Postscript

About the album

Most of the songs I’ve written each have very different inspirations behind them. And, about half of them are about stories I made up. For example, The Astronaut, an EP I released in 2017, is made up of four songs that are entirely imaginary and disparate in both subject matter and sound. So, although I have always loved concept albums, I’ve never really thought they were my style.

Postscript is the only collection of songs I’ve created that I could consider a concept album, and for that it has always held a special place in my heart. I wrote the album primarily during my freshman year of college, when I was 18 and 19. (The age I was when I wrote it will probably be obvious when listening, as the songs are all melodramatic in a way I have somewhat grown out of.) I had planned to record the album as soon as I finished writing it, but life got in the way.

In the end, I’m glad that I waited nearly five years to finish it. Grad school means I’m busier now than I was then, but if anything, that has only made making time for my hobbies more important. I love what I do as an academic, but I’d forgotten how much I love music. After moving to Tennessee for school, making this album has been a great way to spend quality time with my dad, who also doubles as a producer, guitarist, bassist, etc. We have always connected through music, and I’m so grateful for how much time and care he puts into the projects we work on together.

Another perk of coming back to this years later is getting some perspective on it. Enough time has passed to create emotional distance. Songs I wrote while crying on the floor of my dorm room didn’t bring up those hurt feelings anymore, so I was able to just enjoy the artistic process of recording them and have fun with it. We tried out some cool new effects and more experimental sounds on a few tracks. The first track, especially, goes way out of my comfort zone by being half spoken-word and half instrumental overture. I also had a lot of fun when I wrote the lyrics with having songs reference each other, which I hope helps tie the story together.

I love Postscript and I am so proud of how it turned out. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the album!