touches of jealous men
Invisible and forgivable
To all their secret hands
Be it so be quick, don’t run
Just walk and walk and walk
Don’t lose yourself to decorate
Somewhere on your wall
Cause somewhere in your mind
You know you are doing fine
Holding secret hair locks
You’ll pluck before you hide
So how can I keep anything to myself?
So how can I keep anything to myself?
So how can I keep anything to myself?
Behind those clouds
I’m almost home
04 Doll Is Mine (03:06)
Mine is an act of love
Mine is a wish to solve
And mine is to sink by your side
You are to be amused
And you are never to be confused
In your first love
Your first time
Why a doll so they tell me
Cause she is mine
Faith and fully mine
I must say
This love hasn’t changed me
Cause I feel fine
Faith and fully mine
I must have seen too much skin
Much more than I needed to
And much more than I wanted to dream
I must have felt so much pain
It’s funny how some things do remain
It isn’t true that things do change
Isn’t it strange how pain remains
But don’t look sad cause it isn’t sad
Now that I have you to myself
05 Misery Is a Butterfly (05:07)
Dearest Jane I should’ve known better
But I couldn’t say hello, I didn’t know why
But now I think, I think you were sad
Yes you were, you were, you were
What I say, I say only to you
Cause I love and I love only you
Dearest Jane, I want to give you a dream
That no one has given you
Remember when we found misery
We watched her, watched her spread her wings
And slowly fly around our room
And she asked for your gentle mind
Misery is a butterfly
Her heavy wings will warp your mind
With her small ugly face
And her long antenna
And her black and pink heavy wings
Remember when we found misery
We watched her, watched her spread her wings
And slowly fly around our room
And she asked for your gentle mind
06 Falling Man (03:26)
Tell me how you seek your man
And tell me all your secret spells
Tell me how you learn
To tell by his voice that he fell
I know a ghost will walk through walls
Yet I am just a man still learning how to fall
Try to re-imagine me
And I’ll re-invent myself
Still I remember scenes
Of when you looked at someone else
I know a ghost can walk through the wall
Yet I am just a man still learning how to fall
When you start doubting me
Then I start to doubt myself
And never look through me
Cause I’ll keep close to myself
I know a ghost can walk through the wall
Yet I am just a man still learning how to fall
I am what I am
And what I am is who I am
I know what I know
And all I know is that I fell
If only I could walk through the wall
Then maybe I would tell who I was
Yet I am just a man still learning how to fall
07 Anticipation (04:04)
Anticipate and evaluate
What he thought
And what I thought before
You’re broken like me
Like me before
Dark place is your place
I take dark drive to your place
You’re staring me
You’re staring with your inside eyes
Knowing you, knowing me
We’re deeply sorry
You’re broken maybe baby
Maybe it didn’t happen
Maybe all of this would go away
And if we’re ever young again
He’ll anticipate
We’ll evaluate
08 Maddening Cloud (03:20)
Sure you can look back
If it means moving on
And you can take me back
But you must come home
We are both a in maddening cloud
And you can touch me there
Just don’t leave me alone
And you can call me softly
When I dream and ask for more
You can slow and fold and mold my mind
And she said
I can’t feel my toes
And she must be alone
And far too cold
And he stares
Like he doesn’t see
He must be scared
And far too lost
Under and over
We must have glanced
Face to face
We’ve had to dance
We’re both in a maddening cloud
Sure you can step back
If it means moving on
And you take me back
But you must be alone
You can choke and smoke and rock my mind
09 Magic Mountain (03:02)
At magic mountain
Nobody sings today
Nobody speaks today
Close my eyes
And hope to see
Weeks go by like a day
In a lowland
I live here on magic mountain
No one leaves magic mountain
At magic mountain
Nothing changes
Everything stays the same
Cross my heart
And hope to live
All the time
With a little fever
I stay here on magic mountain
No one leaves magic
My heart can hear you sing
My heart can see you speak
But I never make it in the flatlands
I must stay on magic mountain
11 Equus (03:49)
Allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
sometimes I think I must
just let you be
let you be a horse
all I want is to be a rider
to be part of you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
sometimes I think I must
just let you be
let you be a horse
all I want is to be a rider
afraid so afraid
to loose you
if someone looks at you
turn into donkey
pretend you are lame
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
Equus by nature, timid creature
ready to run away
Equus by nature, timid creature
cares nothing for the plans they made
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
allow me to show you
the way which I adore you
(I will hide you will protect you
won't let anyone take you away)
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Other reviews
By donzaucher
Every song is a (positive) surprise, including the two slower ones and the final one, the most psychedelic.
This CD is VERY beautiful: it is more mature than the previous one, longer, more complete... more complex but no less accessible.
By Alessandro Gentili
Just listen to the first, melancholic notes of Elephant Woman: decadent atmospheres with a classic and Central European flavor.
A different, ethereal, soft and delicate album... complexity behind simplicity.
By ZiOn
The noise of their beginnings seems definitively subdued, where the guitars merely serve as a backdrop to more complex arrangements.
"Equus" showcases their best, shedding excessive embellishments and reclaiming a simplicity that gives hope for the future.
