Jason Hawk Harris Explores Grief and Healing on
Cathartic New Album Thin Places
Out October 6 via Bloodshot Records
Watch the Official Video for “Jordan and the Nile”
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Aug. 30, 2023 – Today, Jason Hawk Harris has announced his highly-anticipated new album Thin Places, due out October 6 via Bloodshot Records. Thin Places
finds the Austin-based singer-songwriter shining a light on grief and
healing while drawing on his extensive classical music background to
create a cathartic, genre-defying body of work. Along with the
announcement, Harris has shared his new hymn-like single “Jordan and the Nile,” which arrives with a visually stunning music video directed by Austin Leih.
“The
chorus of ‘Jordan and the Nile’ came to me in a random burst of writing
in about 10 seconds,” reveals Harris. “The rest of the song took four
years, three recording sessions and 12 musicians to complete. During the
process, we were interrupted by natural disasters, life-threatening
medical emergencies and the first pandemic in 100 years. I don't know
that I've ever been more proud of something I've written. I hope it's
not too much. I'm just glad to finally have it out there, and I'm
excited for the life it takes on.”
Produced by longtime collaborator Andy Freeman and written from start to finish as one continuous artistic statement, Thin Places
sees Harris examining the emotional whirlwind surrounding his mother's
death and the personal evolution that followed. The album draws on his
extensive background in classical music to create a stirring work of
beauty, pain, and catharsis, one that masterfully blurs the lines
between roots, country, rockabilly, gospel and chamber folk as it
reckons with forces far beyond our control.
Following Harris’ critically acclaimed 2019 Bloodshot debut Love & The Dark which garnered praise from Rolling Stone, Billboard
and more, what should have been a period of triumph was instead marked
by a series of setbacks and heartbreak: he lost his mother, his father
declared bankruptcy, his touring van was stolen and totaled, a tornado
struck during the making of a follow-up LP and his label went under.
Adding a pandemic into the mix that prevented Harris from touring, this
unexpected two-year hiatus allowed the Houston native to find a "thin
place" to reflect on the monumental loss of a parent, and this stillness
eventually called him back to music. When word got out that he was
ready to get back into the studio, in a single day fans chipped in
enough to fund the recordings. A few months later, a freshly re-launched
Bloodshot Records came calling, ready to pay him what he was owed and
re-sign him to the label with a new deal.
Chronicling this undoubtedly transformative time in Harris’ life, the songs on Thin Places
are deeply personal, staring down loss, self-destruction and recovery
with unflinching honesty, and the arrangements are similarly bold and
cinematic. This album is a bittersweet testament to the complicated
legacies we inevitably leave behind, and a profoundly moving exploration
of the gray areas and liminal spaces that shape us all.
Thin Places Tracklist
1. Jordan and the Nile
2. Bring Out the Lillies
3. Shine a Little Light
4. Roll
5. The Abyss
6. I’m Getting By
7. So Damn Good
8. Keep Me
9. White Berets
Jason Hawk Harris:
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Photo Credit: Daley Hake
Missing Piece Group
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