“I know that musicians always say, ‘This is the most personal album I’ve ever made…’, but here’s the deal,” Rebecca Loebe tells PopMatters. “The songs on this record were written over six months in 2017. I had just released a record and was touring heavily. I was having a hard time reconciling some of the uglier realities of our culture with my deeply held belief that people are fundamentally good.”
That album is Give Up Your Ghosts, the singer-songwriter’s first release on Blue Corn. Due on 8 February, Loebe’s latest LP is chockful of self-reflective meditations—notes to herself that she now feels privy to share with anyone willing to offer their ear, perhaps in hopes that they might help them as they have her. Marred not by overtly lush instrumentation and produced with a broad, atmospheric clarity in mind, ample room is given for Loebe to bear her soul with her warmly inviting, dynamic voice always front and center. Give Up Your Ghosts, then, is an exercise in honesty and bravery alike for Loebe, and the artist certainly means it when she establishes it forthrightly as the most important chapter she’s written in her musical journey thus far. Subtle, ensnaring musicality and wearing her heart so clearly on her sleeve just as easily convey it to an audience.
She continues, “I was tired. I was scared. I needed to be reminded to have faith in my optimism, and to relax and not get too worked up or bummed out over things I can’t control. Most of the songs on this record are notes to myself, reminders to take a deep breath and let go of what’s holding me back. When I’m struggling through something, I find it helpful to sing about it. I figure there might be some folks out there struggling through similar issues as me, so these songs are for them too.”