Photo credit: Joe Navas
LISTEN: “THE MAN I AM”
Today, beloved Boston-area singer-songwriter Mark Erelli has released “The Man I Am” the latest from his forthcoming LP, Lay Your Darkness Down, due out on February 3rd via Soundly Music. Erelli penned the soulfully sultry single in tribute to his wife, Polly.
"It is hard for me to imagine what my life would look like if not for the love of my wife, who I’ve been married to for 20 years," he says. "She has encouraged and supported all the good parts of me, while lovingly insisting that I can improve upon my counterproductive habits and mindsets. I’m stubborn and fiercely independent, but above all, she has shown me how letting someone else into your heart can truly transform your life. In that spirit of transformation, I tried to push into some new sonic territory on this track, framing my voice against a spare drum machine for the first verse,” he adds. “The result is one of my favorite recorded vocal performances, raw, soulful, and elevated by the transformative power of love."
“The Man I Am” follows the release of “You’re Gonna Wanna Remember This,” an epic track he co-wrote with his “musical big sister,” GRAMMY-winning artist Lori McKenna. “The world now knows her as a hit country songwriter, but to me she has been a constant source of compassion and supportive friend for almost 25 years,” he says. “There have been many times when, in her infinite wisdom, Lori has said to me ‘pay attention, this is something you’ll always want to remember.’ When she offered to help teach me how to use Zoom as a remote co-writing tool during the pandemic, it was only natural that her advice came back to inspire this song.”
LISTEN // WATCH: “YOU’RE GONNA WANNA REMEMBER THIS”
In the summer of 2020, Erelli was performing an outdoor show in New Hampshire when something strange happened. “I looked down and couldn’t see my fingers on the guitar,” he recently told The Boston Globe. “I’m literally about to go into the downbeat for the solo, and, as you can imagine, it didn’t go great. It was embarrassing. I came offstage thinking, ‘Note to self: Check the lighting next time.’” Later, when driving home one night through a Boston tunnel, he lost sight of the road. After a trip to the ophthalmologist, Erelli was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa ("RP"), a degenerative eye disease that causes progressive loss of night and peripheral vision, and can lead to complete blindness.
After his terrifying diagnosis, he began to wonder - Does diminished eyesight decrease one’s insight? What does it mean to be ‘fully seen,’ by oneself and by others? These questions, along with his drive to regain his creative agency, are at the heart of Lay Your Darkness Down. The video for lead single “You’re Gonna Wanna Remember This” features footage of Erelli’'s family, and his beloved pup Leo, whom he adopted during the pandemic. He and Leo traverse the verdant countryside--the video's edges blurred at times to mimic his vision--acknowledging life’s struggles, but taking stock of the beauty of even the simplest of things.
The tracks, though decorated with references to shadows, light, and obscured vision, are about resilience, love, and the human condition. The album is more than a collection of affirmations and optimism in the face of despair; it is a clarion call for anyone lost in the shadows. Yet Erelli doesn’t proclaim any easy answers for how to navigate the unknown. Instead, he squarely examines question after question, reveling in mysteries both great and small. With equal parts hope and resignation, he reminds us in the title track that our deepest challenges are more than a simple test of our endurance—they ultimately help us chart our course.
Lay Your Darkness Down is a reconciliation of life’s trials and human frailties, adversity transformed into finely-embroidered rock n’ roll, burning with urgency. “These aren’t songs about blindness. They’re songs I could only write once I realized what I was losing,” Erelli explained to The Boston Globe. “My impending blindness opened my eyes, and I was able to write from that new viewpoint.”
The album is available for pre-order HERE. Be sure to follow Mark Erelli at the links below for all the latest news and updates.
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