Here's yet another artist who I interviewed a few years ago with the feature elsewhere on this blog. I'm looking forward to hearing the new material...
“Come on lightning, show us your stuff,” those words from Grant-Lee Phillips's young daughter were the inspiration for the critically lauded Nashville-based singer/songwriter’s tenth studio album, Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff, slated for a Sept. 4 release on Yep Roc Records.
“I tapped into my own youth to render a character whose small-town upbringing finds them feeling hemmed in and disillusioned. Imagining an idyllic vista out west, that all seems achingly out of reach,” Phillips says.
“I remember that feeling, the frustration of being nineteen and quite certain that the whole world would pass me by if I didn’t get out of the house or hit the highway. I wrote this song last autumn, shortly before the recording session. When I sing it today however, I can’t help but think of my own twelve-year old daughter and all the kids whose lives have been disrupted by this pandemic - all of those graduation ceremonies and markers that have been snatched away.”
“These days, I’m interested in writing about the quiet lives of people who are wrestling to hang on, trying to retain dignity, fighting back forces beyond their control,” offers Phillips. “I’m not interested in pinning the songs down or reducing their mystery. I’m attempting to capture a sliver of time.”
Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff was produced by Phillips, who is featured on vocals, guitars, piano, and organ. Recorded and mixed by Pete Min at Lucy’s Meat Market in Los Angeles, CA, Phillips was joined in studio by drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant, Alison Krauss), bassist Jennifer Condos (Ray LaMontagne, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Phillips), pedal steel player Eric Haywood (Son Volt, The Jayhawks), and horn player Danny T. Levin (Iggy Pop, Regina Spektor).
The California-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, actor, film composer, and visual artist began his career as the frontman for Grant-Lee Buffalo. Named “male vocalist of the year” by Rolling Stone, USA Today called him a “soulful balladeer” while Uncut hailed him as a “distinguished U.S. songwriter.” In 2016, he reprised his role as the beloved town troubadour in the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls.
Track listing:
1. Ain’t Done Yet
2. Drawing the Head3. Lowest Low
4. Leave a Light On
5. Mourning Dove
6. Sometimes You Wake Up in Charleston
7. Gather Up
8. Straight to the Ground
9. Coming To
10. Walking in My Sleep
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