NO MORE CHASING –
Sept. 2, 2021 – “I’m finding it hard to love myself,” he sings on ”My Life.” On “Lonely,” he offers: “These days, I’m becoming everything I hate.” The song ”Dull Knives” has Reynolds’ almost screaming in anguish: “Won’t someone please save my life?” and one song has the sing-along chorus: “It’s OK to be not OK.”
The album was written over a three-year period and much happened in Reynolds’ life. He separated from wife Aja Volkman, but the couple reunited in late 2018 after a seven-month break and welcomed a fourth child, son Valentine, the next fall. He lost loved ones to cancer, including his business manager, an ex-girlfriend and his sister-in-law, which inspired “Wrecked.”
The deaths had the effect of reminding Reynolds how short life is, and he says he wants to make the most of the days he has left, staying present and vulnerable. “I want to grow as close as I can with those that I love, and that really requires being raw and honest. Vulnerability is a superpower. I certainly have not even begun to master it, especially being an introvert, but it is one of my greatest life goals.” “This record deals with a lot of searching and loneliness, struggling with the finite state of reality. However, I really wanted it to end on a celebratory note. Setting the foundation for a more steady and stable future,” said Reynolds.
“I wanted to end the record by focusing on all the things that make me happy. The simple things that keep me going every day. Looking to the future. Pointing out to myself all the beauty that surrounds me.”
