Search - Slaid Cleaves :: Still Fighting The War

When Slaid Cleaves wrote the title track for his new album ''Still Fighting The War,'' he had a specific subject in mind. Inspired by a Pulitzer-winning series of photos on an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD, he sought to address the plight of those returning from war and struggling to readjust to society. But as the album progressed, the phrase ''still fighting the war'' began to take on a broader meaning. ''In the past, when I would start writing a new batch of songs a theme would emerge early on. My process this time was just to write as many good songs as I could, not concerning myself with how they all fit together,'' he says. ''But when I began to settle on the songs and the sequence of the album a theme of perseverance through hard times revealed itself. It runs through the album, as it carries into all of our lives. The recession's over, but these aren't exactly happy days. We're all still struggling, we all keep pushing along.'' Once called ''one of the finest songwriters from Texas'' by the New York Times, Slaid knows a thing or two himself about perseverance. It's been 22 years since he first moved from his home state of Maine to Austin, TX, where he started his career playing open mics and barbeque joints around town before earning international acclaim for his ''powerfully direct'' (NPR) songwriting style. While many of the songs on ''Still Fighting The War'' focus on struggle and pain, the album, as a whole, is far from morose. Much like Hank Williams or Woody Guthrie, Slaid juxtaposes tales of working class woes (''Rust Belt Fields,'' ''Welding Burns'') with lighthearted wittiness and tongue-in-cheek humor (''Whim of Iron,'' ''Texas Love Song''), adding a sense of optimism and resilience that turns sad stories into a source of inspiration instead of despair. ''It's fun to watch an audience enjoy something light hearted between the workplace disaster songs and tragic love stories,'' he says. After all these years, it's that spirit that keeps Slaid ''fighting the war'' and making some of the best music of his career. ''There's no better satisfaction than creating something new and then connecting with people and finding that your work moves them in a profound way. That never gets old.'' ''Still Fighting The War'' is out June 4 on Music Road Records, and was produced by Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Lloyd Maines and Mark Hallman. Slaid Cleaves will hit the road for a national tour this summer.