Bloodshot Download - The Choir

Bloodshot (2018)
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“We launched this album alongside the reissue of [1989’s] Wide Eyed Wonder,” says drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong. “That album was about the innocence of a newborn baby. Contrast that with Bloodshot, which is about us in our 50s. We’re weathered and world-weary, and we’re certainly not innocent. But we still see beauty in life through bloodshot eyes.”

Hindalong continues a pattern of unflinching personal revelations through his lyrics, and Bloodshot collects perhaps his riskiest statements ever. The joyful highs and tearful lows of marital life have been chronicled in past songs like “Sentimental Song” and “Sad Face.” At Bloodshot’s core is a story of brokenness and rebuilding.

The 34-year marriage fans had glimpsed through the prism of Hindalong’s lyrics has ended, and the writer appraises emotional damage both inflicted and sustained. “Only Reasons,” “Birds, Bewildered,” and “House of Blues” speak to the unraveling of a relationship that both partners expected to weather all storms. At the songs’ root is a commitment to extend mercy to loved ones in turbulent times, and to rise from disappointment with grace and integrity.

“This record is the most bruising we’ve made,” says guitarist and singer Derri Daugherty, who had witnessed the tumult. “I knew how hurt he was and how hurt she was that they couldn’t make it work. Once Steve started sending me lyrics, I thought, ‘Wow, this is really going deep.’”