Eric Terino ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸
Tapping into the rich timeless history of romance and poetics past, Eric Terino’s musical landscape paints a portrait of an American artist with a sweeping perspective on what it means to be human. The deeply personal becomes universal and heartbreak can be transformed to healing. Similar in fashion to Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, his tales of suffering mend with beauty. Gilding the places we have been hurt as a means of moving forward. This potential for alchemy exists everywhere, and Terino’s serenaded solitude reminds us of the infinite beauty in it all.
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Innovations of Grave Perversity
Innovations of Grave Perversity is Eric Terino's third long player, and by any measure is his most expansive and layered work. Taking charge from where his sophomore record left off, the album is a parallel journey through the passage of seasons (winter into spring) and the transition from despondency to the birth of new hope and healing. It is a record about attempting to find light in the wake of trauma and working to reframe one's life in a way that allows for the possibility of joy.
Written and recorded throughout 2020/2021 amidst the height of a global pandemic, the eight tracks that comprise Terino's third LP started life in his home studio in a New England forest and came to fruition with contributions from musicians based all throughout the world. Cello tracks flown in from Russia, French horns from Italy, harps from the UK, and even a musical saw from Greece. Notably featured on a number of tracks is the distinctive voice and hauntingly beautiful violin of legendary Americana singer/songwriter Jolie Holland. It was as a result of the lockdowns that many new connections were able to be forged remotely and Terino's experience of making this record became a tool to feel connected to other musicians and artists in a time when such camaraderie was greatly needed.
Lead single "Body Gets Stoned" was written byTerino nearly 15 years ago and features stirring violin and vocals from Jolie Holland, whose contribution allowed for the track to finally feel complete and ready to be properly documented. "'Body Gets Stoned' is sort of my take on a 'Que Sera Sera' (Doris Day's 1956 hit from Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'). Basically, it's a Buddhist kind of mentality that all is as it is and will be as it will be. So there's no point infighting upstream. Wtimately the solution to any struggle is in letting the river take us where we need to go, which in my opinion ... is home.”
Elsewhere, the record explores a wide range of themes such as mental illness, aging, leaving past loves behind, accepting childlessness, and renouncing damnation. All driven by an emotive intimate vocal and delicate near orchestral arrangements. "Whether the subject matter is bereavement ("Invocations"), agoraphobia ("Boulder"), or the experience of coming out as an LGBTQ youth ("A Snowfall at Dusk"), the songs that comprise Innovations of Grave Perversity transform the deeply personal into universal statements on the complexities of human life.
"I feel more hopeful and open than I've ever felt before. There's something nearly magical that can happen when you're writing. You have to be careful because what you write could manifest itself into reality. So with this record, this was my attempt to shift the narrative of my life from a tragedy to a realm of potential for joy.”
"A work of strange beauty.” - Patty Waters
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Digital and Cassette Release Date: March 11, 2022
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