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These Northwood Blues

by Jack M. Senff

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $5 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Pressed on Black vinyl, limited to 300 copies worldwide. Housed in a full color jacket and includes lyric insert. Designed by Brian Morgante of Flesh and Bone Design

    Includes unlimited streaming of These Northwood Blues via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 300  6 remaining
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      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Packaged in a lovely digipak case designed by Brian Morgante of Flesh & Bone Design. Features a beautiful lyric booklet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of These Northwood Blues via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • "Like Shadow & Light" Zine

    Like Shadow & Light is a comprehensive, making-of companion to These Northwood Blues. Featuring essays, poetry, photos, guitar tabs, and more, it offers a special peek into how the record came to life.


    Note: this item is limited to 50 copies, and will start shipping by or around 11/20.

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1.
Wildfire 03:48
Hey let’s take the long way down to Peggy’s house Get out of town on the country road Bomb the hill Away we go To roam in a land of broken soul More blues than rock and roll So beautiful When the water meets the tree line ‘Round the bend Or how the light shines in... to illuminate a darkness Come before and again Like wildfire in the gloaming A low and steady burning there’s some kind of hope here in the hurting Now through the woods Watching buildings pass A shadow lingers on the dirty glass Of old motels and village bars On the slow degrade of a broken heart Over time & a life spent in sorrow and defeat From the solemn dreams of younger men & the pretty girls in love them Like wildfire in the gloaming A low and steady burning There’s some kind of hope here In the hurting They’re intertwined The people & this place The history in the soil & the power of disgrace As it rots away (rots away) Like a curse But washes in the lake & blossoms in the dirt I can see it Plain & true A darkness but the light shines through I can feel it! So can you A darkness but the light shines through Like wildfire in the gloaming
2.
Another Day 05:04
Another day looking back In wonder Where the hell it goes How did I get here? Are the triumphs of my life Behind me now Can they linger Or do they all but disappear? Maybe I don’t know & I never will I lose track when I move this fast Could of sworn I was standing still... Maybe it’s what they say “The moving and the living are the same” Another day I guess I’ll do it/ Make up the way & stumble through it/ But hard as I try, I can’t shake the best has passed me by Another day blurs One into the next Is there comfort In my routine Or am I just waiting around for death? Maybe I don’t know & I’m not sure I will I lose track when I move this fast Could of sworn I was standing still... Another day I guess I’ll do it/ Make up the way and stumble through it/ But hard as I try I can’t shake the best has passed me by Another day... I follow trails of different voices Asking me if I’m my father Disillusioned by the choices I have made Or chosen not to make In my tired search for meaning To the minutiae of a day Like the stillness of the sunlight As it spills across my floor— If I’m alive and here Then why Have I always wished for more? When I’m happy in the moment Shining bright Or so in love Wouldn’t it be something To forget what I was dreaming of? Another day I guess I’ll do it/ Make up the way and stumble through it/ Hard as I try I can’t shake The best has passed me by
3.
Quiet Love 04:26
Yeah I’m feeling crazy Losing my mind Won’t you save me From the worst of my making? When the river floods I need you to come wading— To hold me together To keep me in line It’s your quiet love Tames the roaring of mine Where you go/ I go/ Right by your side No I can’t imagine this life without you... Couldn’t stand it This life without you As my constant My old & my new I am nothing In this life without you To hold me together To keep me in line Your quiet love Tames the roaring of mine When the river flood rushing Swallows the light It’s your quiet love Tames the roaring of mine Where you go/ I go/ Right by your side
4.
Honey & Wine 03:39
He howls and sighs A wolf never satiated By the sweetness Of honey and wine Oh lord he cries Prowling the wilds It was the devil in him That drank deep & Swallowed the poison Worn down When the world cast him out— It was the endless stream of everything Reminding him he was less than whole But he is no one now... Just dust inside a velvet bag The spirit separated from the ash Does he call for her The lost child filled with a sweetness Like honey and wine Oh is she still running with the horses? It was the devil in him... Or maybe god who Let in the poison Worn down When the world cast him out— It was the endless stream of everything Reminding him that he was less than whole But he is no one now... Just dust inside a velvet bag The spirit separated from the ash So the wolf is left to languish on Fading slow into a dark night Restless howling from the other side Stuck between He begs for mercy A salvation sweet like honey & wine Worn down When the world cast him out It was the endless stream of everything Reminding him he that he was less than whole But he is no one now... Just dust inside a velvet bag The spirit separated from the ash
5.
Oh the room is full Of faces I don’t recognize & I am all in black A stranger at the back of a funeral For a cowboy Who’s legacy’s defined By those he leaves behind & the mess they made The debts they’ll never pay & on the speaker plays “I did it my way” Now we’re outside Watching the carriage ride Mike’s so skinny with his cigarette As the smoke plumes I’m wondering If I’ve ever seen a real life cowboy Long & lean in their blue jeans It’s a fitting sight for this sorry scene May he be forever wild & free Of all this shit he leaves Still unraveling... Then the horses round the corner To join back with the mourners & everyone is silent In reverence of the final ride Of the cowboy Off to greener pasture The family all but scattered & here I am A stranger watching them & if I wrote this song Where would I even begin?
6.
Made it through summer somehow Riding high & coming down I was after new sounds I’m always after new sounds... I can hear us crashing I can hear Tyler laughing The soft spill of time Like shadow & light Mason says you’re beautiful & of course you are Our voices make a new sound How very sweet this new sound... I’m swaying where I’m standing But nobody’s dancing The soft spill of time Like shadow & light Like flowers sewn in white Like skinny legs & wolf eyes Oh my divine Now I can see it right The soft spill of time Like shadow & light These northwood blues/ They play on my mind

about

‘These Northwood Blues’ is a product of the times. Written just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new album was recorded in Wyandotte, Michigan at Eureka Records after multiple delays, during a lucky weekend break in the national, global upheaval of 2020. Donning masks, songwriter Jack M. Senff & his newly-formed Rolling Hill Band came together to explore a 70’s-inspired realm of Americana music, tracking the album “on expert mode” live with limited overdubs. In turns driving, volatile, patient, & exalting, ‘These Northwood Blues’ pivots Senff from the acoustic, bedroom stylings of his debut (2019’s ‘Good To Know You’) into the wider world of folk rock.

The album was engineered & mixed by the careful hand of multi-instrumentalist Austin Stawowczyk (Shortly, Great Expectations) who also co-produced alongside Senff & his creative partner Brian Morgante (Flesh & Bone Design, DEADHORSE), the spiritual second leader of the Rolling Hill Band. Filling out the group are Morgan Arrowood (Little Graves) & Schyler Binkley (Schyler the Potter, Ender) on piano & drums, respectively. Together Senff & his band have crafted a dynamic, lush collection of varying moods & colors, with ‘These Northwood Blues’ standing as both a testament to the current times, & an intriguing peek into where the songwriter might head next.

Find it on the world wide web or in stores via Skeletal Lightning Records October 23, 2020.

credits

released October 23, 2020

All songs written by Jack M. Senff
Produced by Jack M. Senff, Brian Morgante, & Austin Stawowczyk
Additional consultation by Em Randall
Engineered & mixed by Austin Stawowczyk
Mastered by Bill Henderson of Azimuth Mastering
Art direction & layout by Brian Morgante of Flesh & Bone Design
Photography by Em Randall

Recorded in July 2020 at Eureka Records in Wyandotte, Michigan
Except piano which was tracked at Andrew Solway’s in Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Copyright 2020 Jack M. Senff, BMI

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Jack M. Senff Traverse City, Michigan

Jack M. Senff is a songwriter from Northern Michigan.

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