[rating=8.00]
Eliza Gilkyson, twenty albums in, seems to be marshaling all her inner emotions, her feminist and political activism, as she challenges conventional religious beliefs while beseeching us to be more accountable in these divisive times. Secularia follows the heralded singer-songwriter’s 2014 Grammy-nominated The Nocturne Diaries.
The well-respected Gilkyson, who hails from a deeply musical family, can always call on the best session players in Austin as she does here. Chris Maresh, Warren Hood, Kym Warner, Andre Moran, Mike Hardwick, and Betty Soo are among those who join. Additionally, the album features the acclaimed Tosca String Quartet which gives it a dreamy, ethereal quality on those selections. There are brief guest spots from Shawn Colvin, gospel singer Sam Butler, and her friend, the late Jimmy LaFave. Two songs were adapted from poetry written by her grandmother, Phoebe Hunter Gilkyson, co-written with her father, Terry Gilkyson.
The album was inspired by the writings of the feminist movement’s early pioneers and today’s #metoo movement which has become a major catalyst for other singer-songwriters this year. Her bandmate, Gretchen Peters, from the trio, Three Women and the Truth, (also featuring Mary Gauthier), just released a female perspective album as well. Many rhetorical questions about centuries-old patriarchy are found in these smoothly rendered, well-articulated songs. There’s an intimacy to Eliza’s voice and approach that easily draws in the listener.
The opening track, “Solitary Singer,” the family contribution previously alluded to, became the title of a weekly folk-music themed radio show that Terry Gilkyson hosted in the late ‘40s for the Armed Forces Radio Network. Eliza comments, ‘The song bears witness to the profound harmony of the natural world, the antithesis of music tied to an industry, and the foundation upon which I was raised.” Thoughts like these characterize Eliza’s reflective stance. She’s looking full circle, realizing that the fundamental pillars of folk music are more important now than ever. Those feelings and beliefs are celebrated in the following tune “Lifelines,” embracing the coming together of like-minded individuals after this recent presidential election.
”In the Name of the Lord” seems to directly stem from Mary Daly’s writings in 1973, “If God is male, then male is God.” Others seem to be inspired by the transitions of losing and finding oneself in a world where the human condition, rather than any deity or afterlife, is most important. Gilkyson cites Woody Guthrie, ‘My religion is so big no matter what you do, you’re in it and no matter what you do you can’t get out of it…’ He also said, “Earth is God’s everything.” He conveyed all that depth in just 29 little words.”
Other tunes call for a new kind of spirituality. Listening to the traditional “Down by the Riverside,” sung with her longtime friend, the late Jimmy LaFave with his unique phrasing, brings tears, knowing that it was recorded just a few months before LaFave’s far-too-soon passing. Colvin appears on the duet “Conservation,” the second tune with lyrics adapted from her grandmother’s poems, with plenty of nods toward mortality.
Rumor has it that this could be Gilkyson’s last album. Hopefully, that won’t be the case but if it is, she can rest well, knowing that she made a compelling, eloquent statement.
