Ages And Ages - Divisionary (Do The Right Thing)

Artist

Ages and Ages is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon which has been receiving positive critical attention because of their upbeat "raw choral pop" sound. Every member of the band sings accompanied by handclaps, shakers and noise-makers. They are a secular band with a big tent revival sound.

The group was voted as a top Portland band by Willamette Week. In 2011, they signed a record deal with Partisan Records and have since undertaken several national US tours. In 2013 the band changed their name from AgesandAges to Ages and Ages. The rechristened band played their first European dates in the winter of 2014.

Career

Ages and Ages came together in 2009, founded by Tim Perry (vocals, guitar), Rob Oberdorfer (bass, percussion, vocals), Graham Arthur Mackenzie (percussion, vocals), Kate O'Brien-Clarke (violin, percussion, vocals), Lisa Stringfield (vocals, percussion), Liz Robins (vocals, percussion) and Daniel Hunt (drums, percussion, vocals), alongside other friends and players from Portland's ever-fertile music community.

Alright You Restless arrived two years later and immediately proved a critical favorite. An ardent audience also surfaced, a committed cohort that included President Barack Obama who included the album's "No Nostalgia," a song "about transcending "the way things can get dark and you can feel claustrophobic, unsatisfied with the status quo" on his 2012 campaign playlist.

Ages and Ages performed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin in March 2011. Their song "No Nostalgia" from their first album, Alright You Restless, was previewed on National Public Radio. The album was recorded "almost entirely live" with seven voices singing into a single microphone, according to one account.

It sounds like "a group of friends who drive around in a van singing songs wherever anyone will let them sing," according to critic Ryan White of The Oregonian.

The group draws "significant sonic influence from his religious upbringing" and that having seven members helps achieve a "congregation sound" even though the lyrics are basically secular thematically. Perry said the sound was achieved by "all the voices chiming in, that swell and spontaneous movement that grabs you," in an interview.

In 2011, they released a video for the song "Navy Parade," which was directed by Alicia J. Rose Alright You Restless was produced by Kevin Robinson.

In 2014 the band released the album Divisionary which was produced by Tony Lash.

Recent Years

In August 2016, Ages and Ages released their third record Something to Ruin on Partisan Records. The album was recorded at Isaac Brock's, Ice Cream Party Studios with the Modest Mouse front-man adding guitar to the track "So Hazy". The first single "They Want More" premiered on the June 7, 2016 episode of the NPR Podcast All Songs Considered.

Ages and Age's emphasis on featuring electronic and synthetic sounds makes Something to Ruin sonic departure from their previous albums. Thematically the record deals with collective failures, the contemplation of letting go and starting over, the individuals need for community, and the struggles associated with living honestly in a superficial landscape.

The band members cite a trip to Central America and the observation of their community being exploited by gentrification as the catalyst for the record.

Do the right thing, do the right thing
Do it all the time, do it all the time
Make yourself right, never mind 'em
Don't you know you're not the only one suffering
(x3)

I see you up again wandering so diligent
Crossing your T's as though it weren't irrelevant
They say formality, this is what they really meant:
They can be the walk and we can be the pavement

Do the right thing, do the right thing
Do it all the time, do it all the time
Make yourself right, never mind them
Don't you know you're not the only one suffering

So what you're up against all the disingenuous
They wave you along and say there's always room for us
But we know better than that to take 'em serious
Still don't let'em make you bitter in the process

And when the light is up, this is how oughta be
We'll make it alright, they'll come around eventually
They say it's nothing but that ain't the reality
They may take us on but they can never take us easy

And They ain't moving, they're just moving around
So if you love yourself, you better get out
Get out, get out, get out now

Do the right thing, do the right thing (do the right thing)
Do it all the time, do it all the time (do it all the time)
Make yourself right, never mind them (do it all the time)
Don't you know you're not the only one suffering
(x6)

I hear a higher calling
Better here than there I guess
So long, so long

Fai la cosa giusta, fai la cosa giusta
Fallo tutto il tempo, fallo sempre
Renditi ragione, non importa loro
Non sai che non sei l'unico a soffrire
(X3)

Ti vedo di nuovo vagare così diligente
Attraversare le tue T come se non fosse irrilevante
Dicono formalità, questo è quello che intendevano veramente:
Possono essere la passeggiata e possiamo essere il marciapiede

Fai la cosa giusta, fai la cosa giusta
Fallo tutto il tempo, fallo sempre
Renditi ragione, non preoccuparti di loro
Non sai che non sei l'unico a soffrire

Quindi, cosa stai contro tutti gli inganni
Ti salutano e dicono che c'è sempre spazio per noi
Ma sappiamo che è meglio prenderle sul serio
Ancora non ti farei amareggiarti nel processo

E quando la luce è alta, questo è come dovrebbe essere
Lo faremo bene, alla fine arriveranno
Dicono che non è niente ma questa non è la realtà
Possono portarci avanti, ma non possono mai prenderci facili

Non si muovono, si stanno semplicemente muovendo
Quindi se ti ami, è meglio che esca
Esci, esci, esci ora

Fai la cosa giusta, fai la cosa giusta (fai la cosa giusta)
Fallo tutto il tempo, fallo sempre (fallo tutto il tempo)
Renditi ragione, non preoccuparti di loro (fallo tutto il tempo)
Non sai che non sei l'unico a soffrire
(X6)

Sento una chiamata più alta
Meglio qui di quello che immagino
Così lungo, così lungo

Ages And Ages – Divisionary (Do The Right Thing)