Red House
2008
Beautiful World
About This Album
Eliza Gilkyson has always been a socially and spiritually conscious, if not overtly political, songwriter, and 2004's pre-election Land of Milk and Honey and 2005's post-election lament Paradise Hotel were meditations on hope, change, and righteous anger. Beautiful World appears in an election year, but the viewpoint is different: Gilkyson rises from the place of disappointment and grief to equanimity. With her road band and guests who include John Inmon, Cindy Cashdollar, David Grissom, Julie Wolf, and her brother Tony, Gilkyson pursues a path that is alternately confessional, grieving, hopeful (rather than optimistic), confused, broken, and compassionate. She invokes a diverse array of sounds, styles, and textures that move this set out from the predictable tropes of contemporary folk-jazz, roots rock, and even slinky keyboard affected ballads. Her new songs find beauty in some of the most unlikely places. What better way to begin a "political" album than with a love song? It's not ironic; it's revolutionary. Led by a fingerpicked National Steel, she sings above her band: "...Whole world's goin' up in smoke/Hard times comin', I ain't jokin'/Just tryin' to keep my heart wide open/.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.