Some of these songs are quite old. Some of them are a little more recent. Most of them aren't really songs.. but possibly ditty's or "works of music". I had already begun polishing off what were some of my homeless but fondest musical ideas in February of 2020, so when normal life stopped for most of us, I was instantly drawn into completing these ideas in some form. These are largely songs that were hard to communicate to other bands or really didn't fit with anything else I was doing. So they're inherently about isolation anyway. There wasn't enough time to doubt myself or ask whether it would be cliche to make an album from quarantine, I just did it.
I've wanted to make good music all my life, but let's face it, it's actually really hard, even if you have immense privilege and opportunity and talent. Some wonderful souls seem to be blessed with unfettered productivity and unabashed confidence. I on the other end, have an endless supply of envy. Thankfully none of my unproductive qualities make it into this set of music, so you should be safe from that sort of negativity if all you do is listen. By that I mean, that hopefully the music you hear is the best parts of my feelings, my kinship with everyone and other warm feelings.

Putting this collection together meant searching through unfinished electronic and folk recordings I had made, finding those old earworms, and then tying them together sonically. I re-recorded lots of vocals, and updated a few lyrics here and there. "Birds" was written almost entirely as it is here when I was 16. "Let Go and Let it End" (formerly titled "Breath Here") was written when I was 18. I always thought I'd write more words to it, but haven't over the last 18 years so I left the back half lyric-less. I always knew it should be epic though. The music for "You'll Know" was written and recorded when I was 21, but the melody and lyrics here are new. "River Fortress" is from 2012 or so, and if you dig through this page you'll find it in an older form of the same some. "Name Calling" was written and partially recorded when Sally and I still had our grand piano right after we got married.

This music is about beginnings and endings and crowded spaces and empty spaces. It's about walks in foggy forests where the weather changes 4 times within the hour. It's about being alone through many changes. It's music that has been close to me for decades. I hope it feels important in all seasons.