it is true that you’ve been on my mind

I’ve been thinking often about the wide warm spaces of Texas, the humidity in the air as you head towards the coast. Perhaps spurred by the Northern Lights’ foray into Colorado that I witnessed last week, I’ve been picturing another roadtrip to see the Marfa Lights, to wander a bit. I’ve been listening to this song, a great song, while I do this daydream roaming.

When I was in Austin in November, and found myself in a hat shop on a Sunday afternoon. Playing their everloving hearts out in the center of the hat shop was a band called Quiet Life, in town to open the shows we were attending with our friends in The Head and The Heart. The band is also labelmates with Widower (one of my top ten albums of last year), over at Mama Bird Recording Co, so it’s a wonder it took me so long to listen.

This is simply a GREAT song — rich with both lament and sweet longing, it’s a lonesome late night song, it’s a community hymn. It’s one of those immediately quietly-anthemic songs that feel like you’ve always known it for the last few decades, and yet it is all its own. As they wound down playing it in the hat shop, I whispered to my friends – “Now THAT is a great, great song.” I have listened to this song probably four dozen times since then. I hear they just re-recorded a version of this a few weeks ago, and I also cannot wait to hear that one.

Shaky Hand – Sean W. Spellman (Quiet Life)

That version was released by Sean on this lovely demo EP, and will also be on his solo record coming out in April, called September Rose. The full band version of “Shaky Hand” will be out in March on the new Quiet Life record.

(this picture was taken in Austin post-hat-shop, since I recognize all their new hats they scored. Classy! photo by Daniel Cavazos)