In 2018, nine piece alt country/folk outfit The Gracious Losers released their stellar debut album The Last of The Gracious Losers. Today, their new album Six Road Ends is out and we are delighted to premiere it right here on Overblown! It is a soulful and lush effort full if big melodies and big hearts. Bandleader Jonathan Lilley was good enough to elucidate on the tracks for us. So read his insights below while you listen to the record. Good times.
11TILL I GO HOME
Ignorance is bliss, but usually, it’s not an option, and we have to find a way to bear the weight of all that we know, right to the very end.
10THE BIG LAND
The English poet John Donne wrote, “to live in one land is captivity”. Rave on, John Donne! There’s always that tug of war in me, between being defined by where I’m from and the search for something or somewhere that makes more sense to me. I’m jealous of those that find it.
9FLOOD CAME DOWN THE HILL
I think about all the great films, books or artworks that I’ve yet to discover, and wonder about the time left to cram it all in. The 1001 Whatevers You Must See Before You Die! Yeah, sure. When that big apocalyptic cookie crumbles, Hitchcock, Joyce or Matisse won’t be who I’m reaching for.
8LOATH TO LEAVE
The sheer magic that is capturing and preserving a likeable version of ourselves on film or in a photograph, and the tragic reality of never being able to stay in that moment.
7THE ACCOMPLICE
This is the theme music for a cinema club I ran for a few years. It would accompany
the midnight screenings of darker toned films with no happy ending in sight, so I suppose it is my version of Italian Film Giallo music.
6EVERYTHING BEGINS, EVERYTHING ENDS
I can feel like I’m going round and round and round, trying to gain a firm grip on the slippery tail of Meaning and Purpose. The hope is that every now and again I can hold on for just long enough before the chase starts all over again.
5THE FIRE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
I’m not even sure if I just imagined this, but I recall seeing film footage of flames that exist on the ocean floor, and that seemed to perfectly sum up the impression Gena Rowlands made on me. Impossible, outrageous, absurd, a natural wonder!
4YOU GOT THE REACH ON ME
The heart sure does take a lot of hits, but love is always worth fighting for. And, of course, we’re dealing with the simple fact that men are outclassed by women on every level. We all know that, right?
3COME WHEN YOU’RE READY
I had the nerve to expect my daughter to be born on the predicted day, which would have given her such a cool, numerical one of a kind birth date, but of course, she hung on in there another day and came out laughing at me. Rightly so.
2THE LEAD AND THE LIGHT
I’ve been to some miserable weddings and some joyous funerals. It’s enough to keep you up at night.
