Having been a prolific songwriter for as long as he can remember, Jared Putnam figured most of the ideas that had been swirling around had begun to dry up after the release of his fifth album cinq.  Instead, he started to find inspiration while going about life, fulfilling the responsibilities of being a father.  The notorious alt-rock anthem “Hey Jealousy” began to blare through Putnam’s vehicle speakers and something began to click.  The everlong process of deconstructing pop songs in hopes to find the formula that makes them so captivating.  Listening to “Hey Jealousy” and the earworm effect that has immersed so many for years and how it was possibly constructed finally connected with Putnam thus the work on Lost Causes had commenced.

Under The March Divide banner, Putnam and his cohorts Ernie Garcia (long-time player with El Vez and Javier Escovedo) on bass and Jason West on drums have released the single coming off Lost Causes “I’m Not Perfect,” along with an accompanying video. 

Here’s Putnam on the single: “I’m Not Perfect” came out completely different than I had initially imagined. Writing sad songs about loneliness comes very naturally to me and, going into it, this song was an idea that would check that box. Over the years, I have developed an audience that has a huge appetite for these kinds of songs and it means the world to me that they connect so strongly with so many people. These songs are very therapeutic for me to write.

When my producer, Mike Major listened to my very rough demo, he heard it as a full-on rock song, which was the complete opposite of where I had intended to take it. I was completely thrown off of my game and had no idea what to do. I just couldn’t get my head around it and even considered just scrapping the song.

It wasn’t until I heard the bass and drums that I realized I wasn’t seeing the forest for the trees. It just totally clicked from there. Something that was so obvious to everyone, but had been hiding behind in the blind spot of my comfort zone.

When it came to making the video for ‘I’m Not Perfect,’ I’ve always enjoyed working with Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions. If a song brings out a tough memory or emotion that you’re just not ready to deal with, Hector can put visuals to it that will make you look and keep you from turning away.”

Lyrically, the songs on Lost Causes pick up where the last single from Putnam’s previous album left off. At the time, he had started to write in a more stream of consciousness style, even making a promise to himself not to change his words. “It’s pretty satisfying to just say what you want to say, without worrying about how cool it sounds,” he said at the time.

Lost Causes, the sixth album by The March Divide, arrives on June 10th via Slow Start Records preceded by the singles “I’m Not Perfect” (March 18th), “Tension In The Air” (April 8th), “I Wanna Hate You” (April 29th), and “King of The Lost Cause” (May 20th.)

Photo Courtesy: Short Eared Dog Photography