Photo Credit: Chris Orwig
“BIG CHANGES”
LISTEN | ALBUM PRESAVE
SANTA BARBARA, CA – September 9, 2022 - Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket) shares “Big Changes,” the first single from his forthcoming album, There Is So Much Here, available 11/4 on Compass Records. It is his fifth solo album and first since 2016’s Swallowed By The New.
“‘Big Changes’ is about what I think of as The Situation — the changing environment, the growing gaps between ideologies and realities that make healthy debate almost impossible... The Situation invites The Conversation, which is usually just a litany of all that is wrong with the world and how we feel hopeless to change any of it,” explains Phillips. “The second verse of the song is about what I see as the start of changing things — love, wonder and tears. I’m not always great at this. I’m as good at doom scrolling as the next guy, but I write songs like this to remind me to take my head out of the sand more often than I would otherwise.”
Swallowed by the New, was a post-divorce outing about grief, while There Is So Much Here finds Phillips writing love songs again focusing on gratitude, beauty and staying present. The first single is a bridge between the two albums. This new collection of songs documents a shift of perspective from dealing with loss to an appreciation of life.
The 11 tracks on the album move between quiet love songs and outright rockers that consider the multi-faceted meanings hidden in our everyday lives. “Stone Throat” is a mid-tempo rocker that looks at a couple in a new relationship, trying to find the balance between desire and responsibility, or as Phillips sings, “trying to find the balance, between the sacred and the street.” There’s a hint of new wave ska in the rhythm of “I Was a Riot,” a song that casts a compassionate eye on the arc of a relationship. The COVID lockdown-inspired “The Sound of Drinking,” is an appreciation of the familiar things in life, like drinking a glass of water on your back porch. Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) plays soft acoustic guitar and Glen sighs a lyric of gratitude for simple pleasures.
“Call The Moondust” is the most metaphysical song in the set; Phillips delivers an emotional performance over a tense arrangement that hints at the wonders of the universe. “There is so much here, in the space around me, in the sensations of my body, in the sounds and smells and tastes and thoughts that emerge and drift away.” says Phillips. “It’s not a new concept, but it is a novel experience when you’ve spent your life running from one thing to another. This is an album about showing up for what is and letting it be enough.”
There Is So Much Here will be released November 4th on Compass Records. Glen Phillips is on tour with Toad The Wet Sprocket in October, with a solo run of shows beginning in November.
ABOUT GLEN PHILLIPS: During his years as lead singer and main songwriter of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips helped to create the band’s elegant folk/pop sound with honest, introspective lyrics that forged a close bond with their fans. When Toad went on hiatus, he launched a solo career with Abulum, and stayed busy collaborating with other artists on various projects including Mutual Admiration Society, with members of Nickel Creek and Remote Tree Children, an experimental outing with John Morgan Askew.
U.S. TOUR DATES
SEPT 16 / MENLO PARK, CA @ The Guild Theatre
NOV 3 / NOVATO, CA @ Hopmonk Tavern
NOV 4 / NOVATO, CA @ Hopmonk Tavern
NOV 5 / SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ The State Room
NOV 6 / PORTLAND, OR @ The Old Church
NOV 8 / SPOKANE, WA @ Lucky You Lounge
NOV 9 / SEATTLE, WA @ Triple Door
NOV 10 / DENVER, CO @ Soiled Dove Underground
NOV 13 / CHESTERFIELD, MO @ Forest Hills Country Club
NOV 15 / MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ Icehouse
NOV 16 / MILWAUKEE, WI @ Colectivo Coffee on Prospect
NOV 17 / CHICAGO, IL @ City Winery Chicago
NOV 18 / ANN ARBOR, MI @ The Ark
NOV 20 / GRAND RAPIDS, MI @ The Listening Room
DEC 7 / VENICE, CA @ The Venice West
