Everybody's Going to Hell (But You and Me), by Nikki & the Phantom Callers

Everybody's Going to Hell (But You and Me)

by Nikki & the Phantom Callers

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Vinyl version of our debut album. Pressed on Cloudy Clear vinyl with Blood Red inset.

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1.	Everybody's Going to Hell (But You and Me) 03:00	lyrics	buy track
We’ve been too nice, too willing, too patient We’ve held our tongues ‘til they turn inside The shadows move on the voices that linger Inside these walls, playing tricks on our minds And if we’re just being honest We are all liars, cheaters made of sin We’ve been pushed down, turned around, forgotten But, we get shit straight every once in a while Our feet shuffle, but our hearts, they are golden Our eyes belie the monsters inside And if we’re still being honest We are all liars, cheaters made of sin Everybody is gonna look the other way Everybody is going to hell, but you and me Sha la la, sha la la, oh
2.	Phantom Caller 03:05	lyrics	buy track
Ghost don’t you sweep down to my dreams tonight I know you want to pinch my cheeks for old times, ‘Cause I’ve been on the other end of your black telephone Calling me to bring you home Ghost don’t you sweep down to my dreams tonight I know you wanna take my curls and wring them tight, ‘Cause I’ve been on the other end of your black telephone Calling me to bring you home But I cannot save you Can’t say I ever had the power to I cannot save you tonight, no, I cannot save you, can’t say that I can blame you, But, I cannot save you tonight, so… Please, spare me, Your robes no longer, no longer, heal my soul And these dreams, these dreams of you won’t make things right These dreams, these dreams of you won’t make things right
3.	Mica Hill 03:00	lyrics	buy track
We had a little bitty black cat Always had the radio on My daddy liked to do the backstep, And Mama still hadn’t gone I wanted time to stop turning At an early age, you see I could smell the beauty in the dirt, And knew the worst was meant to be Hey, hey now, I don’t need another love song How’s about a good luck charm? Hey, hey now, I don’t need another fight song I am precisely amplified We never talk about someday Or the gold on Mica Hill The bitter weed and vine will bind you Underneath you choke and reel But we’ll talk about the Pied Piper, and the cliffs over the sea It’s a funny feeling when you’re falling All your monsters look like trees Hey, hey now, I don’t need another love song How’s about a good luck charm? Hey, hey now, I don’t need another fight song I am precisely amplified Hey, hey now, I don’t need another love song How’s about a good luck charm? Hey, hey now, I don’t need another fight song I am precisely amplified
4.	Howl with Me 03:31	lyrics	buy track
It was a lonely night A mighty cold night, and you were not afraid of me You thought you knew me Could see right through me, but oh, how things change I’m so sorry for what I’ve done Your life is over, while mine has just begun My hands, my hands won’t help you now Morning’s coming soon Oh, darling, let’s just howl at the moon Your face is fading Like stars that evening, so long ago Did you forgive me? Will you undo me? How could I know? I’m so sorry for what I’ve done Your life is over, while mine has just begun My hands, my hands won’t help you now Morning’s coming soon Oh, darling, let’s just howl at the moon I tried a witch’s brew, but you came back all wrong I tried a time machine, but you knew what I had done So, howl with me I’m so sorry for what I’ve done Your life is over, while mine has just begun My hands, my hands won’t help you now Morning’s coming soon Oh, darling, let’s just howl at the moon I’m so sorry for what I’ve done Your life is over, while mine has just begun My hands, my hands won’t help you now Morning’s coming soon Oh, darling, let’s just howl at the moon
5.	Love Me Tender (Love Me Black and Blue) 02:33	lyrics	buy track
Love me tender, love me black and blue Go away, come back, don’t stay I’ll be here waiting for you Love me tender, love me black and blue Go away, come back, don’t stay I’ll be here waiting for you Ooo wee, karma, what’s your game? Well, I’ve been good, and I’ve been bad So, everything’s the same Remember that summer at half past 4:00 when it poured every day? The rains fell down on the heart of the city, giving us away It washed our hands, and it slicked our hair, and we drove around so fast The rains fell down on the dirty little city, exposing us at last Ooo wee, karma, what’s your game? Well, I’ve been good, and I’ve been bad So, everything’s the same Everything’s the same Everything’s the same Ooo wee, karma, what’s your game? Well, I’ve been good, and I’ve been bad So, everything’s the same Love me, tender black and blue Go away, come back, don’t stay Go away, come back, don’t stay Go away, come back, don’t stay I’ll be here for you
6.	They've Never Walked Through Shadows 02:39	lyrics	buy track
There's a big black cat on a smooth pebble road Waiting to borrow my shoes And a little songbird warm in my pocket Waiting to sing good news They've never walked through shadows (They've never walked alone) Barefoot in the road I stand Colder than the shiniest nickel (Cold, but I am here) Baby, hold my hand Hey there you raven haired beauty How your pink cheeks shine in this light Join us in the darkening hour We'll dance away the night They've never walked through shadows (They've never walked alone) Barefoot in the road I stand Colder than the shiniest nickel (Cold, but I am here) Baby, hold my hand We are bound to walk this road forever As tortured souls in dreams But as the songbird sweetly whistles It's never as bad as it seems They've never walked through shadows (They've never walked alone) Barefoot in the road I stand Colder than the shiniest nickel (Cold, but I am here) Baby, hold my hand So, raise your lanterns high To shine above the pines Follow me through the wind in the trees That bend as we cry They've never walked through shadows (They've never walked alone) Barefoot in the road I stand Colder than the shiniest nickel (Cold, but I am here) Baby, hold my hand Colder than the shiniest nickel (Cold, but I am here) Baby, hold my hand
7.	Blue Moonlight 03:44	lyrics	buy track
It’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in It’s been gone for days, but then again, so have you, baby It’s hard to get out when your legs are lead You’re waiting on a sign, and the message said, “It’s true, baby” I-do-lay-o I-de-o-lay-tee I-de-o-lay-tee-o When it’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in But, you said blue moonlight made me pretty and sweet I know now, all your words die at your feet ‘Cause it’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in Talking’ to my baby, but his shoulder’s cold I don’t hear what I want, it sure gets old, and I’m tired, baby It’s a pain so old, that I call it friend A hurt sad bad, but in the end it’s just a bittersweet memory I-do-lay-o I-de-o-lay-tee I-de-o-lay-tee-o When it’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in But, you said blue moonlight made me pretty and sweet I know now, all your words die at your feet ‘Cause it’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in Yeah, you said blue moonlight made me pretty and sweet I know now, all your words die at your feet ‘Cause it’s early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in Early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in Early in the mornin’ and the sleep set in
8.	Motor Run 03:54	lyrics	buy track
My heart left me yesterday, in bucket seats of an old Chevrolet It said, “Girl, you just gotta go after that little GTO” Oh, make my motor run So look out boy, in your thrift store jacket Big blue eyes looking back at me When I catch up to you, I’m gonna show you off like a new tattoo ‘Cause you make my motor run So don’t worry honey I saved all my money To meet you out on the road Baby, take a ride to yesterday And I will not cry ‘cause you cannot stay Just make my motor run Yeah, make my motor run At a truck stop in the pouring rain My boy jingled his key chain Singin’, “Make my motor run” As I sit there in the driver’s seat I think the ride was long, but he sure is sweet He makes my motor run So don’t worry honey I saved all my money To meet you out on the road Baby, take a ride to yesterday I will not cry ‘cause you cannot stay Just make my motor run Yeah, make my motor run Just make my motor run Yeah, make my motor run
9.	Mamas Should Know 03:42	lyrics	buy track
We swirl around in an endless space. Just points of light in a beautiful place. Into this world we are thrown; without a dream, without a home. And if you die before we wake, don’t leave it all up to us to figure it out alone. Mamas should know what to leave when they go, if they’re not ready to fly. What to reap, what to sow, what to leave for the crow. Write it down, so we’ll know. We walk around in an empty daze. Our voices lost, or were they just replaced? Into this world we will grow, maybe we’ll find a dream to find it gone. And if you die before we wake, don’t leave it all up to us to figure it out alone. Mamas should know what to leave when they go. If they’re not ready to fly. What to reap, what to sow, what to leave for the crow. How to laugh, how to cry, how to stand tall without too much pride. Write it down, so we’ll know. (Hey little mamas, won’t you tell us where to go? How to love, how to trust, how to take things slow?) Write it down, so we’ll know.
10.	New Year's Day 05:12	lyrics	buy track
I was drivin’ back to Georgia in this car without a heater On the coldest day of the year, New Year’s Day I was thinkin’ about my choices, the loves I’ve lost, how dark my soul is How I gave it my all, just to give it away And may old acquaintances be forgotten That line’ll break my heart every time, and I wanted to love you, but you wouldn’t let me I wanted to leave, but I was too afraid to try And we may grow old, but it won’t be together, no I gave it a go, but I was too worn out to try On the shoulder stands an old ghost A rattlin’ chains from the hopes lost of a weary tired motherless child And, well, all’s done gone bitter Colder than it was in December Here we go again, another New Year’s Day And may old acquaintances be forgotten That line’ll break my heart every time, and I wanted to love you, but you wouldn’t let me I wanted to leave, but I was too afraid to try And we may grow old, but it won’t be together, no We gave it a go, but I was too worn out to try Roll down the window, feel the frosty air Find a stranger, take ‘em anywhere ‘Cause old acquaintances be forgotten That line’ll break my heart every time, and I wanted to love you, but you wouldn’t let me I wanted to leave, but I was too afraid to try And we may grow old, but it won’t be together, no I gave it a go, but I was too worn out to try I wanted to love you, but you wouldn’t let me I wanted to leave, but I was too afraid to try And we may grow old, but it won’t be together, well We gave it a go, but I was too worn out to try
11.	Fallen Angel 03:22	lyrics	buy track
I was a lamb of God, so washed in the blood was I Clean sheets and a weary mind, oh, trouble in the sky My heart was white as snow, too much did I give away Cherry red my bones did bleed Another angel falls I was a lamb of God, so washed in the blood was I I was a lonely one Another angel falls I am one I am one Oh, now I’m one Another angel falls I am one I am one Oh, now I’m one Another angel falls I was a lamb of God Another angel falls

about

Nikki & the Phantom Callers’ new LP was recorded in late 2018 at Maze Studios in Atlanta. To record the album, Speake enlisted Ben Etter (Deerhunter, Cate Le Bon, Hazel English) as lead engineer and brought on Bronson Tew at Dial Back Sound (Drive-By Truckers) to master the record. The result is a crisp, expansive record with as much sonic depth as emotional resonance and an unmistakable Southern rock swagger.

It’s no wonder Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You and Me) drips with authenticity—this is the record Speake has been unconsciously working towards for decades; a raw, macabre expression of Southern experience that blends garage-pop, country and rock & roll into something all its own. “When I started doing open mics twenty years ago, I’d play country songs I wrote and a handful of Springsteen covers,” says Speake. “That country-rock sound has always been what I’ve wanted to make, it just took me a long time to find a group where I could make that happen. In all my other projects I’ve been a supporting player—and I love them—but this one is mine.”

Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You and Me) kicks off with its title track, a garagey barroom shuffle that soundtracks humanity’s descent to the underworld, inspired by a conversation with one of Speake’s patients in her job as a registered dietitian. The revelry in cheating damnation is short lived, though, as “Phantom Caller” finds Speake visited in dreams by the ghosts of those gone before her, begging for salvation that she’s unable to deliver, backed by layers of deceptively upbeat fuzz-pop. Later on the album, “Mamas Should Know,” finds Speake grappling with the death of her mother at a young age, lamenting the lost maternal influence in her formative years as she sings, “If you die before we wake / Don’t leave it all up to us to figure it out alone.”

Elsewhere on the record, “Howl With Me” nods to Speake’s country roots with a spin on the traditional murder-ballad, reflecting on the murderer’s remorse after that fact rather than recounting the specifics of the killing. The album’s centerpiece, “They’ve Never Walked Through Shadows,” wades through the mystery of the afterlife with the foreboding gait of a funeral march and the choral cadence of a gospel hymn, while closer “Fallen Angel,” explores depression, loneliness and the loss of hope atop crunchy guitars and gorgeously hazy backing vocals.

Speake didn’t write this collection of songs with the specific intention of investigating the myriad ways grief and loss manifest themselves throughout life, but the results speak for themselves. Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You and Me) stands not only as a spectacular debut from Nikki & the Phantom Callers, but as a deeply personal reflection on lives passed, loves lost, and a culture fixated on damnation.

Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You and Me) is out April 3rd, 2020.

credits

released April 3, 2020

Ben Etter at Maze Studios: Recording Engineer/Producer
Bronson Tew at Dialback Sound: Mastering Engineer
Nikki Speake: Songwriter, Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Aaron Mason: Lead Guitar
Anna Kramer: Bass, Backing Vocals on: Hell, Phantom Caller, Howl with Me, Shadows, Mamas, and Fallen Angel
Russell Owens: Drums

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Nikki & the Phantom Callers Atlanta, Georgia

Nikki & the Phantom Callers’ debut LP, Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You and Me). The 11 track collection of boot-stomping alt-country & jangly indie-rock weaves a series of stories exploring a beautiful darkness in stark contrast to their predominantly sunny tonality; a Southern Gothic study of grief soundtracked by country-tinged ‘60s pop. ... more

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