He’s been writing songs about people on the fringe for damn near a lifetime. 40+ years of detailing the idiosyncrasies of outcasts, losers, freaks and outliers in society in his two acclaimed, if not totally different, bands – Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven.
David Lowery, chief singer-songwriter and frontman from the aforementioned bands, is now taking a much different approach to his songwriting and is singing about something he’s really never dug that deep into – himself.
On his latest sprawling 28-song solo album, Fathers, Sons and Brothers (due out May 30th via Cooking Vinyl Pre-order), Lowery lets his memory, and pen, traverse back to some of his earliest memories as a child in an English seaside town (“Frozen Sea”). Throughout the length of the album, he chronologically takes us through his youth (attending a Spanish bullfight with his family, where he asks “Papa, do they really kill the bull?”) and carries on through his coming-of-age period (re-locating to California’s Coachella Valley with his family in the ’70s, as well as a humorous tale of landing in Disneyland jail after getting sh*t-faced on vodka and mushrooms at the theme park, and standing up to bullies in his disabled sister’s defense).
David recalls moving away from his loving parents’ home (“Mom, I’m Living the Life”), starting a band (“I Wrote A Song Called Take The Skinheads Bowling”) and then goes onto detail an early love that sadly disintegrated due to his own self-described anger and selfishness on, perhaps, the album’s most moving track (“Mexican Chickens”).
The album further delves into the ups and downs of his music careers with both groups (tapping into CVB band tensions on “We Hate You” and Cracker’s quick rise to fame in the early/mid ’90s on “It Don’t Last Long”). He recalls hooking up with his future ex-wife in Richmond, VA (“Pretty Girl from Oregon Hill”), and details friends (Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous on “Mark Loved Dogs and Babies”), family, children, divorce and more.
By the end of this lengthy, insightful album, you get the feeling that you really know this artist, how he thinks, and have a good sense about who he really is… warts and all. Just as every good autobiography worth its salt does. Thankfully this one just happens to be bound with some truly gorgeous melodies and songs.
Today, Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the standout track “Frozen Sea,” a stirring work of folk-rock that finds Lowery drawing from one of his earliest memories from childhood. Backed by a simple yet moving soundtrack that includes eloquent banjo picking and subtly powerful steel guitar, Lowery paints a vivid lyrical picture that practically pulls you into the room during this memory. Indeed, the tune is a reminder that Lowery is one of the finest American songwriters who embraces the literary approach to crafting his tunes. For longtime fans of his other bands, “Frozen Sea” is both an eye-opening personal account as well as a tune that feels faithful to his alt-country legacy.
David Lowery describes the inspiration behind the tune:
“‘Frozen Sea’ is the first song on my autobiographical album ‘Fathers, Sons, and Brothers,’ beginning with my earliest memory of the Big Freeze of 1963 in Margate, England. The song reflects on my childhood in this part of the UK but takes a detour to discuss two iconic artists from Margate: the proto-Impressionist J.M.W. Turner and conceptual artist Tracey Emin. J.M.W. Turner is mentioned because the sky often resembles a Turner painting, and Tracey Emin is referenced due to the rugged, unrepentant older women who insist on smoking in art galleries exhibiting her works.”
LISTEN:
