Today, critically lauded Nashville-based singer/songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips shares “Gather Up,” the third track unveiled from his forthcoming tenth solo album, Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff, out September 4 on Yep Roc Records.
Glide Magazine premiered the official video for the track noting, “Phillips lets his gritty, soulful vocals shine while backed by a rich cacophony of percussive sounds.”
“When I was kid, I was forever being dragged off with my grandparents to some little country church,” says Phillips. “The folks were always friendly as the long cars pulled up into the gravel driveway. Everyone in their Sunday best – my grandpa in a suit, grandma in a flowered dress. Once in the pews, the mood would sometimes darken with the threat of some cataclysm. There was also music. A guttural kind of music that comes out of the mouth of an old man and an overdriven amplifier. Those things stuck with me.”
“Come on lightning, show us your stuff,” those words from Grant-Lee Phillips’s young daughter were the inspiration for the 10-track album. Painting a beautifully human musical tapestry, each track exhibits why Phillips remains one of the strongest torchbearers of his generation and finds the veteran singer/songwriter at his most inspired.
Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff was produced by Phillips, who is featured on vocals, guitars, piano, and organ. Recorded and mixed by Pete Min (Amos Lee, Andrew Bird) at Lucy’s Meat Market in Los Angeles, CA. Phillips was joined in studio by drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant, Alison Krauss), bassist Jennifer Condos (Ray LaMontagne, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Phillips), pedal steel player Eric Haywood (Son Volt, The Jayhawks), and horn player Danny T. Levin (Iggy Pop, Regina Spektor).
The first single, “Lowest Low”, which premiered at Ditty TV, was praised by Brooklyn Vegan who noted, “Grant-Lee Phillips is back with this gentle, beautiful new single, anchored by his warm, inviting delivery.” The album’s second single, “Straight to the Ground,” premiered at SPIN.
The California-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, actor, film composer, and visual artist began his career as the frontman for Grant-Lee Buffalo.Named “male vocalist of the year” by Rolling Stone, USA Today called him a “soulful balladeer” while Uncut hailed him as a “distinguished U.S. songwriter.” In 2016, he reprised his role as the beloved town troubadour in the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls.
Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff Tracklisting
1. Ain’t Done Yet
2. Drawing the Head
3. Lowest Low
4. Leave a Light On
5. Mourning Dove
6. Sometimes You Wake Up in Charleston
7. Gather Up
8. Straight to the Ground
9. Coming To
10. Walking in My Sleep
