Lance Rogers: Self-Titled
When Lance Rogers sipped from that teeming fountain of creative mystic, he drank the whole damn thing dry. Bone dry. Desolate dust left swirling at the bottom of the well kind of dry. Thankfully, with the release of his debut, self-titled album, Rogers has given us all a taste of his gift, and it’s nothing short of breathtaking – another example of the Kentucky influence burning from the Appalachian foothills.
Photo by Angela King
“To release my debut album feels like the first day of kindergarten in a way,” says Rogers of the accomplishment. “Nerves and joy, a little crying. The thing about starting kindergarten is that there’s years and years ahead of you, ones that will form you and test you. I feel like that, but I’m excited to keep walking down this path. It’s my hope that this album will open a few doors and minds, and will be the opening scene of a series of authentic and true-to-life albums into the future.”
The ghostly whine of the pedal steel opens the 10-track narrative with “Outside The Lines,” a descriptive jolt into the adventure of young love and living for the moment.
“She took a long, slow draw off a Pall Mall,
In the shadow of the Friday night bleachers”
It’s this ability to illustrate real-life places and moments with words, so easily and poetically that is making Rogers a true name to regard on the music scene.
“Most often, I will pick up my guitar in the morning and just start playing around. Every once in a while I will hear words when I play a certain melody,” Rogers explains of his writing process. “Those words become a line. That line will become a song if I’m lucky. It doesn’t always go like that, but that one is the most common. Other times, I’ll have a random line pop into my head while having a conversation or listening to music. I’ll write it down and use it later when I feel inspired.”
“Was I Always Killing You” smoothly lashes into the darkness that lurks between the fine line of love and loss, shadows and light. Drawn from the inspiration from the art of Michael Startzman, Rogers’ voice conjures a warm, macabre emotion to the lyrics that makes a powerful addition to the collection.
“Was I always killing you?
Should have said something.
Could’ve left here years ago.
Was I always killing you?”
“Doin’ Fine” book-ends the song roster and is a gleaming testament to Rogers’ coal-rugged voice, echoing the peace that comes with that eternal sleep we all will face.
“Dig down in the bluegrass,
Rest my box of pine.
Just remember that I loved once.
Now I’m doin’ fine.”
For someone who has only been writing songs since 2018 (officially), Lance Rogers has miles to climb on this journey – it just so happens that path has started with one of the most moving albums of 2021.
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