SEAN ROWE UNVEILS NEW SINGLE “TO MAKE IT REAL”
VIA HOLLER.
NEW LP THE DARKNESS DRESSED IN COLORED LIGHTS
OUT ON OCTOBER 8TH VIA FLUFF & GRAVY RECORDS
Photo credit: Joe Navas
LISTEN: “TO MAKE IT REAL”
Today, with the release of lead single “To Make It Real,” internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Sean Rowe announces his forthcoming LP The Darkness Dressed In Colored Lights, set for release on October 8th via Fluff & Gravy Records. “'To Make It Real' looks at the aftermath of heartbreak, when the reality of a relationship's end sets in,” said Holler. in the premiere.
“The song begins with a more traditional folk-rock sound. ‘All this sky/ All this music floating by/ One day it will be the last time/ You won't get it again,’ Rowe sings on the second verse before 'To Make It Real' shifts its soundscape and sets off into more vibrant alt-rock.”
“Sonically, I was very much influenced by Radiohead’s In Rainbows with the feel of this track and the direction of the instrumentation,” Rowe explains. “Lyrically — this is for me — a kind of recurring theme that I find in many of my songs. Which is to say that I’m alluding to the duality that I feel is in all of us. All the hidden parts and all the guts that spill out when we’re faced with tragedy, adversity, or a broken heart.”
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Rowe, an artist and nomad at heart, has made himself into the perfect repository for spun yarns of every variety — hysterical, terrifying, heartbreaking, mystifying, and ridiculous — and on this record, he makes it clear that at some point it’s hard not to feel them all at once.
While “To Make It Real” was forged from the despair that comes from losing yourself to heartache, album track “Little Death” recognizes that both in spite of and because of such events, it’s possible to find yourself again. Here, Rowe brushes off the dirt and looks ahead to the freedom of only being accountable to oneself.
“The heaven and hell that swirls around in our head — to a large extent, we make both,” Rowe says. “So, in realizing that, you begin to realize that you have the ability to decide which one you’re gonna make.” He credits therapy and a guided ayahuasca retreat with helping him to reach this understanding.
The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights was produced by Rowe’s friend and longtime collaborator Troy Pohl, whom he has known since he was in his early twenties while Pohl was still a teen. The two grew into their professionalism together and here, they make the most of their combined ambition and experience.
The studio Hive in Eau Claire, Wisconsin was chosen so that they could work with the Grammy-winning engineer, Brian Joseph (Bon Iver) and for its proximity to a group of musicians that Sean came to admire while listening to Anna Tivel’s remarkable album, The Question, in his manager’s basement studio. That group includes drummer/percussionist, and producer Shane Leonard, along with Jeremy Boetcher on bass, and Ben Lester on keys and pedal steel. Courtney Hartman was flown from Colorado to provide background vocals and guitar. Chris Carey provided additional bass, while John DeHaven, Jeff Nania, and Joel Yannuzzi made up the album’s brass section.
The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights will be released on CD and double-vinyl, as well as available on all streaming services on October 8th. Click HERE to pre-order.
TRACKLIST
WHAT ARE WE NOW
TO MAKE IT REAL
LITTLE DEATH
I WON’T RUN
HONEY IN THE MORNING
MARRIED TO THE LORD
GABRIEL
SQUID TATTOO
TORNADO HEAD
RABBIT HOLE
TOAST
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