New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Boston-based singer/songcrafter Mark Erelli has unveiled a live performance video of "I Can't Stand Myself," a new track off his LP Blindsided, due out via Soundly
Music next Friday, March 27th. The track pairs a Bo Diddly beat with an exploration of faith and doubt. "We value faith highly in America, and there is an overarching feeling that you have to believe in something. But doubt can be as powerful as a locomotive, and on this song, I tie myself to the tracks," Erelli explains of "I Can't Stand Myself. "I've always thought of myself as a good person, but if that is true, then why do I occasionally let people down or hurt them?" "'I Can't Stand Myself' comes out swinging with a jangly piano riff, then leads into Erelli's distinctive vocals," says The Boot in its premiere of the video, which features Erelli along with Jake Armerding on fiddle.
"I Can't Stand Myself" follows "Rose-Colored Rearview," in which Erelli confronts the current haze of nostalgia about "the good ol' days," which has a way of allowing us to gloss over certain parts of the past. "I wanted to land a bit of a lyrical gut-punch to finish the song, and just couldn't let go until I felt the last verse's visceral impact," Erelli told Wide Open Country, who premiered the song. "Though we certainly have a ways to go to improve things for all colors and creeds, I am fairly certain that longing for the 'good ol' days' is mainly another form of white privilege. I love how this track feels nostalgic and almost like a classic rock song you might have heard before -- until you pay attention to the lyrics."
Erelli released a video for the title track via The Bluegrass Situation, and call to empathy "A
Little Kindness" via American Songwriter, who said, "For Erelli, music is a way to appreciate the world and the people in his life...And perhaps most acutely, the practice of music has taught Erelli the beauty of sublimation and reinforced the joy of helping others achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps Erelli also achieve his."
Blindsided, a step in a different sonic direction for Erelli, is an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience. The album was forged in a process of reckoning, of taking stock of the soul, and being pleasantly surprised. Mining the same gritty yet soulful territory as John Hiatt's Bring The Family or Bonnie Raitt's Nick Of Time, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn't a confession from the therapist's couch, it's rock 'n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. Against the backdrop of Blindsided's hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided's 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery.
In light of show cancellations and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Erelli and a number of other folk and Americana artists will participate in an online festival, "Shut In & Sing," streaming live via StageIt.com between March 19th and April 11th. Erelli will perform on Friday, March 20th, along with Anne Heaton, Mary Bragg, and Becky Warren. Tickets, on a pay-what-you-can basis, can be purchased HERE. Tour dates are listed below, be sure to follow Mark Erelli via the links below for updates.
TOUR DATES:
3/20 - Shut In & Sing [Online]
4/10 - 3rd & Lindsley - Nashville, TN
4/16 - The Basement - Nashville, TN^
5/6 - Rockwood
Music Hall - New York, NY
5/7 - Philadelphia Folksong Society - Philadelphia, PA
5/8 - The Parlor Room - Northampton, MA
5/9 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
5/12 - Woodbury Brewing Company - Woodbury, CT
5/13 - One Longfellow
Square - Portland, ME
5/14 - Caffe Lena -
Saratoga Springs, NY
5/15 - The Word Barn - Exeter, NH
5/17 - Cotuit Center for the Arts - Cotuit, MA
5/19 - Hangin' & Sangin @ Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY
5/21 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX*
5/22 - The Paramount Theatre, Austin, TX*
^w/ Andrew Combs
*w/ Lori McKenna.
