We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Assorted Orchids

by Assorted Orchids

supported by
Black Letter & The Broadsheet Balladeers
Black Letter & The Broadsheet Balladeers thumbnail
Black Letter & The Broadsheet Balladeers Beautifully crafted and evocative album, reminds me in parts of Jackson C Frank and Nick Drake. The voice, the finger-picking, the songwriting, they're all top quality. This man should be a star, known to everyone, and in a parallel universe (a good universe!!) he would be!! Thank you Assorted Orchids for doing what you do. Inspiring.
The Serial Listener
The Serial Listener thumbnail
The Serial Listener This will become a go-to album for when I have a bad day. The vocals are just so soothing along with the acoustic guitar. Plus T. McWilliams sent me a very nice note along with the vinyl. Favorite track: Uninspired.
mitula
mitula thumbnail
mitula This is both outstanding and humble. A voice that feels like coming back from a walk in the woods on a bright winter morning to a warm home and being joyfully greeted by the family dogs. Every song an instant classic. A secret. A gift. This is the kind of record music teachers play in class and that lets kids grasp for the first time ever what kind of miracle music really is. A record people will still talk about in twenty years. Like witnessing history. A stroke of genius. Or a happy accident. Favorite track: Uninspired.
PNev
PNev thumbnail
PNev Just received the record today. Sounds amazing. Love the personal touch with the postcard and being the first person in Australia to receive it. Thanks, looking forward to the next addition.
/
  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe gatefold white vinyl 12", complete with full color sleeve and complete lyrics printed inside jacket. Limited to 500 copies.

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

      $19.98 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Recorded in the Autumn of 2020 at Wonka Sound Studio in Lowell, Massachusetts, Assorted Orchids’ self-titled debut album consists entirely of steel and nylon-stringed acoustic guitar inspired by the ornate and intricate yet rhythmic and pulsating fingerpicking patterns of Mississippi John Hurt, Donovan, and Nick Drake. Additional instrumentation is kept to a bare minimum and vocals are up front in the mix, fragile but forceful, delicate but precise. With a total running time just shy of 30 minutes, the album was designed and sequenced like a short story: a pure distillation of a single mood. As Pete Seeger would say, it’s “sit-down music”.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
Uninspired 02:46
Gone out to see A tidal wave, Drawn by the will Of gravity. Look how far you have roamed! You’re out there, darlin’, Running with no clothes on! Why don’t you just sleep on it and decide? Well, I would, but if I did it would be uninspired. Long after then, You arrived Drawn by the wind On the rise. Look how far you have roamed! You’re out there, darlin’, Running with no clothes on! Why don’t you just make up your goddamn mind? Well, I would, but if I did it would be uninspired.
2.
Sunrise 03:00
Stars align, In love, we rhyme Fireflies And moonshine. Like the night’s Twinkling skies, You’re a sight For sore eyes. Sore eyes, sore eyes At sunrise. Life, alive, In love, we’re high, Like the tide In moonlight. Moonlight, moonlight Until sunrise, sunrise… We’ll be singing, Dancing, drinking, Til’ the darkness dies.
3.
Tried & True 02:57
Tried, tried, tried and true: Springtime crocus blooms Purple and white and blue. Tried, tried, tried and true: Skinny dipping in June, Dressed for a honeymoon. But when the summer’s never ending, Tried and true will not feel good as new. Tried, tried, tried and true: Old man dreaming of youth, Purple and white balloons. But when the autumn’s in a hurry, Tried and true will not feel good as new.
4.
Today 01:57
Today, today, today! We need all the love That our hearts will not offer When we’re feeling too afraid, Too afraid to settle down, Too afraid to find the only Way to roam is to Hope you don’t notice Where on Earth you started from, Why on Earth you wish to go On like before? And when you’re dreaming, feeling high, I would recommend: Find a partner or find a friend. Stick with her or him til’ the end. Yesterday and tomorrow and Today, today, today Today, today, today!
5.
A happy child, a baby; Though she smiles, Eventually Seasons change. My angel! From the cradle to the grave, Hope you’ll find a way. A lovely bride, a lady; Though she cries, Internally, Secret flames. My angel! From the cradle to the grave, Hope you’ll find a way. Although I, lately, Pass the time, Eternity Won’t replace My angel! From the cradle to the grave, Only echoes fade.
6.
A miracle of creation: Love is what we make of it. An infinite celebration, Or a happy accident. And by the time I arrived, You knew… A miracle of rhythm. Love is not an odyssey. An infinite paroxysm, Love is what is happening. And by the time I arrived You… Knew I’m coming, Blinded by the moon.
7.
Aiming High 02:01
Aiming high, I’m striving for perfection. Aiming high, I’m vying to attain Everything I want Everyone I name, So I don’t have to be I don’t have to be afraid. Aiming high, I’m vying for position. Aiming high, I’m dying just the same All along I’ve been Happier this way So you don’t have to be You don’t have to be afraid.
8.
By the time the sun was shining He was so relieved. Breathing easy - easy - He was whistling Dixie in the breeze. By the time the doubts inside Conspired to make him leave, Breathing easy - easy - Seemed to be incredibly naïve. By the time the nightfall fell, He felt an eternity Breathing easy - easy - Would be wasted needlessly Asleep, or fearing the worst, For love has come, Blindly and abrupt, Shining like a diamond In the sun, in the sun, In the sun.
9.
Anchors aweigh, Under the Milky Face of the moon; Guided by stars, Porpoises, whales, and sharks. Wind in my sails, Whispering tall tales: Alien islands, Miles away, Over the violent waves. Anchors ashore, Look! Over there yonder Is a town Guarded by wolves, Lions, and cannibals. Lo and behold, the mighty kingdom, Land of the honeysuckle wine, Was once upon a time abandoned; Now, inside, only butterflies. I entered the garden Of scarlet chrysanthemums, Opening wide -  Hiding behind the old ivory throne Was a wild, human child.
10.
Outer Space 01:40
Standing on a watchman’s tower, I’ll find a place Over by the mountains yonder, We’ll stay Holding hands in love forever, I’ll plow the grain, Mama, can we live forever this way? Staring at an ocean liner, I’ll glide away, Farther out than Carolina, Or Spain, Making plans to live forever, In outer space, Mama, can we see the future today?

credits

released June 18, 2021

All songs written and performed on acoustic guitar by T. McWilliams

Cello: Natalia Jean McDermott

LP Jacket Design by Chris Hund

Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Bob Nash at Wonka Sound Studio

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Assorted Orchids Lowell, Massachusetts

Assorted Orchids is hypnotic night music made by fingerpicked acoustic guitar.

contact / help

Contact Assorted Orchids

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

Assorted Orchids recommends:

If you like Assorted Orchids, you may also like: