Mr. X is the second single from upcoming full length album 'Vertical/Horizontal' (coming September 11, 2020)
'A' was a grizzled older man who worked odd jobs in West Broadway ten or so years ago; shovelling snow, loading trucks, fixing lawn mowers - physical work for cash. He had an air of menace, a brooding impatience, his movements were deliberate and economical; his mental energy seemed focused elsewhere, perhaps on containing a part of himself that no longer fit in the world. I got to know 'A' editing a community newspaper that he contributed to. He wrote a series of crime stories, cautionary tales from his own life, terrible things he had done, shared with equal parts regret and amazement. He swore that every word was true, and wrote under the pseudonym 'Mr. X' to avoid reprisal from law enforcement and former criminal associates. 'A' died in 2011, his obituary confirming many of his stories, and revealing that he was in fact much younger than we assumed. Years of hardship and hard living, years of being Mr. X.
Video - The video for Mr. X was shot and edited entirely on my cell phone over a 72 hour period in July. It tells the story of Mr. X, a bank robber I pick up hitchhiking; a man playing a broken system; someone capable of greatness and of great tragedy.
Rob (Figure Walking's drummer) has a Masters degree in Cinema Studies and he says this video is 'actually pretty good.'
-Greg Aug 14, 2020
lyrics
I met a runner on the road mid flight
A marathon runner, liked to run all night
City to city surfing the wake
Running and running for running’s sake
You got your face in the paper
Halfway to Alberta by then
Grey-black and staring back with pixelated skin
I’ll drink one for you because you got no time to
You’re holding up a bank in downtown Swift Current
With a pistol full of blanks
We all know the reason
Back home you’re a star
Laughing with your sisters and dancing at the bar
Diana in her black jeans Terri in a spin
You blow through like a summer storm
An blow back out again
I met a runner running out of time
Running too fast and ignoring the signs
Something you did somewhere
Conditions of release
On a tear with slicked back hair
Taunting the police
We all know the reason
Back home you’re a star
Laughing with your sisters and dancing at the bar
Diana in her black jeans, Terri in a dress
You’re hold up east of Lethbridge with a bullet in your chest
A fantastic album. I can see why they didn't continue under the name The Evens, as it's a different sound with the bass added. Coriky is the Evens + Joe Lally from Fugazi on bass. If you can imagine The Evens with a slightly more funky, aggressive sound like Fugazi... that's what you get! And there's no way that can ever go wrong. What a great debut album!! smiledozer
Father John Misty is so good to listen to when I want to relax. My cat used to seem to like the music too, and we would both chill and listen to the FJM vinyls I own. This album on bandcamp was a nice FJM treat. Michelle May
