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![]() Eliza Gilkyson (from the album Secularia available on Red House Records) Providing options to traditional religious beliefs, Eliza GIlkyson spins tales of the spirit on Secularia, her recent release. Eliza embraces the unseen truths that we intuitively know rather than see, supporting our unspoken dreams in song. The delivery shifts as the message remains clear, Secularia confidently striding into the dark, relying only on faith and sparkling guitar notes in “Lifelines” and comforted by the purity of the devotional voices when Sam Butler (Blind Boys of Alabama) joins in harmony for “Sanctuary”. While her subjects seem to take sides, the stage set has more depth, Eliza Gilkyson explaining that ‘the fall from grace and redemption of the soul in these songs are less about a deity or afterlife, or a heaven and hell than they are about the very human story of losing and finding oneself within the span of a lifetime, which is all I know for certain that I've got. Woody Guthrie said, 'my religion is so big no matter what you do you're in it and no matter what you do you can't get out of it’. He also said, 'Earth is God's everything.' He conveyed all that depth in just 29 little words’. Musically, Secularia has a quiet majesty, the instrumental backing whispered piano rambles and tender strings (“Reunion”) as it assuredly plucks guitars as a structure to hold a tale of the earth (“Conservation”), strums chords offering encouragement to aim for personal improvement (“Through the Looking Glass”), and stretches notes that rise like bubbles while burdens drop off (“Down by the Riverside”). Giving thanks in the semi-title track, Eliza Gilkyson lets her voice drift in the gratitude of “Seculare”, strumming off to sleep as a day’s decisions seek a guiding light in “Dreamtime” while Secularia lets a spotlight of somber melody fall on “Solitary Singer”. Listen and buy the music of Eliza Gilkyson from AMAZON http://elizagilkyson.com/
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February 2021
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