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Operation: Fascination

by H Bird

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vapor trails
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vapor trails lovely sugary pop songs, wish they could make another of these :(( Favorite track: 1000 Lights.
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    I just found 15 cds of 'Operation Fascination'. These were used for the promo campaign in 2010 but knowing this was the only chance I was going to have to press a physical product, I went for a full-scale production. It's a lovely thing to behold. The cover art by Pippa Ashton incorporating Gemma Cossins' photo. The liner notes list a Myspace page, ha! Comes with a digital copy of the album. I will sign it if you want. Ships media mail in the U.S.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Operation: Fascination via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 15 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

1.
Violet 02:55
The city springs nightflowers We’ll drip away the hours The crowd just melts away Now endless trailers play I just want to make-believe In a world that never sleeps The night lights burning deep With every breath I breathe They swim on river air It could be anywhere If the city takes us in We won’t need anything I just want to make-believe In a love that never leaves Dream a thousand dreams With every breath I breathe I just want to make-believe But time won’t stop for me Feel the falling leaves With every breath I breathe This picture burns But the stars are fading out Now the leaves still turn They’ll never never never Hit the ground I just want to make-believe In a world that never sleeps The city starts to freeze With every breath I breathe I just want to make-believe But time won’t stop for me Feel the falling leaves With every breath I breathe With every breath I breathe Feel the falling leaves With every breath I breathe
2.
(I spy, with my little eye, something that begins with you) C’mon now boy, you’ve never seen a girl like me before Undercover, are you what I’ve been looking for? Violet melodies, whisper ‘cross the floor A glance I drink right in, then turn away for more A marble Venus pose, awaits your two lips Obscured by lustrous rose, and endearing nervous sips C’mon now boy, you’ve never seen a girl like me before Undercover, are you what I’ve been waiting for? Breath of tangerine, on lips of peach Soft and close now, good enough to eat And eyes of saccharine, melt mine to gold I hope you’re a good boy, and do what you’re told C’mon now boy, you’ve never seen a girl like me before Undercover, what has tonight in store? Strawbr’y shadows slide, whirl across the room Hearts beat so quick-quick-slow, movin’ into you And all the stars align, to dance in your eyes Then disappear so dreamily, to wish us goodnight C’mon now boy, you’ve never seen a girl like me before Undercover, are you what I’ve been waiting for?
3.
1000 Lights 03:02
I don't want to be the one at the end of your last parade I don't want to be the heaven-sent place you go to end your days Oh, I hope it's not love - I hope it's not love I don't want to be the one in your dreams when you just can't sleep I don't want to be the summer sun at the end of your working week Oh, I hope it's not love - I hope it's not love 'Cause you know there are 1000 lights out this evening I'm not going home, I'm not going home I don't want to put the light to this fire that you're trying to start I don't want to take the poison, dear, or be shot with the fatal dart Oh, I hope it's not love - I hope it's not love 'Cause you know there are 1000 lights out this evening I'm not going home, I'm not going home Fools trust in persistence and live half-heartedly Oh, I'm losing my resistance, but you're not fooling me I don't want to be the one at the end of your last parade I don't want to be the heaven-sent hell in which you spend your days Oh, I hope it's not love - I hope it's not love 'Cause you know there are 1000 lights out this evening I'm not going home, I'm not going home
4.
Hey come on boy pick up the phone It's too nice a day to be inside drinking alone I've got sugar and spice and everything nice but you won't even taste You'll just stay in bed with a raincloud head let the sunshine go to waste Takes a shake to get you awake And from the look upon your face last night capsized So c'mon dry your eyes Or push that glass to the side You'll water down your drink that way It's all sour martinis and bitter rosé each and every day And everytime you see me you're sloe gin grey since she went away You blood-shot eye the bar As the clouds burst from afar Both open now So we'll duck inside for a while It's the first time I've seen you smile So go on fill us up again Hey come on boy these lips of mine Will do you better than all that vodka and lime It's all sour martinis and bitter rosé since she went away You think you need to chase her but I'll give it to you straight She's not coming back no way But as the storm leaves us behind You're staring in your pint Half-empty now So c'mon dry your eyes Or push that glass to the side You'll water down your drink that way Stop comparing your heart To your empty glass for a start And fill me up again C'mon dry your eyes And push that glass to the side My lips are waiting to take it's place Oo c'mon boy let's give it a shot Back to yours and let's see what you got It's all sour martinis and bitter rosé while the good stuff goes to waste I've got sugar and spice, oh everything nice just waiting for you to taste
5.
She calls my name, Her vesper voice, leading me astray And I can’t avoid Her judo kicks and peep-hole eyes Got no choice By her lips I’m hypnotized Hearts shatter so easily, this is just a game we play Come taste the danger with me She comes my way again And I’m poised, surrender my queen of sin I’ve got no choice A touch of brimstone’s all I need To be her toy, oh I’d do anything to please Hearts shatter so easily, this is just a game we play Come taste the danger with me Hearts shatter so easily, love is just a game we play Come misadventure with me And her voice With those danger making eyes Sayin’ come here boy It’s you that’s needed tonight Hearts shatter so easily, this is just a game we play Come misadventure with me Hearts shatter so easily, love is just a game we play Come court disaster with me
6.
Stay, Oh baby won’t you stay We’ll spend this sleepy day In each other’s arms Cause I, Never wanna say goodbye When I see me in your eyes Oh how we shine Baby when your lips meet mine, Oh it’s like a dream Let’s make the dream last all night Each and every single kiss, sends me a-tingle yes Just like the first time, each time Stay, All night and every day You wash away the greys So love shines bright And you, Always know what to do You’re a wish that keeps coming true and true and true With each starlight Baby when your hold me tight, Oh it’s like a dream Let’s make the dream last all night Each and every single kiss, makes my heart tingle yes Just like the first time
7.
Your eyes meet mine, from above your cigarette And the mirror shows, they ain’t off me yet Hear the waves crash against the shore, we’ll take a walk from the casino floor And in your smile there’s something more So don’t hide it Baby I think it’s time, so just slip your hand in mine O stay awhile, the glasses are filled with pink lights and champagne O by my side, O now you’re mine (all mine) Our lips touch lightly as the darkness falls, and the night leaves us all alone It’s so nice here under the stars, on our own Feel the waves crash against the shore, but I can’t hear them anymore And there’s that smile again from before Don’t hide it Time spins so fast, then it all seems to disappear yeah-eah O stay awhile, your eyes are filled with pink lights and champagne O stay all night, O hold me tight and do that again (and again) O stay all night, our eyes shinin’ with pink lights and champagne O by my side, stay with me til the pink skies of morning O stay awhile, the night sky sparkles with pink lights and champagne O stay all night, O hold me tight, and do that again
8.
The pool reflects their image as they change from hour to hour They say she tastes like candy but she always looks so sour This city, comes alive at evening, so do I But what’s the meaning? I take photographs with my pen, shut the cover, wait and then These little books will one day, tell it all wrong anyway She walks on whispers carefully as the leaves drop to the ground They rush to vespers treacherously but there they won’t be found This city, comes alive at evening, so do I But what’s the meaning? She asks what they’re planning tonight, It’ll be all there in black and white Click the scene’s ghost in words, capture all their bitter looks This city, comes alive at evening, so do I But what’s the meaning? I take photographs with my pen, shut the cover, wait and then Spy around the corner, Big bends and small-time crooks Is it as brittle as it looks? Write it all in little books
9.
Lost love lingers on lips Cold from a goodbye kiss That never came I watch your shadow leave It darkens everything Then turns away ‘Baby don’t go’ Falls silent with the snow Whispers freeze mid-air The lights turn on, there’s no one there Twilight silent sighs The ghosts of dazzling skies Smoke haloes fade Soft-soled steps recede They’re grey like everything That fades away ‘Baby don’t go’ Falls silent with the snow Whispers freeze mid-air The lights turn on, there’s no one there
10.
rainfall, the sound of love, i make my way back home streetlamps cast long shadows down, streets we used to go matchbooks, torn letters i, picture the way you kiss photographs brittle now, in violet-scented dust violet light, ripples o’er, memories untouched matchbooks, torn letters i, dream of the way you held me then in those days... streetlamps dim, as morning sighs, violet fading night winter chill though winter’s gone, pale winter light it’s all so still, and all still there, ribbon-tied before time to close tired violet eyes and dream of you no more
11.
Allodynia 03:15
the clouds are here to stay silver lines have faded now to cigarette-smoke grey the embers light the day silhouettes so statuesque obscuring their decay these empty glasses sing of naive toasts of yesteryear and all they failed to bring there's nothing left to say the stars we used to wish upon, i've wished them all away the embers still ablaze but hearts of ash so quickly fall and easily blow away the empty bottles stand, a testament to love grown old, precariously close at hand the tears all slipped away reflected as the rain slid past this shimmering disarray the end blurs all the same so hold me tight but wave goodbye i just can't bear to stay the broken glass betrays the utter meaninglessness of all there was to say

about

"If Dusty Springfield were alive today and obsessed with quiet electronics, then she might sound a little like H Bird. Conceived by pop aficionado Aug Stone and voiced by Scarlet’s Well keyboard player Kate, H Bird are equal parts St Etienne, Lucky Soul, and perfect heartbreak." – How Does It Feel To Be Loved?

"H Bird meanwhile hail from somewhere near the sun, and their ‘Pink Lights and Champagne’ has been available as a free download from Dogbox records for a good few weeks now. It’s a gorgeous synthesiser led piece recorded with Ian Catt of St Etienne and Field Mice fame, and that really ought to give you a clue as to what it sounds like. Throw in the fact that Kate Dornan of Fosca and Scarlet’s Well is the voice and hey, I hope you can guess it sounds pretty special. It reminds me of dancing the night away in darkened rooms at the start of the ’90s to groups like Golden, dreaming of glamour and stolen kisses. That, and catching the last bus home, blinking through an alcohol mist and feeling the ghosts of beautiful fingers entwined." - Tangents

"...filled with bitter sweet, perfect pop tunes of the kind that haven’t been heard since the likes of St. Etienne graced the stage. And it’s music that is deserving of your time, an album whose subtleties and eloquence are revealed more fully if it’s given your full attention. Pour a Martini, don a smoking jacket (or a cat suit, possibly both) and experience the literate bitter sweet pop that is ‘Operation Fascination’." - Von Pip Musical Express

"...to put it simply this single is perfect, one of those songs which you simply couldn’t improve if you tried. It’s beautiful pop music, beautifully written and beautifully sung. It’s a warm feeling in your heart. It’s achingly sweet without being nauseating or saccharine and from the second that piano riff hits you and the words “Your eyes meet mine…” coyly fall into view you’ll be hooked and pretty much a sitting duck to the drums and killer keyboard line." - Pow Pow Pow

"‘Operation: Fascination’ is a wonderful epitaph to a short-lived band that sparkled briefly, yet brightly." - PennyBlackMusic

"At its best, it’s very good indeed – witness the delightful Spector-ish Northern Soul of ‘1000 Lights’, or the perky synth-pop of ‘Violet’, which hides an achingly wistful chorus, effortlessly ticking that happy-sad perfect pop box that the likes of Dusty and the Pet Shop Boys have understood all too well." - CMU

credits

released January 11, 2011

H Bird is: Kate Dornan, Kasia Middleton, & Aug Stone

Thanks to Ian Catt, Alex Sarll, Belinda Darling, Alex Potterill, Pippa Ashton, Gemma Cossins, and anyone who ever came to a gig or gave a listen.

All songs recorded by Ian Catt except 'Violet' recorded by Boothnavy and Ian Catt.

CD design by Pippa Alice. Cover photo by Gemma Cossins.

Original Press Release:

H Bird release debut album ‘Operation: Fascination’ on 10 January 2011 – an eleven part pop victory that trails through a party, from tender, misty-eyed love and accidental romance, to heartbroken comedowns, wistful nostalgia and brighter tomorrows dancing under the stars.

Opener ‘Violet’ is the first and only Dornan and Stone collaboration, a three minute frolic through a make-believe world of pop that celebrates life in the face of death. “It contains the perfect mixture of joy and melancholy that all the best songs have,” says Aug. ‘1000 Lights,’ written by Kate, quickly became a live favourite. “It’s a twist of good old English grumpiness to zest the cocktail of sunny American optimism; and a reminder to celebrate falling out of love as heartily as falling in,” she says. “C’mon, dry your eyes, you’ll water down your drink that way,” dead-pans the female narrator of ‘Sour Martinis’ – stolen from the title to Chapter 14 of Ian Fleming’s Thunderball – as she whisks her heartbroken best friend off on a cocktail- fuelled afternoon. Determined not to let the good stuff go to waste, she boldly lets him know what's really going on: "Push that glass to the side, my lips are waiting to take its place.” ‘Danger Makers’ is the title of an episode of The Avengers and is a nod to the fast-paced, stylish, fantasy world of the cult TV show. “H Bird would never have existed if it weren’t for Mrs Peel and John Steed,” says Aug. “Even the album title, ‘Operation: Fascination’ came from an episode called What The Butler Saw.” ‘First Kiss Lips,’ arguably the first H Bird song, begins as pure pop but mutates into Italo disco with space-age synth slides and spiraling cosmic howls. “I demoed the music in my first flat in London,” says Aug. “I’ve always said that there’s something about a really great pop song that’s akin to the feeling you have after you’ve kissed someone you’ve really fancied for quite a while.” ‘Pink Lights & Champagne’ is a dreamy lounge jewel, first released on Dogbox Records in ‘06. “It’s another one courtesy of Ian Fleming,” says Aug. “Chapter 8 of Casino Royale. I remember a very pleasant Sunday afternoon quaffing Guinness in a big comfy chair at The Pineapple in Kentish Town reading the last Darcy Dancer book by JP Donleavy. By the time I’d left I had all the lyrics scribbled down on my bookmark.” The Gainsbourg-esque ‘Lumières Des Belgique’ transports us to a snowy Belgian street scene; hidden in the shadows, we witness the final moments of a bitter break-up between two lovers. The record closes with the twinkling melancholy of ‘Allodynia’: “These empty glasses sing, of naïve toasts of yesteryear and all they failed to bring.” We follow the singer leaving a shattered relationship, on to where the clouds are now lined with silver, no longer "cigarette-smoke grey". “This is the last H Bird song to be written,” says Aug. “I wrote it in a tiny room in Queen’s Park after having once again become obsessed with Suede’s ‘Dog Man Star’ for the millionth time.”

It was late autumn 2003 and Aug was walking down Portobello Road when he stopped at a shop window and peered in at two polka dot patterned tea cups; one was blue and green, the other red and pink. After a brief pause, he continued home, where he slipped Dusty Springfield’s ‘Stay Awhile’ onto the turntable. Right there and then, he knew he had to form a band that sounded like his afternoon.

Two years later, he bumped into Kate and Kasia in a second hand record shop – all three were poised to clinch the one available 12” of Yazoo's ‘Upstairs at Eric's.’ Concluding that the last thing any of them wanted was a public bloodbath, Aug waved his copies of Dusty’s ‘A Girl Called Dusty’ and Saint Etienne’s ‘Tiger Bay’ aloft, like war-ravaged white flags. A cool détente whistled down the musty aisle and fighting fists were dropped.
Aug then recognised Kate from the bands Fosca and Scarlet’s Well, who he was a big fan of, buying their imports back when he lived in America. Kate introduced him to Kasia, a close friend since university, who was a dab hand with a synth, cello, and pretty much anything else she could accrue. They opted instead to go for a cup of tea and H Bird was born. It was a meeting of pop magic.

A gig at the How Does It Feel Club snowballed into shows across London every other week, from The Betsey Trotwood, to supporting Lucky Soul at Kilburn’s The Good Ship, and headline shows at Fierce Panda parties, H Bird’s cool, nonchalant New-Pop was packing in the kids. During this summer of madness, singles label Dogbox Records witnessed the trio’s musical manifesto. A gin-soaked evening ensued; by the break of dawn, H Bird had signed on the dotted line and ‘Pink Lights & Champagne’ was to be their debut single.

Since, the guys have played all around London, slowly building a devoted fan-base, but that’s not all. Kate has been busy in bands including The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra and 18 Carat Love Affair, Kasia made a move to LA to pen film scores, and Aug has been making music with David Shah (Luxembourg, The Melting Ice Caps) as The Soft Close-Ups, as well as releasing under a variety of other guises. But now, H Bird are reunited and armed with an album of perfect pop.

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