What Are You Listening To?

[Ruby]

John Paul White – Beulah



His first solo record since The Civil Wars split up, and a mighty fine offering it is, IMHO. I’m not sure exactly where it fits, it’s a collection of what appear to be quite swampy, folk oriented/alt country songs (I think!). I can wallow in a bit of southern gothic every now and then.

He didn’t write the songs from a place of pain, apparently, which one might be forgiven for thinking, but perhaps that just took a while to surface. This man has a wonderful voice and I like his songwriting. The album seems to be well produced too, which is not surprising as he’s the co-owner of Single Lock Records.

His explanation of the new album title …

Beulah is also a White family nickname. “It’s a term of endearment around our house,” White explains, “like you would call someone ‘Honey.’ My dad used to call my little sister Beulah, and I call my daughter Beulah. It’s something I’ve always been around.”

Beulah is also something much loftier. For the poet and painter William Blake, Beulah was a place deep in the collective spiritual unconscious.

“I won’t pretend to be the smartest guy in the world,” says White, “but I dig a lot of what he’s written. Beulah was a place you could go in your dreams. You could go there in meditation, to relax and heal and center yourself. It wasn’t a place you could stay, but you came back to the world in a better state.”

Coupla tracks …

“The Once and Future Queen” …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7KWcTrLV5s

Tiny Desk concert promoting the album which is quite cool … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBIAnpOrJB8

… and “What’s So” …

[video=youtube;CPdDwsKH7kc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPdDwsKH7kc[/video]