This record is interesting because pieces of it have been written during different times in my life, during which so much has happened to sort of inform my views of a lot of different things, whether that be mental illness, alcoholism, loneliness, religion, or death (and life).

So much of these songs are centered around the anguish of suffering. I have known so many people who are on their own singular journeys carrying weight none will understand, but them.

And this sort of universal suffering is framed in the mind of a protagonist through the context of last words, of final thoughts, of a dissociating person whose life is merely lingering in the world. And these narratives are contextualized by famous last quotes by the likes of John Keats, Van Gogh, Beethoven.

But there is also a deep desire to live, embedded in the sadness. And there is an appreciation for what beauty one can find in solitary moments of contemplation.

As a writer, I have always strived to capture the small moments of intimacy that collectively shape a person's life. I think in these songs, there is a reflection of that.

That understanding is largely shaped by my love of Frank O'Hara's work. He was called the Poet Among Painters, because, as he put it, he was writing poems that only artists cared about. But that wasn't true. His poetry has the air of high-brow sophistication, but is so often demonstrative of universal small acts of love, so often showing the propensity for affection we tend to bury in our day-to-day lives.

He had an extraordinary ability to convey so much love and empathy and the minutiae of mundanity. And that's part of this record's DNA is to (hopefully) capture some of that.

But choose for yourself! Everyone takes their own meaning from these things. Mine comes from a place of empathy rather than any sort of touristy masochism.

Poet Among Painters is also largely inspired by the music and lyricism of Nick Cave, Lucero / Ben Nichols, Jose Gonzales, and Devendra Banhart, each of whose music is deeply impressed on me.

Alright, that's it for me. Have a listen.

B.