Alexandra Lockhart’s undertaking Cumulus has all the time been a collaborative effort. It might have began as a solo(ish) undertaking, at occasions actually present in a bed room, however for greater than a decade now, Lockhart has surrounded herself with associates and fellow musicians to assist carry her music to life each within the studio and onstage.
Amongst them, at the very least since 2018’s Consolation World, has been William Cremin, who’s labored with Travis Thompson, the Torn ACLs, and Skeletons With Flesh on Them, amongst others. Final 12 months, whereas recording the fourth Cumulus full-length We’ve Acquired It All, Lockhart and Cremin made their music partnership official, asserting Cremin was a everlasting a part of the band.
“For this new report, I needed to discover extra territory emotionally and sonically that I knew would require being extra weak and opening myself as much as larger contributions from William,” says Alex. “So it simply made sense to say out within the open: These songs are as a lot William’s as they’re mine!”
We’ve Acquired It All is drenched in nostalgia however not within the regular saccharine, obsessed-with-our-fleeting-youth kind of manner. As a substitute of getting misplaced within the good previous days, Lockhart remembers the music that formed her into who she grew as much as be and makes use of these recollections as a map to assist her discover her place in right this moment’s world.
Take, for instance, the album’s second single, “Lose Your Thoughts.” Lockhart’s optimistic lyrics are at first solely accompanied by piano, however the tune blooms right into a vibrant burst of harmonies and guitar that nearly really feel prefer it was plucked from a jam session from the Band’s The Final Waltz.
For The Stranger’s premiere of the observe, Lockhart and Cremin supplied just a little extra perception into the artistic course of behind the upcoming report, and the music that impressed it.
One factor I’ve all the time appreciated about Cumulus and your songwriting is your give attention to prioritizing consolation, particularly when the remainder of the world feels so unsettling and scary. Your 2018 album was referred to as Consolation World, in 2022 you supplied One thing Brighter. You acknowledge the bullshit however then provide not an escape, actually, however a comfy place to decompress. A reminder to decelerate. Does that pattern proceed on this album, too?
Alex: Your statement goes to make me emotional! I’ve all the time regarded to songs that I really like as like… being within the firm of an excellent good friend. When a songwriter is sincere about how they’re experiencing the world round them, as a listener, I can’t assist however really feel linked, impressed, and fewer alone. If my songs provide a comfy place to decompress, I’d say that most likely has occurred naturally out of the truth that it’s the precise motive I’m going to music myself. I don’t go to music to flee. I’m going to music to really feel issues extra deeply, perhaps take into consideration issues just a little in a different way, and join myself to the world. Thanks for giving me the most effective praise a songwriter might ever ask for!
William: Sure! There’s all the time a stability between caring for your self and staying engaged with this more and more horrifying world, not wanting away. That’s clearly one thing we’re all reckoning with, and it’s an enormous a part of this album. For me, one of the vital essential bits of sequencing was placing our self-care mantra, “Welcome Again to Me,” proper after “Unhealthy Information.” You need to face the heaviness, and also you additionally need to stability that out by some means.
Associated to that, We’ve Acquired It All additionally celebrates the music that has formed you. “Wolves,” “Outdated Pal,” “Dad Music”—a number of tracks consult with lyrics and liner notes and bonding with others by music. Who’re a number of the musicians, or what are a number of the songs that had been working by your thoughts as you wrote these?
Alex: I really like that you just observed this theme! This was a report the place I needed to be actually unabashed about my influences and nostalgia of ’90s/ early-2000s music. “Wolves” is a mirrored image on rising up in Oak Harbor, a navy city, and discovering punk music with these women I idolized who finally turned my greatest associates (and nonetheless are!). They skateboarded and performed in a band, wore their hair in liberty spikes, and in my most vivid recollections we’d spend hours within the storage simply rocking out to the Distillers’ Coral Fang album. They helped me think about extra prospects for myself.
“Outdated Pal” is a tune I wrote with Aaron Visitor, who performs piano on the report as nicely. We obtained collectively in 2022 and began this tune simply as a enjoyable co-writing try, and in 2024 as I used to be previous notebooks of lyrics, the lyric sheet actually fell out, and I used to be like, “Oh shit, I really like this tune!” When Aaron and I initially obtained collectively, I believe this tune leaned closely into the storytelling custom of John Prine, and Bruce Springsteen, the place the finer particulars are fiction however nonetheless telling a really actual story. For each the one that stays within the hometown and provides up a dream, and the one that leaves to chase it—there’s actual sacrifice, and the grass is all the time greener on the opposite aspect.
“Dad Music” is a little bit of an extended story, however finally, it’s about my fandom of my dad and in addition Third Eye Blind. My dad’s love of stay music and radio stations like 103.7 the Mountain was infectious to me, and I fell in love with the pop-rock bands of that period. We went to Bumbershoot collectively in 1998, and I used to be 10 years previous, singing alongside to each phrase on “Semi-Charmed Life” with clearly no concept concerning the drug references. A few years later, as Blue got here out, my dad and I had been on our yearly summer season street journey to Lake Chelan, listening to Third Eye Blind and studying all of the liner notes. We obtained to “Deep Inside You,” and it turned a real “birds and the bees” second that also cracks me up all these years later.
You additionally reference street journeys and lengthy drives, so I’ve to ask (as a result of I really like to speak about snacks): What’s your go-to road-trip snack?
Alex: I’m a drowsy driver, so I all the time want caffeine on a street journey, and regardless of hating most vitality drinks, I really like the Monster Rehab tea. Perhaps some Increase Chicka Pop Candy and Salty popcorn and a few grownup Lunchable-type salami-and-cracker snack.
William: On one tour, I introduced an enormous stash of GoMacro bars, which completely saved the day on a couple of event.
I learn that you’re donating a portion of your album proceeds to a corporation that focuses on psychological well being. Are you able to inform me just a little extra about that and why that’s vital to you to do this in connection together with your music?
Alex: Once I was pursuing music full time, one of many greatest struggles was having medical health insurance so closely tied to an employer and being out and in of jobs in sacrifice to gigging and touring. I believe it is a large a part of what prevents creatives from with the ability to think about the humanities as a lifelong pursuit. MusiCares is a Grammy Basis non-profit that gives musicians with assets to therapists, protection for emergency medical care and common well being verify clinics, in addition to restoration funds for pure disasters just like the fires that simply occurred in LA. I’ve struggled with despair and monetary instability for many of my grownup life, so I can’t assist however need to assist a corporation like MusiCares, which is without doubt one of the solely security nets particularly for musicians and music business professionals. Working with a non-profit report label like Share It Music is superb as a result of we get to launch a report and provides just a little bit again.
You recorded the album with an awesome group of musicians—John van Deusen from the Lonely Forest, Aaron Visitor, Aaron Ball—what is going to the Cumulus lineup appear to be for the report launch reveals in Could? Will or not it’s a full band?
Alex: Sure!! We will probably be taking part in as a six-piece band for all three launch reveals. Aaron Visitor (Polecat) on Piano, Aaron Ball (Dryland) on drums, Brad Lockhart (Dryland/husband) on guitar, Jeff Ballew (Child Desserts) on bass, and William on lead guitar (plus me singing and sometimes strumming!).
Preorder We have Acquired It All on Bandcamp. Cumulus play three report launch reveals subsequent month. See them on the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham Could 1, the Unknown in Anacortes Could 2, and Conor Byrne in Seattle Could 3.
