"Their lyrics -- sometimes mocking
and shocking -- jump out from behind opera-trained singer Mary
Beth Kite's vocals: 'What's so special about that ring in your
ear?/ What's so special about that ring in your crotch?/ It's
been done before, it'll happen again' from 'Born Naked'; and
'You better watch out/ Keep your head low/ You better look out/
She's going shopping' from the snarling, punkish 'Bitch in a
Volvo.' Others are luscious memories or delectable love songs.
Passion, catharsis, sarcasm, melody, and a few Latin beats; it's
all there with a sweet vengeance."
-- Jessica
Anenberg, Seattle Weekly, Aug. 27, 1997
"This is
a band that is going to force the world to take notice! The Bolivians
have delivered the goods with this 13-cut masterpiece of catchy
and quirky pop/rock that will have you humming these songs to
work. This Seattle band features super songwriting and one of
the better female singers in the Northwest, Mary Beth Kite. My
favorite is 'Toaster' (also featured on the Blimp Kitty Records
Compilation last year) but all the songs are first rate. The
Bolivians produced this latest release at Hanzsek Studios in
Seattle and the quality is A+! ( Scott Ross produced this excellent
CD.)"
-- Michael
Green, Musicians Network, June 1997
"Not only
have The Whole Bolivian Army won their fair share of 'Battle
of the Band' competitions around town, but with song titles like
'Bitch in a Volvo' and lyrics asking, '...what's so special about
that ring in your crotch?,' it's clear that they're no longer
playing nice. The hooks on their self-titled full-length follow
up to their EP Hazen are a bit more brash than before,
but TWBA's wham-bam guitar rock spans the spectrum of rock sound.
The folksy 'Follow Him Down' and 'Sunnyside' feature Mary Beth
Kite's prominent vocals without sounding wimpy, and if it's guitar
yer into, 'Born Naked' and 'Toaster' will have you sitting in
your beanbag chair and wailing air ax late into the night. Let's get it straight, though. TWBA aren't trying
to make your eardrums bleed. Instead, they write complex rock
songs which make for pretty sweet listening. And there ain't
nuthn' wrong with that!"
-- David
Musolf, Insite, May 1997
TRACK LIST 1. Got
Yer Ears On
2. Born Naked
3. Bitch in a Volvo
4. Toaster
5. L.A.K.
6. Follow Him Down
7. Sunnyside
8. No One's Father
9. Fear
10. Falling and Again
11. Arbor Man
12. Rock Anthem
13. The Dull Ache
VIDEO
"L.A.K."
Channel 29 Live Show
Got
Yer Ears On
(instrumental)
Born Naked
tell me what's
weird about long hair
tell me what's weird about bald heads
what's so special about that ring in your ear?
what's so special about that ring in your crotch?
it's been
done before
it'll happen again
I was born naked
I'm more than what I wear
and I don't care about my hair
I was born naked
tell me what's
weird about big boots
tell me what's weird about flannel and camouflage
what's so special about black?
what's so special about pale skin?
you've been
done before
you'll happen again
you were born naked
you're more than what you wear
and I don't care about your hair
you were born naked
tell me what's
weird about bouffant hairdos
tell me what's weird about bell bottoms and silk shirts
what's so special about powdered wigs and fake moles?
so special about sans-culottes, troubadour lycra
turkish top hats, freakish flop mats?
we've been
done before...
Bitch in a Volvo
bitch in a
Volvo
you better watch out
bitch in a Volvo
keep your head low
bitch in a Volvo
you better look out
bitch in a Volvo
she's going shopping
Toaster
I met a man
who found God in a toaster
he said, "progress is the only sacrament worth dying for"
toaster
die for
die for toaster
didn't matter
he didn't know
the sound of frogs doing
the Hallelujah Chorus
on a warm winter evening
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
I met a man
who found God in a toaster
he said, "progress is the only sacrament worth dying for"
toaster
die for
die for toaster
didn't matter
he didn't know
the smell of skunks mating
he had his fucking toaster
L.A.K.
well, I've
never watched anyone die before
so forgive me if I do something wrong
I brought a book with me
and I could read from it, if you want me to
but I don't
know where you're going
I don't know where you're going
I'll catch
up with you someday
I wish you
could tell me what you want
what's going on inside your head
let me rub your feet
it's all I can do
are you afraid?
do you want out of here?
I'll catch
up with you someday
Follow Him Down
he used to
cut logs from the hillsides
until his hands ached and he was covered with sweat
that's how he got such big arms
but the mill's
as empty as me now
nothing but ghosts and broken track
and he lives on the other side of the country
and I'm gonna
follow him down
his father
used to fish in the river
until his hip-waders filled with water
he was always humming out of key
it's still
got the power to heal
still as cold as the mountain that feeds it
but the river's not the same without him
I just came
to say goodbye
and I'm gonna
follow him down
his wife drove
up the side of Shasta
long after he left her
the orange sky couldn't deliver her
I just came
to say goodbye
and I'm gonna
follow her down
I just came
to say goodbye
Sunnyside
if I was an
ant
I'd swallow this apricot
from the inside out
from the outside in
two weeks
in August
spill out into forever
like a life I lived before
before I lived a life
I'm sorry,
Sunnyside
found a dead
June bug
hollow in the grass
I feel much safer now
it's safe to feel much
a crop duster
dives
until the summer disappears
and I can feel the sun go down
and I go down with the sun
I'm sorry,
Sunnyside
No One's Father
hero, you're
my hero
hero, don't leave me here
someday, I'm coming for you
I know you
did the best you could
but I can't stop from thinking
somebody stop this sinking
I can see you're human just like me
but I can't stop from dreaming
in league with the guillotine
father, you're
no one's father
father, you killed her
someday, I'm coming for you
I know you
did the best you could
but I can't stop from thinking
somebody stop this sinking
I can see you're human just like me
but I can't stop from dreaming
in league with the guillotine
Fear
I don't know
why I'm so afraid
of getting in the water
and I don't know why I'm so afraid
of going out at night
I killed the
Boy with the Golden Hair
I sold the Wild Man to the freak show
I don't know
why I'm so afraid
of standing next to you
and I don't know why I'm so afraid
of everything
I killed the
Boy with the Golden Hair
I sold the Wild Man to the freak show
I don't know
why I'm so afraid
to drink my own darkness
to dream by myself
to submerge with the worst
to touch fear and let it run loose
Falling and Again
never so fast
too wild it was
where do we go when we die?
falling through cemeteries
I'm running to see
I know who it is who is there
I'm still
here, left behind
I'm still here, left behind
falling through
cemeteries
I'm running to see
I know who it is who is there
I can drift through darkness
falling and falling and again
I think I don't mind this at all
I'm still
here, left behind
I'm still here, left behind
je ne sais
quoi
I don't know what
Arbor Man
I can see
you weeding in the garden
are we there yet?
you can smell me
(too many pot stickers)
is this love?
Arbor Man,
you can save anything
Arbor Man, make this dead tree sing
we've got
plenty -- plenty to wade through
do we have the patience?
that yellow ocean home with the wrap-around porch
can we build it?
Arbor Man,
your thumb's turned all green
Arbor Man, you've come to rescue me
woolly thyme
and lavender
I can see your secret garden now
will we live to see it bloom?
I've got this vision
and you've got your shovel
what are we waiting for?
Arbor Man,
you can save anything
Arbor Man, make this dead tree sing
Arbor Man, you don't look so good
Arbor Man, we won't hurt you
I can see
you kneeling in the garden
are we there yet?
Rock Anthem
your memory
really sucks!
for you remember everything
and that's not fair to me
and everyone who never screwed you
I'm not sure
if you know
but truth is, I forgot
so I guess it no longer matters
how much of anything stays
what is all
this?
why don't we just take it off and run?
you pushed
me down the well!
no bucket coming to rescue me
it's not your fault, though
that I don't remember a thing
seeing you
through the hole in my head
I know your reason was good
who could have known I was ready?
you knew, and I'm done
what is all
this?
why don't we just take it off and run?
what is all this?
why don't we just take it off and run?
one shot, and I'm done
The Dull Ache
happiness
makes him so tired
happiness makes him so tired
he can't help it if misery makes him feel alive
if he loves the winter
the dull ache, dark skies
sitting by
the window
staring outside
and wondering what it's like
I wonder what
it's like
I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like
to be comfortable
to be a part of the race
to kill the curiosity
to forget the dead
"Their lyrics -- sometimes mocking
and shocking -- jump out from behind opera-trained singer Mary
Beth Kite's vocals: 'What's so special about that ring in your
ear?/ What's so special about that ring in your crotch?/ It's
been done before, it'll happen again' from 'Born Naked'; and
'You better watch out/ Keep your head low/ You better look out/
She's going shopping' from the snarling, punkish 'Bitch in a
Volvo.' Others are luscious memories or delectable love songs.
Passion, catharsis, sarcasm, melody, and a few Latin beats; it's
all there with a sweet vengeance."