No Love Lost

Primary Genre(s): Post-Punk, New Wave, Gothic, Synth-Pop

Band Members: Michael Bowser (most instruments and vocals), Peter Green (some guitars)

Main Influences: Joy Division/New Order, The The, The Cure, Carter USM, TISM, INXS, U2, Depeche Mode, Fields of the Nephilim, Sisters of Mercy, Type O Negative, The Human League, OMD, Severed Heads, Icehouse, Devo, Adam and the Ants, Kate Bush, Sinead O'Connor, The Cranberries, Curve, Garbage, The Smiths, The Police, The Fall, Wall of Voodoo/Andy Prieboy/Stan Ridgway, Ramones, The Sex Pistols/Public Image Ltd, Killing Joke, The Killers, The Strokes, Interpol, Faith No More/other Mike Patton, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The Horrors, Gary Numan/Tubeway Army, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds/The Birthday Party, Eurythmics, Dead Can Dance, Dead Kennedys/other Jello Biafra, Duran Duran, Blink 182, The B-52s, Regurgitator, Rob Zombie/White Zombie, Interpol, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Ultravox, Divinyls, Simple Minds, ELO, AC/DC, Billy Joel, Coldplay, Placebo, Pixies, Pulp, Hunters & Collectors, Midnight Oil, V Spy V Spy, The Fauves, The Clash, The Church, The Smashing Pumpkins, Talking Heads, “Weird Al” Yankovic, David Bowie, Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman, The Tea Party, Pink Floyd, O.Children, Ministry, Maximo Park, They Might Be Giants, Ween, Franz Ferdinand, The Cramps, Misfits, Siouxie and the Banshees, Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side/Six Ft Hick, Jeff Wayne, John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, film soundtracks...

No Love Lost gets listed first, but not because it was my first band that went past the super-casual/jamming-in-a-house-with-friends stage; that honour goes to The Wretched Villains. But No Love Lost was "my" first band, in which I wasn't merely taking a back seat - literally, as drummer! - to a friend's artistic vision. Not that No Love Lost ever got to the gigging stage, period. But I've certainly done a lot of recording under the moniker (predominantly solo; though with many an appearance by my good friend, frequent collaborator, and guitarist-in-chief, Mr Peter Green).

So what was the "vision" - and "sound" - behind No Love Lost? While quite an eclectic grab-bag of influences, it was mostly founded as an "homage" to my love of "post-punk", "new wave", "synth-pop", and "goth" music from the late-'70s through mid-'80s. The "Golden Age" of music, in my humble opinion (although I adore many a band or artist who falls outside of this period, as you'll see in the influences listed above)! Intended to be equal parts "dark" and "cheesy"; sincere as surely as tongue-in-cheek...though I will concede, in retrospect, that much of my best work was probably closer to the latter of these two tones. Not that many could tell the difference, as my grasp of "sarcasm" has always been seriously overdeveloped or seriously underdeveloped, depending on your point-of-view...

Any-which-way, let's let the music and lyrics speak (mostly) for themselves. Make of them what you will. Here's a link to the master Bandcamp page, some CD cover images, and a small selection of my prouder words from the project:

https://nolovelost2.bandcamp.com/

DEAD PIGEONS

I arrived at 2300 hours, while the blood was still fresh

I’d never seen anything like it before, Christ, what a fucking mess

Piles of dead pigeons, layers of human skin

And what lay on the bed was enough to make even my head spin

The stiff was handcuffed, naked, his flesh removed like a glove

Then they covered him with feathers, and wrote a bloody slogan

On the wall above

And that slogan said:

“DEAD PIGEONS…DO NOT TALK”

It transpires that Jimmy “The Mouth” Jones had talked one too many times

He’d witnessed a lot of fowl play, then blabbed about the crimes

I kind of blame myself, since I’m the one who ordered the wire

But Jimmy, he nailed his own coffin when he started to perspire

Yeah, you gotta keep your cool, if you’re gonna survive in this kinda world

Or else you’ll end up dead behind a hotel door

With yellow tape being unfurled

And that tape will say:

“POLICE LINE…DO NOT CROSS”

Y’know, if you look hard enough, I think there’s a message here

We’re all drivers of our own destinies, but watch which way you steer

Get ready to slow down when you see that warning flash

And if you hit a slippery patch, get ready for a crash

There’s a time to spin that wheel, and a time to let things be

Or like some guy named Jim, you’ll end up

Looking like a turkey

So just remember:

“DEAD PIGEONS…DO NOT TALK”

TOO LATE

Youth is wasted on the young

Never has a truer thing been said or sung

By the time you’ve finally found your way

Your mind is growin’ stale and your hair is turnin’ grey

But now it’s too late

Too late for your dreams

Too late for your screams

Of “what went wrong?”

Yeah, now it’s just too late

Too late to start the race

Too late for second place

Maybe you’re already where you belong

Youth is wasted on the young

Sure, I feel like my life’s only begun

But I know my options are running short

Life is cheap, so readily sold and bought

And now it’s too late

Too late for your dreams

Too late for your screams

Of “what went wrong?”

Yeah, now it’s just too late

Too late to start the race

Too late for second place

Baby, you’re already where you belong

But now it’s too late

Too late for your dreams

Too late for your screams

Of “what went wrong?”

Yeah, now it’s much too late

Too late to start the race

Too late for second place

Baby, you’re already right where you belong

Youth is wasted on the young

Never has a truer thing been said or sung

By the time you’ve finally found your way

You wake up and realise you’ve already had your day…

NEVER SAY FOREVER

Never say forever

For that can be a very short time

Love can be such a blinding thing

For it knows no reason or rhyme

Never say forever

‘Cause forever, it may never come

Dream if you must, be never believe that

You live in a fairytale kingdom

Never say forever

For it can be such a fleeting thing

Look to the Heavens, but cover your ears when that

Heavenly choir does sing

Never say forever

For forever may not be very long

Never turn to another to bear up your soul

Look only to yourself to be strong

Never say forever

For that can be a very short road

In the end, we’re all alone and have only

Ourselves to carry the load

Never say forever

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