‘Apple Core’ by Bruisey Peets | New Album, ‘Poached Eggs’
Exclusive track premiere of ‘Apple Core’ by Bruisey Peets, taken from his upcoming album, ‘Poached Eggs’, out November 19th.
From swamp to shining swamp, Bruisey Peets (Ben Usie) has steadily evolved with his unique brand of queer swamp pop. Equal parts earnest songwriting and performance art, Bruisey Peets shows are charmingly confrontational and subversively playful.
With ‘Poached Eggs’, Bruisey didn’t set out to write a tongue-in-cheek food record or commentary on small-business capitalism. Looking back, the food themes came from Usie finding work in the food industry. Delivering $20 soggy falafel and fries to people in their underwear can demoralise an artist playing late night shows for drink tickets. To add insult to injury, several restaurant owners had tried to convince Usie to run their businesses for them for $12/hr so that the owners could move onto other ventures which inspired the heart-wrenching songs ‘Poached Eggs’ and ‘Business with Friends’. The second half of the record became a requiem of loss. His sisters Lauren and Olivia Usie sang so well at their recent family funerals that Bruisey invited them to share in writing and performing songs for their grandfather Roland and their cousin Matthieu. ‘Bull Testicles’ had already come to Bruisey in a flash of inspiration while cooking the innards of a Whole Foods organic chicken. The song recalls Roland cooking bull testicles for young Ben and taking him squirrel hunting illegally behind a local golf course neighborhood. Craziness ensues, as we grasp for seeds of wisdom.
“‘Apple Core’ originated from the dread of being in debt mixed with the feeling of doom-scrolling twitter in bed. The mantra, “I guess I’ll take this lyin’ down” picks at the absurdity of our hive minds being so tapped into the atrocities around the globe while feeling isolated and helpless in our own little bubbles. The band pulses with hypnotic energy as I do my best to confront cis white patriarchy in spite of my passing privilege. While mixing the record with Mark Bingham, I found his copy of Allen Ginsberg’s amazing record ‘The Lion For Real’, which Mark had played on, along with Marc Ribot and Bill Frisell. As I digested ‘The Lion For Real’, I realized the double meaning in my mantra. By the end of the song, I must be singing ‘I guess I’ll take this lion down.'” Bruisey Peets
Headline photo: Olivia Perillo
Bruisey Peets Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
