The new Lowheart album "Catharsis" is a collection of moody and heartfelt songs, written over the period of a decade or more, that form a concept album of sorts - creating a story arc that follows from the divorce of the writer's parents to their own marriage breakdown and subsequent aftermath. The album features intensely personal lyrics, delivered with appropriate emotion and passion, over an acoustic-based instrumentation.
This narrative thread ties the songs together thematically, taking the listener on an emotional journey. The acoustic guitar is the dominant basis for the music, each accompanied by dramatic lead guitar solos - many of which are electric, some quite heavy and often exhilarating, and always adding an extra dimension to the tracks. The variety of sounds created in these lead guitar breaks underline the diversity and uniqueness within the songs.
The overall sound is a genre-defying blend of country, folk, blues, and acoustic rock, that could best be described as "Roots Rock", or Alt-Country - but the dark feel and moments of despair, sorrow, and anger should appeal to fans of heavy rock. The album was mostly recorded simultaneously with its predecessor, the hard-rocking "Rock Du Jour" set, and sits in direct contrast to that album musically, with a lighter, subtle touch applied throughout - underpinned by the intense feelings of angst and melancholy. "Catharsis" uses the album format as a means of artistic expression and performance, featuring experience-based story-telling, musical mood captivation, and personal purging.
