Nowhere Sometimes by Seth

Despite his love of genre-mixing, in the end Seth is truly a lover of simplicity. Songs, born as elaborate productions, are carefully stripped down until all that remains are the absolutely essential elements. Nothing is there that isn't necessary. He has said "I'm looking for the point at which I have provided the least amount of audible information to the listener and am still able to get the point across." This relationship with spare production gives Seth the ability to perform as a solo artist or with a band with equal effectiveness and gives his recordings a haunting beauty.

Seth is fascinated by the religious and popular cultures he abhors. He is preoccupied with the concepts of high and low art, but not trying to decide which side to be on. Seth sits on the fence, stealing pies from the windowsills on both sides.

"Nowhere Sometimes" is a perfect example of that pie-stealing mentality. It is a gripping album that follows an arc from the lusty pleas of physical desire to death to the ambivalence of an afterlife. While trespassing in the territory of maudlin country songs, the characters in these songs avoid the romantic nostalgia for what could have been by taking both the good and bad with equal relish.

Seth's not afraid to let his influences show. You can hear Bob Dylan, Beck, The Beatles, Willie Nelson and Tom Waits, and even the prison work songs of the early 20th century. Though the influence these artists have had on Seth is unmistakeable, in the end Seth truly only sounds like himself. And the sound is infectious; the songs of "Nowhere Sometimes" will follow you. They will get under your skin and stick in your head. Once there, those songs ain't going nowhere. So don't bother trying to remove them. Instead, pass it along (like a head cold) to friends, family, coworkers and explain to them that if you have to have an earworm, this is the one to get.

On this album, Seth got some help from friends. Jeff Sachs played some fiddle, Mike Crawford put in a guitar solo, Mike Christiansen kept the beat on a handful of tracks, and of course the unmistakeable voice of Melissa Thompson turned good songs into great ones.

Recorded at The Basement, Highland Park, IL

Recorded, mixed and produced by Seth

Mastered by Doug McBride at Gravity Studios, Chicago, IL

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