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A Ten Pound Bag of Rice

by Lucas Powell

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1.
Great White North 03:37
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I feel like a reprobate with an addiction Cutting withdrawal symptoms with spiritual prescriptions And when my shame disguises itself as conviction I trade a relapse for remission She says something profound I’m left searching my head Because I don’t want be arm-wrestling you until I’m dead the Evangelicals are screaming that it’s something I misread All your thoughts and your prayers are best left unsaid Would a good, good Father stand by? Someday I’ll finally find my truth and I won’t need you Someday I’ll finally shed my youth And I won’t need you anymore Some days I dream of driving off to the great white north And dying lost like Chris McCandless Cause I would gladly eat a ten pound bag of rice to finally learn what true freedom is Would a good, good Father stand by? Someday I’ll finally find my truth and I won’t need you Someday I’ll finally shed my youth And I won’t need you anymore Someday I’ll finally find my truth and I won’t need you I want my sweatshirt back You can take all our mutual friends I won’t listen to our song And I’m burning all the pictures Don’t hold your breath because I won’t be coming back I wish you were more like who I need you to be I wish you were more like who I need you to be
2.
Victimless Crime 03:13
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You wrote me a letter And I don't know why If you wanna get better just let go And let sleeping dogs lie You said your love was charity And I didn't know it You said that you could fix me But I wasn't broken Maybe it's a Victimless Crime But if peace is what you're hoping to find Just 'cause you look don't mean you'll find it You started flipping tarot cards and reading the stars Looking for your justification When all you had to do was just say the word And I'd leave you to find your own salvation I don't fear you But maybe you should hear me 'Cause when your god of justice comes "reaping the wheat" It won't be me lying through my teeth Maybe it's a Victimless Crime But if peace is what you're hoping to find Just 'cause you look don't mean you'll find it Maybe it's a Victimless Crime But if peace is what you're hoping to find Just 'cause you look don't mean you'll find it Don't mean you'll find it If you didn't love me who wasted who's time? And if you didn't love me who's gonna have A harder time sleeping at night? I'm not angry or vengeful or looking for a fight I just want you to see what it means if you're right Maybe it's a Victimless Crime But if peace is what you're hoping to find Just 'cause you look don't mean you'll find it Maybe it's a Victimless Crime But if peace is what you're hoping to find Just 'cause you look don't mean you'll find it Don't mean you'll find it No, it don't mean you'll find it
3.
Simple Truth and the Little Things 04:51
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A six pack and a blanket in the back of my car Staying up through the night, not minding driving in the dark We stayed there for the weekend, getting drunk and singing songs feeling infinite for the moment, 'till the feeling is gone Stopping at a fruit stand to buy an apple pie We eat it with our fingers, no time passing us by Wading out to the sand bar, waist deep in the lake No thought of tomorrow, no agenda to make I want to live in the space between The simple truth and the little things How does it feel to finally be free? I think that’s what I feel when you're next to me when you're next to me Face down at the toilet, reciting "Hail Mary" While the rest the house is sleeping, you’re there next to me What is true love if it ain’t suffering together, Depression with pleasure? I want to live in the space between The simple truth and the little things How does it feel to finally be free? I think that’s what I feel when you're next to me when you're next to me, oh I want to live in the space between The simple truth and the little things How does it feel to finally be free? I think that’s what I feel when you're next to me when you're next to me
4.
The Score 03:20
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"Voce mea ad dominum clamavi" 'cause I'm tired of being the only one who cares I'm searching for more than locus and honey so I'm leaving you 'cause happiness is only real when shared I don't know how to feel losing you If it's jubilation or grief Maybe they'll find me with a note saying "This rifle killed the bear that killed me" Oh my God, I am chasing you again 'Cause even when it hurts, I'm always wanting more Oh my God, they say you're blameless without sin But the Church is your body and your body keeps the score I'm searching for a self-inflicted martyrdom Like Alex Supertramp I'm gonna put myself in danger If there's no room to be safe in the inn I'll gladly die alone damned to the manger I don't know how to feel losing you If it's jubilation or grief Maybe they'll find me with a note saying "I had a happy life, thank the lord" on me Oh my God, I am chasing you again 'Cause even when it hurts, I'm always wanting more Oh my God, they say you're blameless without sin But the Church is your body and your body keeps the score Oh my God, I am chasing you again 'Cause even when it hurts, I'm always wanting more The Church is your body and your body keeps the score The Church is your body and your body keeps the score
5.
Into the Wild 01:05
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And the shame I feel To know that it wasn't real A waterfall of emotions feeds a dissociative river But I crave the thrill Sometimes I feel you still Nagging pain like a hangnail or sliver And I don't know where I'm going But I know I have to go Not afraid of disappearing into the wild Cause this place was never home Maybe truth faith is losing who I thought you were To find where you really are Not in the earthquake, or the fire, or the flood But a whisper in the dark
6.
Graffiti 04:48
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We were laughing and talking And swearing under our breath In the tenth pew singing "How great Thou Art" I felt a hand on my back She said “stop that, it ain’t Holy Read the scriptures, proclaim them boldly” And I felt broken, and ashamed and guilty Well I grew up in a city With more crosses than graffiti But if you ask the locals, oh you press for meaning You’ll find they’re empty Here is the church and here is the steeple And all the pious, godless people Praying on their knees and crying "amen" Just to make themselves feel clean again When my best friend in our dorm room Told me they weren’t straight, it was an issue In my head, cause I didn’t know that Imago Dei could look like them Here is the church and here is the steeple And all the pious, godless people Praying on their knees and crying "amen" Just to make themselves feel clean again And you say the cross is humble, Then why do I feel ashamed? And you say that you are love, Why do your followers hate? And you say do not fear Why do you hide your face? Because I want to know, I want to know How great thou art? I want to know how How great thou art How great, how great thou art?
7.
I'll Be Okay 04:58
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Oh, I want to believe in the little things In silver linings and the songs I sing Wandering Marquette or Traverse City Or watching sunsets when you're not with me Oh I'll be okay, I'll be okay When I finally learn to heal myself Oh I'll be okay, will you be okay When you're the one who's missing out? I'll find myself, find myself Heading north on M-22 With the windows down and an open sunroof Sufjan playing, lake to my left Getting lost in the pines with an open six pack Oh I'll be okay, oh I'll be okay When I finally learn to heal myself Oh I'll be okay, will you be okay When you're the one who's missing out? It's gonna take time It's gonna take all the songs that You'd knew I would write But they're not for you I hope you start regretting when I move on to something new Something new Oh I'll be okay, oh I'll be okay When I finally learn to heal myself Oh I'll be okay, will you be okay When you're the one who's missing out? When you're the one who lives with the doubt? When you're not the one I think about? I'll find myself, I'll find myself
8.
Potato Seeds (GWN Reprise) 04:07
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Burned my money and my ID Set off to the west hitch-hiking Beautiful blueberries were ripe to eat But we stuffed our mouths with potato seeds The holy gates covered in political stickers Blood of the covenant, water of the womb Which is thicker? Well, hell seems like a restful place Won't cut my hair or hide my face The virgin birth's just not my taste Too much red tape on amazing grace I'm not afraid to leave it all behind I don't need mothers or father or the divine Now that I've traded a Datsun for a magic bus and the stampede trail for a grave "I need you to help me, I'm injured near death too weak to last another day." I can't recall the last time it felt like you cared I can't recall the last time it felt like you were there But for the first time, I'm letting go But for the first time, I'm letting go But for the first time, I'm letting go and I don't need you but I want you still I don't need you but I want you still I don't need you but I want you still I don't need you but I want you still I don't need you but I want you still (it's lonely to be right // oh, I love you boy, I never meant to hurt you) I don't need you but I want you still (it's lonely to be right // oh, I love you boy, I never meant to hurt you) I don't need you but I want you still (it's lonely to be right // oh, I love you boy, I never meant to hurt you) I don't need you but I want you still (it's lonely to be right // oh, I love you boy, I never meant to hurt you) I don't need you but I want you still (it's lonely to be right // oh, I love you boy, I never meant to hurt you) Some days I dream of driving off to the great white north and dying lost like Chris McCandless Some days I dream of driving off to the great white north and dying lost like Chris McCandless

about

On April 28th, 1992, Chris McCandless was last seen alive entering the head of the Stampede trail with minimal gear and nothing to eat except a ten pound bag of rice. McCandless donated all of his assets and left behind the comforts of everyday suburban life in hopes that the silence and loneliness of the wilderness would answer a question that had haunted him most of his life: What is true freedom?

A little more than 4 months later, his body was recovered from a sleeping bag in the back of an abandoned bus weighing only 67 pounds. Since his death in the summer of 1992, McCandless has become a folk hero to many, not only for his willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in the search for true freedom, but for his many journal entries that read more like proverbs and psalms than the last words of a dying adventurer.

On his sophomore album release titled "A Ten Pound Bag of Rice," Lucas Powell loosely pursues a concept album that uses McCandless as an analogy in his own pursuit of what a life of freedom looks like. He explores his own necessary religious, spiritual, metaphysical, and relational sacrifices to experience a life free from the expectations of others. Tracks such as "Great White North" and "The Score" use direct references to McCandless as a sort of prototype for deconstruction, while other songs such as "Victimless Crime" and "Simple Truth and the Little Things" provide context for what Powell's individual freedom manifesto may look like.

The album was recorded predominatly remotely, with all drum tracking and some instrument tracking done at Eureka Records, and features contributions from many renowned Michigan indie musicians.

credits

released May 12, 2023

Lucas Powell - Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass (except on Track 2), keyboards, programming
Mitchell Pysz - Electric guitar, slide guitar on Tracks 1 and 3
Josie Palmer - Violin on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8, vocals on Tracks 2 and 6
Benjamin Rose - Keyboard on Tracks 2 and 7, vocals on 3 and 7
Konstantin Polyakov - Drums, electric guitar on track 7
Austin Stawowcyk - Bass, Keyboard, Programming on track 2

All tracks written by Lucas Powell except track 7
Track 7 written by Lucas Powell and Benjamin Rose

Drums recorded at Eureka Records (Wyandotte, MI). All other recording done remotely except Track 2. Track 2 was partially tracked at Eureka Records and partially remote.

All tracks produced by Lucas Powell and mixed by Dan Zasadny.
Track 5 and 6 mastered by Dan Zasadny, all others mastered by Aria mastering service.

Album art shot by Konstantin Polyakov

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Lucas Powell Lansing, Michigan

sad folk for sad folx

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