Glad To Be Alive, the debut full-length from Seattle chamber-folk sextuplet Townsend’s Solitaire, is a soaring testament to beauty born through grief. Recorded live to tape, the record captures the magic of a group of classically trained musicians moving together as one. Shimmering, delicate, and profoundly honest, the record cuts to the emotional core of what it means to be human. Within this aching piece of art, listeners will find cathartic rays of hope breaking through the howling grey of sorrow. There’s truth in the words “even if I’m not happy, I can still be glad to be alive,” and in truth perhaps we can all find a bit of solace.    

Today Townsend’s Solitaire share the video of “Raining In June, Pt. I & Pt. II,” which was filmed at Sage Arts.  The studio, located on a private wooded property a hour north of Seattle, provides a perfect backdrop for the band to make their performance very intimate.

Singer Bobby Odle says, “These 2 songs, presented as 2 parts of the same story, are an ode to complicated and deep love. Written for and about my best friend, who was my first love, and was again transforming into a romantic partner–an arc lasting at the time 7 years. In hindsight, now separated, I jokingly tell our audiences that these songs are now a cautionary tale against falling in love with your best friend but truly they are stories of complex, ever-morphing love and relationships, and of gratitude.”

Glad To Be Alive (out now) is a meditation on two culturally stigmatized topics – grief and suicidal ideation — explored through the through real, raw, and honest stories of Odle’s life. 

“Fans and friends that come to our live shows are used to hearing my stories of heartache,” explains Odle, “as I regularly speak at length about my older brother Chris, who we lost to cancer when I was thirteen.” In 2023 fate conspired to further extend Odle’s experience with sorrow. “In February, we lost my uncle Agung, who lived in Bali, Indonesia. My mother, sisters, and I spent a few weeks of in Bali for the funeral of our uncle.Then, we lost a dear old friend of mine, Tanner James, to himself. Our families were very close; Tanner, me, and our older brothers started our first band in elementary school. All of this launched me into what would turn into an extremely grief-stricken, yet formative, year of deep loss, love, and growth.”

The grief of losing a constellation of those closest to him, mixed with the sparks of tentative new love, swirled throughout Odle’s reality. Infuse this into the work of a bipolar songwriter who struggles with suicidal ideation, and you have Glad To Be Alive. The songs are born from the simple nexus of his guitar and vocals, written in Odle’s Seattle apartment*. Once the primary structure has been established, he gets to work composing parts for the ensemble.  

Glad To Be Alive was recorded on 2″ 16 track tape and mixed on 1/2″ 2 track tape at Sage Arts Studios by Jordan Cunningham.Unlike prior releases which were traditionally multi-tracked, the band chose to record this new record live. “We never rehearse to metronome and adapt tempo, dynamics, and energy to one another” explains Odle. Their arrangements complete and thoroughly rehearsed prior to tracking, Glad To Be Alive captures not only the wonder of a live performance, but also the joy the ensemble feels when playing together.   

Photo Courtesy: Miguel Escobar