New Music Spotlight: Other Lives
“Somewhere we’re laughing in far away places instead“
For Their Love, the 5th LP from this underrated band, and 4th under the name Other Lives, was released on Friday, April 24th. I’ve almost exclusively been listening to this record and working on this write-up off and on since. That has been part of the problem though. Each time I listen, my emotions and thoughts are in a different place, so it’s almost impossible to wrangle them together into a coherent piece.
Early in my listening experience I was focused on the cinematic nuances that flow freely through the 10 song album. That element has remained throughout. I was originally talking about “rockabilly B-sides with horns and piano” to the evolution from songs soundtracking old black & white westerns that transition into songs that could soundtrack a modern Quentin Tarantino movie.
Another powerful element is the obvious influence from the core members being from Stillwater, Oklahoma. I am originally from southwest Missouri so I was drawn to the raw, midwestern folk roots that are the foundation of Other Lives. Over the course of the last 36 hours, my 96 year old grandmother has undergone 3 unexpected surgeries, and I was informed this evening that she is not going to make it. To clear my head, I took my dog for a walk and felt the urge to listen to For Their Love for the 20th time. Not because I had to write a review, but because I truly love this beautiful album.
Those early images of old westerns turned into the soundtrack of my grandmother's life growing up on a farm in southwest Missouri. This past Christmas I started diving deeper into my family’s history, so the images and history and stories are fresh in my mind. Other Lives has not only given us their best effort to date; they have also given me some semblance of peace during a personally trying time in the midst of the world’s trying time.
Thank you Other Lives.
I love you, Grandma.
-Josh
The original Tarantino-esque inspiration, “We Wait“
To go out on a beautiful melodic note, “Cops“
