David J

A new album from David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) entitled, Tracks From the Attic Revisited is confirmed for release on May 22 from Independent Project Records (IPR) and will be available in black or gold colored vinyl, CD, and all digital formats and can be pre-saved here. The first single from the album, “If Muzak Be the Junk Food of Love,” will be available April 15 and can be preordered here.

Reshaped, sometimes rewritten, and now reinterpreted with a full band, the ten tracks that make up Tracks From the Attic Revisited are culled from the 37(!)-track home recordings on Tracks From the Attic released in 2024, also from IPR. These new, fully fleshed out versions are an arresting distillation of David J’s eclectic taste which includes late ‘70s New Wave, a lifelong love of classic country music, and Nick Drake-like romanticism.

“The 2024 demos tracks that became Tracks From the Attic were like neglected little seeds that had been set aside, or fallen on fallow land,” said David J. “They’ve since been gathered up, nurtured, tended and brought back to life as little buds for Tracks From the Attic Revisited. Now this is the bloom.” 

When he first went digging through boxes of old tapes, David J didn’t yet know that he was about to embark on a long, fruitful conversation with his own past, present, and even future self. As he uncovered demos recorded over some four decades, he noticed that some songs were asking him to get reacquainted with them. He eventually complied, approaching material that sometimes he had no recollection of having written as when producing another artist’s music.

The old home recordings became new demos for Revisited: ideas reworked and sometimes radically transformed, lyrics adjusted when they showed a potential to narrate life in the not-so-roaring 2020s. Thus reshaped, the songs were shared with a stellar combo that convened in the studio to breathe new life into them. Some are virtually unrecognizable, while some have kept their original form and charm intact – just developed and grown through the experience that comes with years of music making.

Where the original Tracks From the Attic invited listeners to be present in the room as a young singer-songwriter found his own way (wandering in the fields of experimentation and collecting the meanderings that followed), the new album puts us in front of an artist who has honed his craft and mastered the art of pruning. Indeed, David J compares the making of Tracks From the Attic Revisited to the tending of a garden.

Recorded at Ear Gallery Music in Los Angeles and produced by David J, Tracks From the Attic Revisited musicians include David J (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Roberts (Spoon, Daniel Johnston) (guitar), Jon Bernstein (piano, organ), Tony Green (bass), David Raven (Steve Earle, Keith Richards, Lucinda Williams, etc.) (drums), Dan Clucas (trumpet), Robert “Smokey” Miles (Bob Dylan) (accordion), John Courage (lap steel) and Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction) (congas).

Known for their unique musical sensibilities and extraordinary artwork & design, Independent Project Records is a favorite of record collectors and music fans alike for their bespoke packaging and attention to detail. Grammy-nominated founder Bruce Licher’s graphic design and his hand-letterpress packaging have been a mainstay in music circles since 1982’s Tragic Figures from Savage Republic. Since that time, the label has released seminal albums and singles from artists as diverse as Savage Republic, Alison’s Halo, Human Hands, Kommunity FK, Camper Van Beethoven, Scenic, For Against, Deception Bay, Half String, Autumnfair, The Dentists, Tone, WOO, Stereolab and more. Since the label’s relaunch in 2020, IPR has released new music, lost albums, reissues with bonus tracks on digital, compact disc and vinyl formats for a variety of artists including A Produce, Afterimage, Alison Clancy, David J, Half String, Bruce Licher, Greg Lisher, Jeffrey Runnings, The Ophelias, Red Temple Spirits, Savage Republic, Scenic, Shiva Burlesque, Springhouse, Torn Boys, WOO and multiple various artist compilations. Coming up in 2026 are new titles and expanded reissues from David J, Driveway Ceiling, Kommunity FK, Middle Class and more.

 

Follow Independent Project Records on Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Bluesky

JJ Braves

JJ Braves

Portland-based musician and producer JJ Braves returns this summer with his powerful new single, “Fix for a Broken Heart,” dropping July 25. The track—an emotionally-charged anthem of resilience—arrives ahead of his forthcoming full-length album and is the first taste of what’s shaping up to be his most fully realized release yet. JJ’s summer tour begins this week in Portland, OR and stretches across the West Coast through early August. JJ Braves is the throwback rock project of LA-based artist Joshua Keever, blending synth-driven hooks, classic rock theatrics, and deeply personal lyricism. Drawing inspiration from the power-chord heroics of Queen and Weezer, the slick pop swagger of Huey Lewis & the News, and even the animated bravado of the Transformers theme song, JJ Braves channels those influences into anthemic, emotionally resonant songs. His debut EP, The Circle Complete, introduced audiences to his signature stacked guitar tones and high-energy synth arrangements—designed to uplift listeners of all ages. Writing music from a young age as a coping mechanism for emotional isolation, Keever infuses the JJ Braves project with purpose: to empower misfits, outsiders, and anyone who’s ever struggled to feel like they belong. “Fix for a Broken Heart” carries that same message—pushing through pain and finding strength when everything seems broken. JJ Braves - Summer 2025 Tour Dates 7/24 – Portland, OR @ White Eagle Saloon 7/25 – Seattle, WA @ Central Saloon 7/26 – Clarkston, WA @ Hogan's Pub 7/27 – Boise, ID @ Lost Grove Brewing 7/28 – Elko, NV @ Charlee's Bar 7/29 – Reno, NV @ Reno Public Market 7/30 – Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides 7/31 – Long Beach, CA @ Supply & Demand 8/1 – North Hollywood, CA @ Kulak's Woodshed 8/2 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickhouse 8/3 – Medford, OR @ Rockafairy   Linktree Instagram Facebook Spotify Apple Music

 

Paper Lady

Photo by Renee Newman

 Paper Lady Unveils New Single "Static" with Exclusive Premiere on The Luna Collective  

Boston’s ethereal indie band Paper Lady is set to release its latest single, "Static," from the debut album Idle Fate on Friday, March 14, with an exclusive premiere on The Luna Collective.

 

"Static" explores the fear of being forgotten, weaving together dreamy, ethereal instrumentation with deeply introspective lyricism. The track features a unique sonic palette, including the omnichord, played by lead vocalist Alli Raina, adding a distinctive texture to the song’s haunting atmosphere.

 

The accompanying music video, directed by Melanie Drew Chambers (known for her work with Cornelia Murr, Razor-N-Tape, and Sarah Goldstone), further enhances the song’s themes of memory and impermanence. The video follows Raina through a stunning landscape, where she carries a basket of apples—symbolizing pieces of herself—that she leaves behind at various points throughout the journey, as if ensuring she will be remembered.

 

“Melanie was amazing to work with. She not only directed the video but also designed all of the props and sets, bringing our vision to life in the most beautiful way,” shares Raina. “We even built the bed used in the video and carried it out to a lake to set it up for one of the scenes. It was a surreal experience.”

 

Adding to the mystique of "Static," its release coincides with the full moon and an eclipse—a cosmic alignment that was purely unintentional but feels serendipitous. “Something similar happened when we were shooting the album cover—we realized it was a supermoon while filming. These unplanned moments feel like magic aligning with our music,” says Raina.

 

The release of "Static" follows the February 7 debut of Paper Lady’s first single, "Silt," and precedes the April 11 release of "Joe Modern," all leading up to the arrival of their debut album, Idle Fate, on May 9.

 

Fans can stream "Static" on all major platforms starting March 14, and watch the music video exclusively on The Luna Collective. For more updates, visit PaperLadyMusic.com and Linktr.ee/paperladymusic.

 

To learn more about Paper Lady, visit PaperLadyMusic.com and Linktr.ee/paperladymusic.

 

ABOUT PAPER LADY:

Paper Lady is an indie dream-rock outfit conjuring enchanting, immersive soundscapes from their home base in Boston, MA. Born in the depths of the Northeast DIY scene in 2019, the band has since become a spellbinding force in the world of ethereal rock and noisy freak folk.

 

The core lineup includes Alli Raina (vocals, primary songwriter, rhythm guitar), Rowan Martin (lead guitar) and Alex Castile (drums) and Taylor Morris (bass), each contributing to the band’s alchemical blend of sound and performance.

 

With influences spanning Mazzy Star, Broadcast, and Jefferson Airplane’s psychedelic explorations, Paper Lady crafts a unique sound that blends dreamy textures with grounded storytelling. Their previous EP, While You Should Be Sleeping, and tracks like “Absentee” and “Return to the Lake” established them as a standout act in the Allston basement show scene, while Idle Fate promises to push their sound into more experimental territory.

 

In 2024, the band wrote and recorded their debut full-length album, Idle Fate, during a retreat in a cabin in upstate New York and at their shared home in Brighton, MA. Self-recorded and self-mixed, the album explores themes of grief, love and fantastical existentialism.

 

Beyond Paper Lady, the band members are prolific creatives in their own right, pursuing solo projects and collaborating with other acts. Their collective artistry makes Paper Lady a true creative community, redefining the boundaries of indie rock and dream pop, and in 2023 the band was nominated for ‘Alt/Indie Artist of the Year’ at the Boston Music Awards. For fans of boundary-pushing music that feels both mystical and deeply human, Paper Lady offers an unforgettable journey.

"No Escape From What You Are"

 

Sudden Death Records is proud to present No Escape From What You Are on October 25th available on black, cherry red, smash and splatter vinyl, as well as CD and digital formats. Last winter the D.O.A. guys came up with an album concept... "Hey why don't we get a bunch of our punk rock pals to record D.O.A. songs?" So Canada's Godfather of Punk Joey Shithead Keithley contacted a bunch of his old friends and his favorite bands. As you can see from this sterling lineup, their reaction to covering D.O.A. material was great.   D.O.A. known as the Godfathers of Hardcore and more specifically Shithead himself invented that term, have influenced bands and fans alike since 1978, having played over 4,500 shows in 50 different countries on 5 different continents. For a lot of the musicians involved here, D.O.A. was one of the first two or 3 punk bands they ever saw in their lives. So what you have here are incredible versions 15 great songs that Joey and friends wrote and D.O.A. recorded and performed during the past 47 years. There's No Escape From What You Are!

TRACKLIST RANCID "Waiting For You" CIRCLE JERKS "The Enemy" ADOLESCENTS "2+2" VOIVOD "World War 3" SLIME "War In the East" FEAR "New Age" TOXIC REASONS "My Old Man's A Bum" DUFF MACAGAN "The Prisoner" DESCENDENTS "Get Out Of My Life" PROPAGANDHI "Fuck You" DUFF MACAGAN "Rich Bitch" WAR ON WOMEN "Liar For Hire" DEAD KENNEDYS "Smash the State" THE DEFECTS "Already Dead" M.D.C. "American the Beautiful" Follow Joe and the D.O.A. gang on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joe.keithley and https://www.instagram.com/doapunk

Trinity Ruins Christmas

RuPaul Drag Race’s first double crown All-Star winner Trinity The Tuck has announced not one, but two new treats to fill your shimmering stockings this upcoming holiday season.  Her first-ever Christmas album Trinity Ruins Christmas: The Musical produced by Drew Lewis & co-written by Trinity & Drew features a sleigh full of St Nick’s most talented drag superstars – Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, JIMBO, Manila Luzon, Aria B Cassadine, Ginger Minj and Kylie Sonique Love while the accompanying hardcover book Trinity Ruins Christmas: The Chronicles Of Sister Mary Kuntz will feature original illustrations and story co-written by Trinity  and Jason Michael Snow @jmspinafore. 

Trinity Ruins Christmas: The Chronicles Of Sister Mary Kuntz  is based on “A Christmas Carol” told through the drag lens of Trinity The Tuck, featuring characters (Luci (the Devil), Sister Mary Kuntz and more) that she popularized on Drag Race. “I’ve always loved illustrated stories, and I’ve wanted to create one for a long time, this is a major twist on the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol”. There are definitely similarities with Trinity & Scrooge, but this drag story has many twists and turns.” states Trinity

 

Both the album and book (and other delights) will be available November 17 on all digital platforms HERE and through Trinity’s merch store HERE.    Only 200 copies of the book will be available so be sure to snatch yours up as quickly as possible.

Book Release – Illustrations by Hannah Chusid

And, if you’re ready to top your tree Sister Mary Kuntz would appreciate you decorating yours with her very own Sister Mary Kuntz ornament complete with a beautiful Gold lurex cord to make that tree shimmer.

Follow Trinity The Tuck Here:

 

Facebook: 205K Followers

Instagram: 1.3M Followers

Twitter: 253.8K Followers

TikTok: 85.1K Followers 

Spotify: 10.4K Monthly Listeners

YouTube: 87.8K Subscribers

Official Website 

Bitter End Of A Sweet Night

LA’s own Divine Horsemen are confirmed for their record release show at Zebulon on Thursday November 2 at 8pm in support of their new album Bitter End of a Sweet Night (In The Red, October 27). Tickets are available here.

 

Flood Magazine said of the new record, it has “… the familiarly rollicking and twang-heavy duet “Bitter End,” which parses decades of relationship experience into a single narrative.” While Tinnitist said, “ The L.A. roots-punk legends transfix you with a dark tale of romantic obsession.… of their fierce upcoming album Bitter End Of A Sweet Night.”

 

The new 16-track collection again features the band’s co-founding members, singers-songwriters Chris Desjardins (better known as Chris D.) and Julie Christensen, and the core members of the ferocious Hot Rise band — guitarist/co-writer Peter Andrus (a member of the group’s late-‘80s lineup), bassist Bobby Permanent and X’s nonpareil drummer DJ Bonebrake (who won’t be doing ‘live’ dates). The sound is filled out by Green On Red and Dream Syndicate keyboardist Chris Cacavas (who appeared on the 1984 Chris D./Divine Horsemen album Time Stands Still) and classically trained violinist Elizabeth Wilson. Desjardins produced the album. Johnny Ray, drummer for The Flesh Eaters in the 1998-2000 era, and featured on that band's 1999 album Ashes of Time, recently joined the Horsemen and will pound skins on the upcoming 'live' dates.

 

Previously, on March 29, 2022, Divine Horsemen played their first live show since 1987, at Zebulon. There will be more live dates in the late fall/early winter of 2023 following Bitter End of a Sweet Night’s debut.

 

24th Street Blues

Tom Heyman

When speaking of San Francisco these days, it seems like it is stereotypically presented as either a city full of young tech nomads lining up for artisanal coffee, or as a blighted, urban hellscape of fentanyl zombies and street crime. But with his sixth solo album 24^th Street Blues, Tom Heyman sings of a more rank-and-file San Francisco, balancing the encroaching darkness of an overdeveloped cityscape with the fragile, abiding beauty of the Golden Gate City. 

 

“If you stay in one place long enough you really start to see it change.” He explains, “Around 2010, the city started to feel like a movie that was sped up, jerking and lurching forward at a dangerously fast, celluloid-shredding pace with market forces feeling like a locomotive bearing down on anything or anyone in its path.”

 

For over two decades, Heyman and his wife have lived in a sprawling, dilapidated, converted-storefront rental on 24^th Street – deep in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission district. 24^th Street Blues details his observations and interactions from years of living and working in the neighborhood as it weathered the storms and the aftermath of plutocratic expansion. When listening to the hardscrabble sagas that thread these songs together, it doesn’t sound like Heyman deliberately sought to create a concept album so much as he inadvertently followed the Mark Twain credo, “Write what you know.”

 

Here, the characters of his songs strive to exist (and sometimes perish) under looming cranes that dot the city skyline. Heyman braids timeless sounding singer-songwriter narratives with Barbary Coastal Americana that at times recalls the rusty, boiler-room reverberations of The Basement Tapes or the smoldering boogie of JJ Cale. Other moments are reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot’s beautifully sparse melodies and John Prine’s penchant for an economy of words. Over mostly acoustic tapestries, Heyman sings stories of displaced families, endangered bohemians, migrant workers, sidewalk hustlers, surviving musicians, juvenile delinquents, weathered barkeeps, junkie friends, unhoused encampments, cannabis farmers, and slumlord arsonists. 

 

24^th Street Blues arrives packaged with a 60-page songbook comprising lyrics and music charts accompanied by a gorgeous collection of paintings and drawings that were designed as companion pieces for each song. These were created by Heyman’s wife Deirdre F. White, an artist and educator acutely tuned into composing images of modern dystopian inequality and the housing/mobility challenges of the American West. 

                                                                                                            

In addition to his solo work, Heyman has spent many years as a sought-after journeyman guitarist and pedal steel player recording and touring with a varied array of artists including John Doe,  Alejandro Escovedo, Chuck Prophet, Penelope Houston, Roy Loney, Hiss Golden Messenger, Sonny Smith and Kelley Stoltz . His pedal steel playing is one of the distinct sonic threads woven through many of the songs on 24^th Street Blues. The record was produced Mike Coykendall (M. Ward ) and mixed by Scott Hirsch (Hiss Golden Messenger). 

 

24^th Street Blues presents portraits of a San Francisco where dues are never paid in full, but flowers still bloom from the ashes of the digital goldrush. Like any good long-player, these songs work a deeper magic on the listener with repeated listens. His lyrics take residence in the periphery of your mind like the spectral passages of a Denis Johnson novel. Whether he’s darkening the doors of the city’s Victorians or sharing a drink with a veteran bartender, Heyman has haunted the enduring and evaporating pockets of San Francisco’s heyday long enough to become one of the living ghosts of his own songs.

 

www.tomheymanmusic.net

"Devil Inside Me"

Welsh Rockers The Now Releasing New Single 'The Devil Inside Me' on February 17

Debut Album Produced By Oli Jacobs (The 1975, Harry Styles, Pale Waves) Out This Summer

The highly infectious and guitar-heavy hooks of four-piece band The Now were born in South Wales in 2018 after Shane Callaghan (Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocals), Will Scott (Drums), Callum Bromage (Guitar & Vocals) and Jay Evans (Bass Guitar) met at a local jam night.

Their stage presence was something special, and after perfecting their sound, The Now released its debut single "Friendly Fire" in 2021, followed by the 2022 debut 5-song EP 'The Truth Always Comes Out In The End,' which spawned the singles "Holy" (which was chosen as "The Coolest Song in the World" by SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage) and "Rockstar," both of which landed them exposure on ITV, BBC, Sky Sports, MTV and a number of local independent radio stations.

The last year found The Now selling out the opening of their hometown Swansea Arena and supporting the likes of Placebo, Noel Gallagher, Reef, Trampoline, Florence Black, The New Roses, and more.

With an average age of 25, the Welsh rockers deliver a huge punch to the head with superb lyrics and highly charged instrumentals.

Having already worked with legendary producers like Grammy award-winning producer Jason Perry (McFly, Busted, Don Broco, The Blackout), Adam Noble (Coldplay, Biffy Clyro, Liam Gallagher) and Richard Jackson (The Automatic, Super Furry Animals and Duffy), the band is excited to announce a February 17 release date for their new single "Devil Inside Me," The track will appear on their upcoming debut full-length album, produced by Oli Jacobs (The 1975, Harry Styles) and due out this summer.

Pre-save 'Devil Inside Me' here.

Upcoming Shows:

Feb 22- London, England @ The Camden Assembly Tickets

April 27- Poole, UK @ Lighthouse Tickets

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Dancing On Tables

Scottish band Dancing On Tables have released "So What" the second single off their upcoming debut album 'Colour In The Grey,' out October 14 on Enci Records (Fences, Kulick, The Joy Formidable).

Named as one of Variety Magazine's ''10 Brits To Watch,'' the band's profile continues to rise with stints on Catfish and The Bottlemen's arena tour in 2021, numerous festival appearances, placements in ad campaigns for Schuh x Adidas and Scottish Water, and inclusion on major playlists, such as New Music Friday, The Pop List and Breaking Alternative.

Stream "So What" here: https://orcd.co/dotsowhat

Watch the “So What” music video here: https://youtu.be/rL0W5Bfn_Wc

’So What’ takes raw and delicate lyrics about the realisation that you would do anything to get an old relationship back, reliving all the mistakes you made and the games that plays with your head, and pairs them with anthemic rock."

The contrast between the intimate lyrics and heavy sound act as a way to show how, in a world where it feels like it’s not normal for men to talk honestly about their feelings, people find ways to hide what they really want to say. ‘So What’ acts as a mask, allowing someone to say things deep from the heart that they wouldn’t otherwise feel comfortable saying in a different scenario. 

Of their upcoming debut full-length, the band says, "It feels like the last 3 years of our life have all been building up to this album. You can hear the journey that we’ve been on as a group as you go through the tracks, with stories of love, happiness, loss and frustration sang on top of a sound that we have worked hard to define by combining our original rock influences with our favourite modern music alt-pop styles.

The album is a collection of songs that were put together over a time where as musicians, we were suddenly stuck at home after being used to being on the road for most of the year. Like most people, it was tough for us to stay motivated during this, but working together (remotely) on music was the highlight of each day and left us with over 70 tracks to choose from for this album.

For us, writing and recording this album really was the 'colour in the grey' of every day life at this point."

dancingontables.co.uk

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https://twitter.com/dancingontables

"Seasons"

Graeme James

NEW ZEALAND NATIVE GRAEME JAMES CONTEMPLATES LIFE’S CYCLES

ON APRIL 1 ALBUM RELEASE SEASONS VIA NETTWERK MUSIC GROUP AND ISSUES GORGEOUS VIDEO FOR TRACK “ALL THE LIVES WE EVER LIVED” 

For Folks Sake premiered the new video here 

When it comes to crafting albums, singer-songwriter Graeme James seems to follow two philosophies: Do it yourself, and think big.   

And no, those are not conflicting notions. James, a talented multi-instrumentalist, plays a dizzying array of instruments on his new Nettwerk Records release, Seasons (out April 1) — just as he did on his Nettwerk debut, 2019’s The Long Way Home, and his earlier independent efforts. He’s been a one-man band since he started his career as a busker in his native New Zealand, and still uses his trusty loop pedal to create his own mini-orchestra when he performs live. 
 

James also produces his recordings, which allows him to sandwich together as many layers of violin, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, double bass, banjo, baritone ukulele, viola, cello, harmonica, accordion, and percussion as he wants. For Seasons, he did request piano, horn, percussion and vocal contributions from friends.

He even creates his own cover art, drawn in a distinctive pen-and-ink style partly inspired by vintage children’s books and linocut printing. 
 

As for the “go big” part, that’s more about his approach to subject matter. On The Long Way Home, James did with words and music what Einstein did with math: explore the nature of time and space.  With Seasons, James contemplates the cycles of life and the human condition, as measured by nature’s own time clock.  These are not idle musings about mundane situations. Though he might use tiny brushstrokes to define minute details, James paints panoramas, not postcards.

The Long Way Home wasn’t a concept album; its theme emerged organically whereas

Seasons definitely is. Starting with spring, it cycles through to winter via 12 songs of such intimacy and delicate beauty, they invoke another Einstein comparison — to the fictional literary gem, Einstein’s Dreams. The album’s first single in particular, “Everlasting Love” (releasing Feb. 18), would fit perfectly within that petite book’s pages.
 

In a Rolling Stone “Songs You Need to Know” feature about the Seasons track, “The Voyage of the James Caird,” writer David Browne observed, “[James’] records tend to be calm and ruminative, recalling the work of fellow modern balladeers like Nathaniel Rateliff (during his unplugged moments) and Phoebe Bridgers.”

These are not bad comparisons. James’ musical style also reflects his love for Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver and Iron And Wine — though it’s doubtful any of them belong to the unique musical club James has just joined; it’s open only to composers of Celtic-veined doomed-ship songs inspired by actual disasters.

James mentions fellow violinist Andrew Bird as another favorite; both began studying as children. James was heading toward a career as a classical violinist when repetitive strain injuries caused him to make other plans.
 

Like those artists and many others, James has often turned to the natural world for inspiration. His first album of original work, 2016’s News from Nowhere, was shaped by the landscapes of his native country. Seasons came to life after James and his partner, Zoe, moved to the Netherlands in 2018.  “In New Zealand, most of the trees are evergreen,” he notes. “You don't get as much seasonal distinction as you do in Europe or North America. The Netherlands is northern Europe, so you're getting a lot of range. The weather here really caused me to appreciate seasonality, and come to appreciate all of the seasons for the richness they bring to life.”

 
With the Seasons release, James continues plumbing subjects he began exploring in a four-EP series released from fall of 2020 through summer of 2021. On the opening track, “The Fool,” he marvels at “the splendor of a world being made anew.”

The second song, “A Sea of Infinite Possibilities,” literally represents new life; it opens with the sound of his daughter’s beating heart. Recorded in utero, it’s the first sound Eva’s parents ever heard her make. “It was so rhythmic and beautiful that I thought, ‘I'm just gonna tape this as a keepsake,’” James recalls. But that incubating life quickly inspired the song. “It's all about her,” he adds, “about the potential of this person that you've never met, but you know will change your life.”
 

In “All the Lives We’ve Ever Lived,” James gently layers percussion to evoke the natural rhythm of changing seasons. The pretty melody also builds in layers: mandolin, then piano, then cello, each one adding more texture. As if carried on a soft breeze, James’ vocals eventually slip in; he sings, “And summer sighed/Through dappled light/And carried us away/Like falling leaves in flight.”

His nuanced way with a metaphor becomes evident as he reaches the first chorus: “Isn’t it just beautiful/The fire in the autumn trees/Don’t weep for summer lying still/Slain amongst the fallen leaves.”    “It describes the change from summer to autumn, and there's a sense of loss, because summer is wonderful,” he elaborates. “The ‘don't weep for summer’ line is really an instruction to self to celebrate whatever is coming, not to mourn what’s gone. Summer isn't coming back around, but there's a wonderful thing happening still. If you try to hold on to the thing that's been, you'll lose out on what's happening in the moment. For me, at least, there is a real poignancy to it — but also a leaning into what is coming.”
 

James says he wrote “Everlasting Love” as a celebration of committed love.  “Most love songs are written about the desire to be in a relationship with someone, or about the feelings you have in the first six months of a relationship when you are barely sane and hardly know the person,” he says, adding, “I wanted to write about the less heady, but much deeper love and appreciation you have for someone when you actually know them, and have walked a long journey with them through all of life's trials and tribulations.”
 

It’s a sweet sentiment, delivered on a cantering tempo with swells of mandolin and organ, mariachi horn embellishments and piano counterpoints — a spirited arrangement that’s all about motion. And there’s only one direction for it to go: forward and straight into the next season, whatever it may bring. 

Links
Website: graemejamesmusic.com
Facebook: @graemejamesmusic
Instagram: @graeme_james