Mark Erelli's Releases New LP 'Lay Your Darkness Down'

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mark Erelli has released his new album, Lay Your Darkness Down, today via Soundly Music. Erelli created the powerful LP in the wake of being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa ("RP") - a devastating, degenerative eye disease that leads to blindness.

Unmoored, he was compelled to make music, but going to a lowly-lit recording studio was not a safe option anymore. "Erelli has been at it for more than 25 years, but Lay Your Darkness Down represents a significant shift in how he makes a record," said No Depression in a recent interview.

"When he realized RP would undoubtedly affect the usual recording process - putting him in an unfamiliar space with lots of knobs and expensive gear - he reevaluated." Instead, he began to experiment with a recording style inspired by ELO's Jeff Lynne, who produced artists like Paul McCartney, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty, mapping each instrument's part and then recording them individually.

Eventually, he began to focus more on the emotional impact of what the songs were trying to tell him: Use adversity to fuel hope and creativity. Hold on to a child-like sense of wonder. Focus on the present moment before it flies by unwitnessed. Acknowledge and move past the fear of the toll RP might take on his roles as a husband and father.

Anxious and agitated when thinking of his impending loss of independence, Erelli recalled a conversation with Joe Henry, the famously philosophical singer-songwriter/record producer who told him that an artist's job is not to avoid but rather to delve into the darkness - and, with this album, that is what he has done. Now, he's on a mission to increase awareness about RP and blindness and to relay how important music is in processing and healing trauma.

The tracks, though decorated with references to shadows, light, and obscured vision, are about resilience, love, and the human condition - a message of hope. "In an era where pessimism seems to prevail, it's a reminder that optimism is still worth preserving and ought not be forsaken even if it sometimes seems as if there's no reason left to persevere," commented American Songwriter. "With Lay Your Darkness Down, Erelli shines a light on precepts and possibilities well worth considering. In so doing, he's made an album that shores up the strength that's needed to be sustained."

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 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. 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.

"In some strange way, my disease has provided me with the chance to truly live what I sing. Sharing my diagnosis is my way of laying down my own darkness," he says. "By making my private struggles public, maybe it helps others to see that we all have a choice. We can be overwhelmed by the shadows, or use them to show where the light is coming from. As for me, no matter what happens, I'll forever be looking for the light."

Lay Your Darkness Down is available to stream and download HERE, and CDs and vinyl are available to purchase HERE. Erelli will celebrate the release with a series of tour dates, see below for a full list of shows. Be sure to follow Mark Erelli at the links below for all the latest news and updates.

Listen to the new album here:

TOUR DATES

3/2 - Flying Goose Brew Pub - New London, NH
3/3 - The Music Hall Lounge - Portsmouth, NH
3/4 - Burnham Hall - Lincoln, VT
3/5 - Caffè Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY
3/8 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
3/9 - The Bur Oak -Madison, WI
3/10 - CSPS Hall - Cedar Rapids, IA
3/11 - Stone Arch Brewpub - Appleton, WI
3/23 - Jamestown Arts Center - Jamestown, RI*
3/24 - Crystal Ballroom - Somerville, MA*
3/25 - The Parlor Room - Northampton, MA*
3/31 - Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 2) - NY, NY*
4/1 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA*
4/2 - Jammin Java - Vienna, VA^
* with support from Jobi Riccio
^ co-bill with Elizabeth & the Catapult

To post a comment, you must register and login.