ATARAXIA
released MARCH 15, 2018
ALBUM 15, RELEASE 38
I went home for spring break after finished Magna Aliqua and came back with another album in the can. Whereas that album only had 1 rule (all songs under 3 minutes), I flipped the script on this one by having three rules: only use acoustic guitar and arranger keyboard, all songs above 3 minutes, and a different tuning for every song. The result is something I called one of my worst albums for many years. Listening to it again, I think that's a bit harsh. That doesn't mean I suddenly love this, but it does mean I can admit there are good ideas here. That said, I do still regret making "Meet Us On The Field" one song. It was originally two different songs, but I thought that if I stitched them together, it would be the longest Hello Whirled song. I regret doing that. Also, the title track is a real slog. The nice thing is, there are two songs on here that I've definitely always liked, and it's the last two. "Circles In The Desert" and "Winter Marches On" might be, dare I say, kind of pretty. I never write pretty songs!