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Scenes from an Art Heist

by The Eighty Six Seas

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1.
2.
Shards of glass litter the floor
 A table turned to block the door
 A single shred of canvas left to find Wrists tied to a drainpipe
 Mouths taped so they won’t snipe
 The tortured work of art you left behind I’ve no idea, but I wonder
 Cos the money ain’t much at all You’re painted on the TV screens And we’re waiting for the fall Thomas Crown or Dr. No?
 A charcoal sketch don’t really show
 If it’s dollar signs or daggers inside your head
 Now every paper and magazine
 Cops and agents and in between
 Left to wonder where you’ve gone or if you’re dead I’ve no idea, but I wonder
 Cos the money ain’t much at all You’re painted on the TV screens And we’re waiting for the fall I’ve no idea, but I wonder
 It can’t be this hard to survive I’ve no idea, but I wonder
 Did the loneliness eat you alive?
3.
I can’t sleep, though the coffee’s faded
 My swimming heart after years being jaded So long wounded without being aided
 It’s the world to me
 It somehow feels like an accident
 Or some little detail I failed to represent But no one here’s asking me to repent It’s the world to me It’s the world to me It’s the world to me I’m so lost for words
 An embrace and a kiss, and a lurch forward Its the little details I try to recreate
 The painting and her perfume
 I think of while I lie awake Until today, I had lost my faith Walking the earth just like a wraith Out of the sun and playing it safe It’s the world to me It’s the world to me It’s the world to me It’s the world to me It’s the world to me Counting the days Counting the hours Counting the days Counting the hours
4.
Jenny 04:06
I used to fall asleep thinking of the time we’d spend
 My only daughter at the museum or the toy store on Main Now Jenny all I think about are your trembling lips
 And the tears that poured down your cheeks like Seattle rain Your mother and I tried to spare you the best that we could From the damage that only a rental truck can do
 And your supernova smile it dimmed by the second
 When that UHAUL hauled me away from you I used to revel in all of the time that we’d share
 Skipping down the corridors to gawk at plaster and paint But wild horses couldn’t tear you away from all of the anger Even though you held your mother up just like a saint
 And time went by without a word or a call or a mention Empty Christmases, holidays and birthdays, I’d wait
 Every day, and every week would bring another rejection Every year spent searching for another way Jenny what will it take?
 To ease this heartbreak
 I don’t have much more to wait Before I’ll meet my fate
 Each day my memory fades And retreats to the shade
 If I could steal one embrace
 Or just one look at your face Tell me what could I give
 That would be enough to forgive? That favorite painting of ours Would that get rid of the scars? In the morning you’ll find
 A canvas wrapped up in twine I stole it clean in the night To be all yours by first light I hope and pray this painting finds a space above your mantle And your father finally earns a lasting place in your heart Remember me by the scurried script I left on the canvas Some final words to comfort you though we’re forever apart “Hey Jenny, my love
 Hey Jenny, my love
 Hey Jenny, my love is always here for you Hey Jenny, my love
 Hey Jenny, my love
 Hey Jenny, my love will always see you through”
5.
Its a lonely afternoon Such a lonely afternoon
 The offices full, and the laughter is flowing But nobody else here is dying not knowing Man I feel alone One o clock meeting and the heats at full blast If only I could ditch this suit and tie fast
 The chill outside will help me dry up the sweat Hopefully while walking home, far from the Met All on my own All of it would be ok if Ivan would call
 And tell me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall And placed it nice and gently in the center of my hall All of it would be ok if Ivan would call
 And tell me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall And slipped away all on his own into the fall It’s a lonely afternoon
 Such a lonely afternoon
 The autumn leaves turning, and the wind at full blast But nobody else here is walking this fast
 Man I feel alone Three o clock moving calmly but quick
 Is everyone but me so ridiculously thick?
 Ivan got roughed up once his cover was blown It’s always so much easier to do this alone
 Do it all on your own I wouldn’t be here if Ivan had called
 And told me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall And placed it nice and gently in the center of my hall
 I wouldn’t be here if Ivan had called
 And told me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall And slipped away all on his own into the fall
6.
Cat / Mouse 02:49
A porcelain black calling card
 He’s a professional
 He knows how to savage every inch of my pride A porcelain black calling card
 He’s a professional
 He knows how to savage every inch of my pride But tonight belongs to me The longest running game of cat and mouse you’ll ever see
 And the little bird caught in between
 The longest running game of cat and mouse the world’s ever seen And the little bird, and the little bird I’ll set the beams, and the heat seeking lenses I want your A game out on display
 I’ll set the beams, and the heat seeking lenses I want your A game out on display The longest running game of cat and mouse you’ve ever seen And the little bird caught in between
 The longest running game of cat and mouse the world’s ever seen And the little bird, and the little bird Tonight belongs to me Tonight belongs to me
 When the last guest leaves for the night
 All the floods will be burning bright
 Cmon, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now When the last guest leaves for the night All the floods will be burning bright
 Cmon, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now Is that your shadow up there on the ceiling?
7.
Hey little bird
 Such a gilded cage
 A lovely artifact
 From a different age Would you like to see What your wings can do In another hemisphere What you always knew I’ll keep you safe
 I’ll keep you free
 You’ll keep me warm Fly away with me Come fly away with me Fly away with me Let’s fly away
 Fly away
8.
No longer lovers No longer friends I thought you’d be with me until the very end The tears are burning, and the world’s cold I thought our story’d be the greatest every told Pray to the heavens and kneel on the floor What would it take for you to walk right through that door? I’d beg and borrow, I’d steal and lie I’d write a thousand sonnets long into the night My heart is yours until the very day I die My heart is yours until the very day I die I’d scale a mountain, or museum walls No height too great for me and no fear that I’d fall I’d sprint down the marble halls just to break a sweat Anything to feel the heights I felt when we first met A touch of lavender and a blush of blue Those swirls and strokes of paint that clearly meant so much to you A quick tug off the wall, cold brass in hand It’s the only way I can make you understand My heart is yours until the very day I die My heart is yours until the very day I die Counting the days Counting the hours Counting the days ’Til I see you again
9.
Mallorca in the early spring
 A villa bought and paid for by an art theft ring
 A younger man would be so thrilled
 And truth be told, they’d probably get killed A warm wind lilting through the shade
 A hand running through hair that’s since thoroughly grayed
 I’m the portrait of a smuggler, bored
 Servicing rich men who just like to hoard I need a way out now before my brain turns brown I need a way out now before my sanity drowns I need to get out long before the breakdown Munich in the middle fall I’m trying my best to avoid their every call But my pager doesn’t know how not to ring They stole a Dutch girl but can’t move that thing There’s forgers sitting in my den Working hard on a new name or ten A license, passport, and some cash Ready to turn this life into ash I need a way out now before my brain turns brown I need a way out now before my sanity drowns I need to get out long before the breakdown When I was very young I dreamed of laying in the sun With nothing on my brain Except if or when it’s going to rain And this life that I’ve designed Dead to the world I left behind The irony has struck a chord I’m the portrait of an ex-smuggler, bored I need a way out now before my brain turns brown I need a way out now before my sanity drowns I need to get out long before the breakdown
10.
Five weeks out of prison
 I tried to write you a song
 Bursting with major fourths
 And seven or eight verses long
 The next day I just threw it out
 The words didn’t sit quite right
 After the last thing you said on the courthouse steps Echoed in my head all throughout the night Five months out of prison
 I tried to paint a portrait of you
 It was full of color, full of light Porcelain and auburn hues
 The next week I just shredded the canvas You see I’m all in my head
 Are your eyes green or are they blue? When I last saw you they were red You’re my ghost in the cityscape Always haunting me
 Even here on the outside
 I'm never quite free Five years out of prison I finally wrote you a song
 This is what I came up with
 Not sure what took me so long
 Somehow I doubt that you’ll hear it
 It’s really just for me
 When the melody bursts and escapes my throat Then I’m finally free, now I’m finally free
11.
Frames 01:45
Woke up this morning, battered and thrown to the floor
 Ivan broke through her defenses and tore her away
 Woke up in mourning, bits and pieces and an eye to the door Ivan will grow tired of her, and we’ll be back together some day Won’t you sing me a midnight lullaby Under the gold and white security light And tell me I’m not alone in this world?

about

The idea for the new album Scenes from an Art Heist came about when Nick Stevens visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston for the first time. The museum was the site of the largest art heist in history and, to this day, the frames that housed the stolen artwork hang on the walls as a reminder of what was lost. “The first time I saw the room where most of the artwork was stolen, I had a visceral reaction to the absence of the pieces,” recalls Stevens. “It was eerie and spooky. I remember thinking: ‘Pour one out for the frames'. Imagine waking up one morning, thrown carelessly on the floor, with something beautiful torn out of you. Now you have to act normal, and hang on the wall, but you know that you’ve had something beautiful torn out of you and everyone can see it. You know there are others out there like you, but you can’t see them.”

It seemed like the perfect metaphor for a breakup, and it was the basis for the first song he wrote for the new album, called “Frames”. It also inspired him to create an album that would mimic the experience of walking through a gallery, where each piece is like a vignette with an individual statement to make but is also part of a collection that has a larger meaning.

Recording the songs, Stevens worked with a core group of collaborators consisting of David Anthony, Chris Anthony and David Knox, splitting their time between studios in Boston and Brooklyn.

This is an album that defies the pigeon-holing of algorithms, moving through and meshing multiple genres, including dance, indie rock, folk, EDM and country & western. Yet Stevens weaves a thread all the way through. There is an unmistakable pop sensibility to his writing, even when using unusual song structures, and the lyrics explore what causes someone to steal art and the void that is left when we are unable to interact with art.

In an increasingly homogenized music landscape, dominated by bite-size clips and singles, The Eighty Six Seas’ latest creation, is what albums were made for: a journey created by an artist with a vision. In fact, take away “he” from the title, and what does it spell? Scenes from an Artist.

Scenes from an Art Heist is indeed a piece of art in its truest form – and it should be listened to from beginning to end for the full experience.

credits

released February 23, 2024

Nick Stevens - vocals, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, percussion, drum machine programming

David Anthony - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, drum machine programming, backing vocals

Chris Anthony - drums

David Knox - electric bass, backing vocals

Ben Trigg - cello (tracks 1, 2, 10, 11)

Franky Rousseau - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, ukulele (tracks 2 & 11)

Willie Roots - piano (tracks 6 & 11)

Oleh Mytrofanov - violin, viola, cello (tracks 4 & 6)

Chris Barber - drums (tracks 5 & 7)

Bence Taborszky - trumpet (track 7)

Mike Fonte - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, lap steel guitar (track 9)

Itaiguara Brandão - double bass (track 9)

Damian Bolotin - violin (track 9)

Mary Stottele - backing vocals (track 5)

Music and lyrics by Nick Stevens,
Except “Hey Little Bird” - music by Nick Stevens and David Anthony, lyrics by Nick Stevens

Produced by Nick Stevens and David Anthony
Engineered by David Anthony, Nick Stevens, and Dan Moffat
Mixed and Mastered by Logan Ryan

Cover Artwork - Chloe Spillane
Photography - Patricia Koo

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The Eighty Six Seas Brooklyn, New York

The Eighty Six Seas is the moniker of Nick Stevens, a Brooklyn-based artist who weaves a tapestry of indie rock, indie pop, indie folk and folktronica into a sound all his own. Decorated with sweeping strings and poetic stories, it’s a sound shaped by influences as wide-ranging as The National, Frightened Rabbit, New Order, Belle and Sebastian, David Byrne, The Mountain Goats and Bon Iver. ... more

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