As ever, we live in tumultuous times. As much as art can provide a distraction from our troubles, we need it to help make sense of the world. That’s where someone like William Ryan Fritch comes in.
Fritch is set to release the concluding piece in his eleven part subscription series, The Leave Me Sessions. The album is called New Words for Old Wounds, and it continues the Mills College alum’s evolution from eccentric bedroom composer to an inimitable artistic force. His compositions consistently become deeper and more complex, while his increased use of vocals have become more natural and evocative, resulting in this album being his strongest and most emotionally resonant work yet.
One of the most deeply affecting tracks on the album is “The Little We Know.” The song was written on the night of the Paris attacks, with Fritch steeped in dreadful uncertainty if two of his best friends who lived in that neighborhood were still alive. The devastatingly beautiful instrumental begins with a downward cascade of glissandi, landing on a brooding drone of bass, delicately picked guitar and sorrowful strings, with Fritch’s vocals searching for light in the darkness, for truth in the great mystery of the human condition. In his own words, “With all of the grossly imprecise rage that has been omnipresent with both the Turkish and Belgian attacks and the divisive hate rhetoric that cascades after each tragedy it seems that it is as relevant a time to release as ever.”
Pick up the fabulously appointed gatefold CD pressing of New Words for Old Wounds through Lost Tribe Sound on May 20. In anticipation of that date, check out the premiere of “The Little We Know” below.
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