Secularia – Elyza Gilkyson (2018)

Because it ponders two heady issues: contemplating meeting one's demise
as a person without faith and imagining a non-patriarchal society
in the days of Trump and Weinstein, Secularity is thematically
complex. She calls her 20th release a gospel album for atheists.
Musically it is a spare, yet superb production where the instrumentation
discretely sets the mood for songs about mortality & womanhood that are
conveyed in a captivating and celebratory manner with her crystal
clear vocals (nothing maudlin here).

Related: Gillian Welch
FCC: None

1) Slow, acoustic song about nature with nice violin (3:16)
*2) Midtempo, about coming together in the face of adversity with
great slide guitar. Inspired by Yeats' The Second Coming poem. (4:06)
*3) Beautiful contemplation on one's demise (and disposal) with dreamy steel
guitar. Based on a poem by her grandmother before her death. (3:58)
*4) Powerful (both sonically & thematically) critique of consumer society
we have created 'in the name of the lord'. (4:11)
*5) Enchanting story about those who 'cross over' while sleeping. (3:58)
6) Mystical, slow, thank you to the 'creator' for nature and our
existence (4:34)
7) Slow ballad about not going back to what was left behind with (minimal)
orchestral arrangement (4:48)
*8) Exquisite duet with gospel singer Sam Butler based on Psalm 23 (3:47)
9) Upbeat, inspired by 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' by Keats. (4:02)
10) Imagines the creator (Emmanuel) as female (Emmanuele) (6:19)
*11) Reworked version of the classic done with Jimmy LaFave (5:25)
12) Is redemption possible given where we've gotten to these past
10,000 years (4:31)

*Mr. Bones especially likes these