Get all 16 Zoo Front releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Re-Entry, Dashboard Radio, I Need Time EP, We Float North, Pluto 1, Can't Find The Words EP, Petal Black EP, Crossing EP, and 8 more.
1. |
Bend
03:27
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Bend (Nancie Tief & Camden Tatsapaugh)
Patterns, and templates, rhymes, rules, and regrets
Comforting phrases and thrilling vignettes
Running in circles, it’s ridiculous and sublime
Am I going forward? Or am I just out of time?
An endless search for an elusive ideal
Fact or fiction – this picture can’t be real
Another mirage, another secret trap door
The answer there isn’t the one I’m looking for
You say that I must color between the lines
But all I need is the freedom to be me
Can you promise that this will all make sense?
And that one day the lines will be my friends
And I’ll make them bend
It’s a riddle, a puzzle, a set of tumblers, a skeleton key
There is no GPS from point A to step B
You can sit beside me, but you best be aware
I’ll turn it sideways whenever I dare
So don’t say that I must color between the lines
Because what I need is the freedom to be me
Can you promise that this will all make sense?
And that one day the lines will be my friends
And I’ll make them bend
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu
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2. |
Act Your Age
03:39
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Act Your Age (Ed Ekendu)
Callin' 'cross the dance floor
From her spot at the edge of the stage
Just a little hip just a little bit all the rage
She's gotta slip-shoulder look that'll never be mistaken
Setting every heart in the place to breakin'
And all I'm really asking her is
Please don't ever act your age
The lightness of her being says she's
Never seen the inside of cage
Avoiding all the dramas that
Lead so many people to disengage
Gifted with the backbeat bounce she's steppin'
She's really so discrete with that secret weapon
All I'm really asking her is
Baby please don't ever change
And it’s okay if you stay this way
It’s okay with me
A little Toni Simmons
And a little bit Betty Page
The twinkle in her eye's infectious
But it's so hard to gauge
Dancin' for me darling I feel so reawakened
Watchin' while you're shim-shim-shimmying and shakin' and
All I'm really asking, babe, is
Please don't ever act your age
And it’s alright if you dance all night
It’s alright with me
And it’s okay, just please don’t ever change
It’s okay with me.
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu
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3. |
We Float North
03:51
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We Float North (Ed Ekendu & Nancie Tief)
Never was the type to catch the flow
Never found a line that I could toe
But even though the tack is rough
It’s so much worth the ride
No regret and no despair
The simple smile of answered prayer
Awakening without a care
To kick against the tide
Turn away from precedents
Deny the common lack of sense
Resist the unstoppable force
And just float North
Day by day we face our fate
Ignoring how it’s gotten late
Rising to the charge
We self deceive
Try to cope my dearest friend
This step-stone game we call pretend
But the wisdom will show in the end
I hope you’ll see
There’s always flight to slip the game
But safety brings it’s subtle shame
Again and again the facts remain
Persistence is the key
Dive into the torrent
Swimming in defiance
Slipping forward silent
‘Cause we believe
And though the current tumbles south
Relentless in it’s force
Incessant in our madness
We float north
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu
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4. |
Ravina Da Rosa
03:37
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5. |
Headlights
04:43
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Headlights (Ed Ekendu)
Halos are creeping
Like the ghosts of the dead
Peeking and prodding
Around and about my bed
A flashing of amber
The silence of light
Wide eyed and sleepy
I shiver the night
Bundled and sheltered
I cling to belief
To finally discover
There’ll be no relief
Headlights on my wall
Sliding sweet stream
Denying me solace
I need to dream
Headlights on my wall
Sliding sweet stream
Deny me the solace
That I need to dream
You remain so heartless
Despite my best attempts
Always persevering
Daylight my old friend
The glowing horizon
Still heralds the dawn
So I pull up the covers
And wish that you were gone
Headlights on my wall
Terrifying stream
Deny me the solace
That I need to dream
Headlights on the wall
Bring unwanted sight
I guess someday maybe
I’ll have a good night
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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6. |
One False Move
03:40
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One False Move (Nancie Tief)
When I met you I thought I’d met my match
You gave me an itch I had to let you scratch
Whirlwind, we were having a real good time
Warning, I missed the flashing neon sign
Let’s call it a day, let’s call it a life
I’m done with you, I won’t be your wife
I’m walking away from the games that you play
I’m out of here
A man of mystery, he can talk so sweet
Hides a false identity like a card tucked up his sleeve
Don’t try to say that you’ll make it all right
Your time up so don’t put up a fight
Wide-eyed, I believed every single line
Wiser, I’ve broken your twisted web of lies
Let’s call it a day, let’s call it a life
I’m done with you, I won’t be your wife
I’m walking away from the games that you play
I’m out of here
A man of mystery, he can talk oh sweet
Hides a false identity like a card tucked up his sleeve
It was so easy to fall into your trap
Lost in the maze
We were blind little rats
Everyone ate from the palm of your hand
Don’t cry to me now, I don’t give a damn
Let’s call it a day, let’s call it a life
I’m done with you, I won’t be your wife
I’m walking away from the games that you play
I’m out of here
A man of mystery, he can talk oh so sweet
Hides a false identity like a card tucked up his sleeve
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu
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7. |
Days Like These
04:17
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Days Like These (Ed Ekendu)
We risk all we acquire
Searching for surprise
To never be discovered
We keep such careful ‘guise
Sometimes I just can’t take it
It’s kind of do or die
But when we come together
I find the will to try
‘Cause nothing ever fits
No matter how we plea
So rare this vernal garden
It brings me to my knees
And yet we crave it’s silence
To kiss the moonlit breeze
And struggle through our ordinary lives
For days like these
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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8. |
Presence Tense
03:26
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Presence Tense (Ed Ekendu)
I think I’m hiding
I get so scared
Who would have thought
That I could be so impaired?
Hangin’ from the edge
My finger hold’s just so strong
How come no one has noticed
That it’s been the same all along?
I think I’m running
I get so tight
Who would have guessed
That I could’ve been this right?
Leaning on the edge
I feel the gravity seduce
I hear the plummet calling
And there’s no excuse
No license no sense
What’s the point in learning?
You bring presence tense
And I can feel the churning
No credit no cause
What’s the point in ruling?
You say you only bent some laws
Well who’d you think you’re fooling?
I think I’m living
But I’m not quite sure
Who would have guessed
At all these things I’ve endured?
I’m counting on privilege
And hanging on by a thread
If the fight is to the finish
I think I’ll bail out here instead
Copyright 1990 & 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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9. |
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Bite the Hand that Feeds (Nancie Tief & Ed Ekendu)
Gone, gone I won’t see you again
Writhing in the grip of my vices
Gone, gone a warring peaceful time
Your innocence no match for my prison
Dreaming, I fell beneath your spell
Somehow you shook me from my nightmares
Longing, you haunt me night and day
With lullabies, whispers, and kisses
Take it from me I took it all from you
I found the vein and left you lifeless as you walked away
Nothing of me that I could give you
Such a fool to bite the hand that feeds me
Gone, gone the love you handed me
Elixir not strong enough to cure me
Take it from me I took it all from you
I found the vein and left you lifeless as you walked away
Nothing of me that I could give you
Such a fool to bite the hand that feeds me
I’m sorry now, oh so sorry now
Such a fool to bite the hand that feeds me
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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10. |
Another Psalm
02:27
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Another Psalm (Ed Ekendu)
Is there a prayer of redemption?
Some simple verse
That I might sing
To cool the silent anguish
To chase these demons away?
Is there a chance that could be given?
An act of courage,
Kindness, or pain?
A simple path to lead the fallen
Back from where they first went astray?
Is there a dire price of learning?
A tragic debt that we all owe?
I’d always hoped that there’d be mercy
As I was taught so long ago
Is there a psalm of repentance?
Some silky spin
Of handwritten gold
To bring this worn and weary
Child back into the fold?
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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11. |
Sayonara
03:10
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12. |
Crossing
03:34
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Crossing (Nancie Tief)
We reached the border, met the guard
Nervous laughter as she eyed the car
Here with a foot on each side of the dividing line
We’re just your nosy neighbors, won’t you let us in?
Or are you afraid of our original sin?
Look up and see the sky
They reached the checkpoint, met the guard
No one laughed, they’d come much too far
Running from hunger, evil and death
“give us a chance” is their one request
Look up and see the sky
The earth quivers below
Shaking beneath the weight of tyrants
There are no borders in the sky
I see the fear in your eyes and the hurt in your heart
They knocked down your towers and tore you apart
Then ripped up my country and sullied my name
I’m begging for help – that’s the reason I came
I promise we’re good neighbors, won’t you let us in?
Or are you afraid of our original sin?
Look up and see the sky
The earth quivers below
Shaking beneath the weight of tyrants
There are no borders in the sky
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu
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13. |
Silhouette
03:07
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Silhouette (Ed Ekendu)
Just my luck
Running into you
Silhouette against a flashbulb sky
In a jigsaw life
The pieces rarely fit
No matter how you try
Come on in
It’s funny how it’s been
So many years and yet so very few
In a snapshot life
The moment is the prize
It’s not so much the subject
As the point of view
But deep down inside
I feel a little older
Just a little weathered from the storm
And I can’t resist the longing to go home
We all need to go home
But even home is gone
Never mind
Grieving at the loss
Don’t squander these few moments in despair
In a switchblade life
It’s best to hold the knife
But not to use it
If you dare
Copyright 1990 & 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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14. |
Lynn
03:12
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Lynn (Ed Ekendu)
Lynn
What could the girl have done what was her sin?
What could the girl have done to bring such shame?
Written on a wall her scarlet name
Lynn
Who could the girl become who has she been?
What could the girl have done was she to blame?
Written on a wall her scarlet name
Written on a wall in shadowed light
As if to dread the dawn and kiss the night
Lynn
What was the girl’s desire deep down within?
Was it the girl’s design to fan the flame?
Written on a wall her scarlet name
Written on a wall for all to see
As plain as day and night and you and me
As plain as day and night and you and me
Copyright 2020 © Ed Ekendu All Rights Reserved
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Zoo Front New Haven, Connecticut
Indie Rock
Zoo Front is:
Ed Ekendu
Nancy Tatsapaugh
Ju Dee Luna
Lisa Tonner
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