Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$1USD or more
about
In January 2021, during a period of personal and professional flux, Beaudoin found herself taking stock of what to hold onto. Having been immersed in the recording process of a separate Dead Gowns full length, “How You Act” and a handful of other songs bubbled to the surface out of necessity and quickly took on a life of their own. When a recording opportunity emerged, thanks to a grant offered by Portland, ME studio Prism Analog, this new collection became a reality.
Beaudoin first wrote these songs as unspoken dialogues but later reconceived them as auto-fictive (instead of auto-biographical) affirmations – it's not all true, but there's something tangible to glean for herself. 'How You Act' is a reclamation of agency, empowering the narrator to forgive and accept. "Yeah, it's messy/ grow up your heart" elucidates this revelation, with Beaudoin's voice ringing out in a brief moment of quiet triumph: "Do you think you did right from the start? / Collect the lawn chair debris from my yard and/ paint my doorway the color of a birthday card/ Well, happy birthday to you."
“How You Act” is the first in a series of songs to be released from the band that features a cast of good friends/collaborators from the New England DIY scene, including Luke Kalloch, Aisha Burns, Nat Baldwin, Peter McLaughlin, Alex Millan, and Brett DesChenes. It is a decisive statement from a band comfortably growing to meet its potential.
lyrics
HOW YOU ACT
tried to take it in a different direction
said the wrong thing and it sent me back
feeling rushed and insecure
like a rock when you asked for a glass
that’s not what you meant
how’d you learn it?
it’s how you act
that surrounds it
head back to the car why don’t you
I’ll make the calls so everyone knows
you’ll hear second accounts of a future
a promise, you stole away the bows
but that’s a lie
and you can forgive it
it’s how you act
that surrounds it
yeah it’s messy, grow up your heart
do you think you did right from the start?
collect the lawn chair debris from my yard
and paint my doorway the color of a birthday card
happy birthday to you
that’s not what I meant
how you’d learn it?
it’s how you act
that surrounds it
credits
released May 10, 2022
“How You Act"
Written by Geneviève Beaudoin
Arranged and Produced by Geneviève Beaudoin and Luke Kalloch
Performed by Dead Gowns
Synth, piano, vocals: Geneviève Beaudoin
Acoustic guitar, electric guitar: Luke Kalloch
Bass: Nat Baldwin
Drums: Peter McLaughlin
Flugelhorn: Brett DesChenes
Engineered by PRISM Analog director/founder Nick Johnson with Luke Kalloch
Studio assistance by Joe Sasso
Mixed by Luke Kalloch
Mastered by Carl Saff
Recorded at PRISM Analog in June 2021 thanks to a 2021 Spring Recording Grant from the nonprofit studio.
Located in downtown Portland, Maine, Prism Analog, a registered 501(c)(3), seeks to inclusively engage area musicians by offering recording services, performance space, and music tuition. We leverage the good in people: like-minded volunteers, local and federal grants, and personal and corporate donations.
Woozy, rollicking indie rock that's thick and humid, searching vocals set against pealing guitars. Also available on cassette. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 22, 2016
Tanya Donnelly, Wreckless Eric, Rosanne Cash, contribute cover versions of John Wesley Harding’s songs for this charitable compilation. Bandcamp New & Notable May 6, 2021
Harding celebrates the arrival of his catalogue on Bandcamp with this limited release sampler that's available until October 3rd. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 2, 2020
