BARD RECORDS

Tag: CupCake Bloom

  • worn through

    worn through

    Released 22 May 2026

    Worn Through

    Some people survive life.
    Some people quietly live it anyway.

    Worn Through is a collection of songs about the ordinary weight of modern life. Long shifts, second-hand clothes, quiet apartments, old memories and the small routines that somehow keep us moving forward. These aren’t songs about fixing everything. They’re about finding enough hope to make it through today, and trusting that tomorrow might ask a little less.

    TRACKS

    Select any track to read the lyrics and listen to the recording.

    1. Flannel In The Heatwave
    2. I’m Just Tired
    3. You Love To Watch Me Cry
    4. Ghosted In Real Life
    5. Minimum Wage Nirvana
    6. Maybe One Day
    7. Hangover Philosophy
    8. Second-hand identity
    9. Quiet Hope In The Static
    10. We Really Had Something
    ALBUM NOTES

    Worn Through is about the lives we build between the bigger moments. Long shifts, quiet rooms, second-hand clothes, late-night conversations and the people who make difficult days feel a little lighter. These songs don’t promise happy endings. They simply remind us that sometimes getting through today is enough to believe in tomorrow.

    ← Cupcake Bloom

  • Hangover Philosophy

    Hangover Philosophy

    Last night always sounds
    smarter than the morning after.

    Hangover Philosophy finds humour in those fleeting moments when cheap drinks seem to unlock the answers to everything, only for daylight to quietly take them back again. It’s less about the hangover than the strange optimism of believing you’ll have life figured out by midnight.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Ceiling’s got a better view than me
    Staring like it’s judging quietly
    Head’s still ringing from last night
    Cheap beer and even cheaper insight

    Said I’d figure something out by now
    Can’t remember what the fuck about
    There was meaning for like half a second
    Then it slipped like I never even mentioned

    Maybe nothing means that much
    Maybe that’s the whole point of us
    Think too hard, it falls apart
    Guess I’ll just restart my heart

    Water glass sitting warm by the bed
    Too much effort just to lift my head
    Sunlight coming in like a bad joke
    Another day I probably won’t go for broke

    I swear I had the whole thing figured out
    Or maybe I just blacked it out
    Either way the coffee’s cold now
    And the day can wait another hour

    Maybe nothing means that much
    Maybe that’s the whole point of us
    Think too hard, it falls apart
    Guess I’ll just restart my heart

    Maybe nothing means that much
    Maybe that’s the whole point of us
    Think too hard, it falls apart
    Guess I’ll just restart my heart
    (restart my heart… restart my heart…)

    later
    Yeah… later

  • Second-hand identity

    Second-hand identity

    Sometimes the clothes fit
    before you do.

    Second-hand Identity looks at the strange comfort of becoming the person your clothes suggest you might be. Every thrifted jacket, oversized shirt and worn-out pair of boots carries someone else’s history, while quietly helping you invent your own. It’s about dressing like you’ve already figured yourself out, even when you’re still trying things on.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Found this jacket in the clearance bin
    Still smells like someone else’s skin
    Fits me better than it probably should
    Guess I’m good at looking misunderstood

    Mirror says I look the part
    Like I planned it from the start
    But every seam is stitched all wrong
    Nothing here actually belongs

    I dress like I don’t care at all
    But I practiced in the fitting stall
    Every thread’s a little lie
    Trying on a different life

    You say it suits me I just nod
    Act like I earned it like it’s not
    Second-hand identity
    Hanging loose but stuck on me

    If I take it off what’s left underneath?
    Same old mess I can’t quite keep
    Just another layer I can’t afford
    To throw away or move toward

    I dress like I don’t care at all
    But I practiced in the fitting stall
    Every thread’s a little lie
    Trying on a different life

    I dress like I don’t care at all
    But I practiced in the fitting stall
    Every thread’s a little lie
    Trying on a different life
    (different life different life)

    Still fits
    Somehow
    Yeah still fits

  • Quiet Hope In The Static

    Quiet Hope In The Static

    Recovery doesn’t always arrive
    with certainty.

    Quiet Hope In The Static ends the album by accepting that healing rarely happens all at once. The noise is still there, the doubts haven’t disappeared, but somewhere underneath them is a quieter voice that’s finally becoming impossible to ignore. Sometimes that’s enough.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Static hum behind everything
    Same old doubts looping in my head
    But there’s this light I can’t explain
    Flickers through the mess again

    Small things keeping me from sinking
    Morning air, a familiar face
    Not enough to fix the whole thing
    But enough to break the fall today

    I don’t trust it yet
    But it hasn’t left

    Maybe it won’t always feel like this
    Maybe there’s something I just missed
    Not a cure, not some grand sign
    Just a reason not to hit rewind

    Still the same world, still the same weight
    Still a little too much most days
    But there’s a crack inside the noise
    Letting through a quieter voice

    Maybe it won’t always stay this way
    Maybe it bends instead of breaks
    Not a dream, not a perfect lie
    Just a reason to still try

    Maybe it won’t always feel like this
    Maybe there’s something I just missed
    Not a cure, not some grand sign
    Just a reason… just a reason

    that’s enough
    For now
    Yeah… that’s enough

  • We Really Had Something

    We Really Had Something

    Some people leave behind
    places as much as memories.

    We Really Had Something looks back without trying to rewrite the past. It isn’t about wishing things had turned out differently. It’s about recognising that, for a little while, life genuinely felt lighter because someone else was there to share it. Sometimes that’s enough to carry with you.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Mmm
    Back when the nights felt endless

    You’d leave the back door open screen door creaking in the wind
    I’d slip in after midnight with the smell of rain still on my skin
    We’d sit on that cracked linoleum floor passing a warm six-pack
    Talking shit about our shitty jobs till the sky turned black

    You never said I miss you you’d just show up with burnt toast and coffee black
    Pull me into your lap like the most natural thing no questions asked
    We’d drive around with the windows down radio half-broken and full of static
    Singing off-key to whatever came on like we were the only two left in the city

    Everything outside was noise and deadlines pulling us apart
    But right there in your messy room the world forgot to break my heart

    Those were the nights I felt something close to whole
    Your hand on the back of my neck slowing down the spin in my skull
    Every quiet laugh hanging in the smoke-filled air
    Like we had all the time in the world and nobody else to care
    Yeah we had something there

    We never made big promises or drew hearts on the wall
    Just small stupid moments I still replay when the silence gets too tall
    Like the way you’d fall asleep mid-sentence with your head on my chest
    And for once the static in my head would finally rest

    Those were the nights I felt something close to whole
    Your fingers tracing patterns on my skin like you were learning my soul
    Every half-spoken word felt heavy in the best way
    Like maybe this could last longer than the coming day
    Yeah we really had something there
    We really had something there

    Mmm something there
    Yeah back when

  • Flannel In The Heatwave

    Flannel In The Heatwave

    Some habits stay with us
    long after they stop making sense.

    Flannel In The Heatwave captures the strange comfort of holding onto familiar routines while the world quietly changes around us. It’s less about the weather than the instinct to keep wearing yesterday’s version of yourself, even when everything suggests it’s time to let go.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Heat don’t feel real

    Wearing flannel in a heatwave again
    Sweat through the seams like I’m shedding skin
    News says the coastlines are giving up
    I just turn it down and turn it up

    Cheap fan spinning like it’s out of breath
    Same old songs about a slower death
    You laugh and say it’s always been bad
    Guess that makes it easier to not feel sad

    World’s on fire but the tape still plays
    Same three chords from the better days
    If it all goes down, I’ll stay right here
    Sweating through another disappearing year

    Neighbours arguing through open walls
    Ice melts faster than the curtain falls
    I keep the sleeves down like it proves a point
    Like I’m not just another broken joint

    World’s on fire but the tape still plays
    Same three chords from the better days
    If it all goes down, I’ll stay right here
    Sweating through another disappearing year

    Still wearing this
    Don’t know why

  • I’m Just Tired

    I’m Just Tired

    Sometimes doing nothing
    takes more effort than anyone realises.

    I’m Just Tired sits in the space between rest and avoidance, where exhaustion makes even ordinary decisions feel heavier than they should. It isn’t about giving up, only about reaching the point where one more small thing feels like too much.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Blanket stuck to the back of my legs
    Same show looping inside my head
    Daylight leaking round the blinds
    Feels like effort just to decide

    Phone lights up but I let it die
    Everyone wants another piece of my time
    I just sink deeper into the couch again
    Call it rest call it giving in

    I’m not lazy I’m just tired
    Of every little thing that’s required
    If I stay here long enough
    Maybe I’ll finally feel like I’m enough

    Coffee cold on the armrest now
    Didn’t even notice the hours slipping down
    Everything blurs into something soft
    Like I’m here but slightly off

    If I move I might have to care
    If I care I might go nowhere
    So I stay right here instead
    Let the static fill my head

    I’m not lazy I’m just tired
    Of every little thing that’s required
    If I stay here long enough
    Maybe I’ll finally feel like I’m enough

    I’m not lazy I’m just tired
    Of every little thing that’s required
    If I stay here long enough
    Maybe I’ll finally feel like I’m enough
    (just tired just tired)

    Just five more minutes
    Yeah just five more
    That’s enough for now

  • Minimum Wage Nirvana

    Minimum Wage Nirvana

    Sometimes survival
    feels suspiciously like routine.

    Minimum Wage Nirvana looks at the strange normality of low-paid work, where exhaustion becomes part of the job description and tomorrow always arrives looking exactly like today. It’s about finding humour in the grind, even when there’s nothing particularly funny about it.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Clock in early, brain still dead
    Force the smile, tilt my head
    Hours stretch like cheap elastic
    Working just to stay pathetic

    Manager says “stay positive”
    Like that pays my fucking rent
    Tips won’t cover gas or food
    Still clap when I act like it’s good

    Another shift, another lie
    Trade my time just to barely get by
    Minimum wage, maximum drain
    Laughing through the same shit again

    Break room coffee tastes like rust
    Microwave hums, covered in dust
    We all joke but nobody quits
    Just rotting here, calling it a shift

    I keep telling myself next month
    I’ll find something better, something real
    But the rent’s due and the tank’s empty
    So I clock in again like a fucking wheel

    Another shift, another lie
    Trade my time just to barely get by
    Minimum wage, maximum drain
    Laughing through the same shit again

    Another shift, another lie
    Trade my time just to barely get by
    Minimum wage, maximum drain
    Laughing through the same shit again
    (Same shit again… same shit again…)

    See you tomorrow
    Yeah… I’ll be here
    See you tomorrow

  • Maybe One Day

    Maybe One Day

    Hope doesn’t always arrive
    with certainty.

    Maybe One Day is the album’s quiet turning point. Instead of looking back at everything that’s gone wrong, it allows itself to imagine a future where ordinary happiness might actually be enough. Not a perfect life, just one that finally feels like it’s moving in the right direction.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Mmm
    What if we actually made it out

    We could pack the old Civic with whatever fits in the trunk
    Leave the city lights behind us, chase the horizon till we’re drunk
    On cheap gas station coffee and the radio playing low
    Windows down, your hand on my knee like we both already know

    I keep picturing mornings where the silence isn’t heavy
    Just sunlight on the kitchen table, your laugh cutting through steady
    No more waiting for the other shoe, no more walking on cracks
    Just us figuring out tomorrow with the map we draw on our backs

    All the broken pieces we’ve been carrying finally start to fit
    In a future that doesn’t scare me when I picture it with you in it

    Maybe one day we’ll wake up somewhere the past can’t reach
    Build something simple and stubborn with the lessons that we teach
    Every scar we collected turning into stories we tell
    Under string lights on a back porch where the wishing works as well
    Yeah… I can almost see it

    It’s scary how much I want this, how real it starts to feel
    Like the static in my chest might finally learn to heal
    If we just keep driving forward, not looking in the rear-view
    Some quiet part of me believes we could make it true

    Maybe one day we’ll wake up somewhere the past can’t reach
    Hold each other like the future’s something we both deserve to keep
    Every quiet promise spoken like it’s already ours
    Under open skies and endless time, healing all the scars
    Yeah… I can almost see it
    I really think we’ll see it

    Mmm… we’ll see it
    Somewhere out there

  • Ghosted In Real Life

    Ghosted In Real Life

    Not every goodbye
    arrives with a conversation.

    Ghosted In Real Life explores the quieter kind of ending, where people slowly erase each other without ever admitting it’s happened. It’s about the awkwardness of becoming a stranger to someone who still occupies the same places, the same memories and sometimes even the same timeline online.

    ► BUY
    ON PAPER

    Saw you out but you looked away
    Like we never even met that day
    Same bar, same corner spot
    You acted like I wasn’t there at all

    Guess that’s how you do it now
    Just pretend it’s fine somehow

    You don’t call, you don’t explain
    Just let me disappear in plain sight again
    No big scene, no proper end
    Just gone, like it never happened

    We still follow each other though
    Like nothing really changed, you know
    You post your weekends and your drinks
    I scroll through like some kind of freak

    You don’t call, you don’t explain
    Just let me disappear in plain sight again
    No big scene, no proper end
    Just gone, like it never happened

    I probably did it to someone else
    Left them hanging, didn’t even tell
    Wasn’t clean, wasn’t kind
    Just easier on my own mind

    You don’t call, you don’t explain
    Just let me disappear in plain sight again
    No big scene, no proper end
    Just gone, like it never happened

    yeah
    Just gone