Wide, Open Horses is the Irish artist’s seventh studio album, out on Nettwerk Music Group on June 14th.
The album is preceded by the single ‘Never Gone’, a stripped back acoustic song that arrived with a video shot in the Wicklow Mountains.
The album was first performed over two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, after recording demos and practicing for a week.
Phones weren’t allowed, but James recorded it to “see what worked and what didn’t work.”
“I literally performed the album before it was recorded. The whole point was to expose the flaws and also highlight the special little moments. It was an odd experiment, but it worked great. The notion is so simple, ‘Write songs and perform them live’. Without cameras, they were the best shows I’ve ever played—which is interesting because no one knew the music! Everyone was just experiencing it though. I had friends in the lobby talking to strangers. Who talks to strangers anymore? It was lovely. It was a heartening experience for everyone involved.”
‘Never Gone’ is the album opener and features the line “Cuz what the fuck are any of us really doing here? Do we even exist at all?”
“It’s the anchor of the record. It sums up the whole album; you’re just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I’ve been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered. When you don’t find it, it doesn’t feel good. I got to a point where I was like, ‘I fucking love this. I don’t care. If my friends, family, and people who know me as a musician love it, then I’m happy’. I regretted missing so many beautiful moments, because I’d get off stage like, ‘What’s the next opportunity?’ I’ve come to terms with the fact that when I die, I’ll be forgotten, and it’s okay. We all will. It felt ridiculous to fight it. Embracing it was very freeing. ‘Never Gone’ is just about appreciating what’s here for you in the moment.
Wide Open, Horses Info
“To me, the album is about finding relief from the cycle of life’s pressure. I don’t think the theory ‘modernity equals better’ holds much water these days. The more technology we add, the more unhappy everyone seems to be. I don’t want to move backwards, but I felt a sense of nostalgia and happiness in the album. It would be grandiose of me to think I could offer you some profound release through words and lyrics, but maybe I can…The job is to make a record I love and hopefully offer a respite. Maybe we can all get back to a life where we aren’t so obsessed with trying to seek out meaning from absolutely everything.”
“I’m grateful to be here. The whole process was rebuilding myself and my connection to music, who I am, and what I wanted to be when I was starting out at 20-years-old. I struggle like everyone else does, but I’m going to appreciate the fuck out of every moment I get now. When I play shows, I want them to be shows you talk about for years. Going through hardship, I’m back to a point where I can see myself very clearly in the music and I know what I can do.”
Wide Open, Horses is out 14th June via Nettwerk Music Group
1. Never gone
2. Look up!!!
3. No One Get’s What They Wanted
4. Stay Cool
5. Wide Open, Horses
6. The Day All The Lights Went Out
7. Give Up
8. The Standard
9. Things We Tell Ourselves
10. White Out
11. Darkest Days Of Winter
12. Call Me Back
13. Meet Me In The Garden
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