Channeling emotions from raw and overwhelming, to healing and galvanizing, Lily Seabird is confronting grief with a palpable clarity on Alas

Words by Matt Keenan

Photo Credit: Connor Turque

In some of Shakesphere’s most seminal works, from the profound sorrow of Hamlet, who mourns his father's death, to the raw, visceral grief of King Lear, who loses his mind after the death of his beloved daughter Cordelia, grief has been explored through art across the globe for centuries. Lily Seabird’s ‘Alas’ is another evocative example of grief explored through art, making you experience grief like a river that you have to wade through to get to the other side.

I’ve heard quite an amount of music exploring grief and facing those hard emotions that you can’t really  do anything about, at least not immediately. Very few of the projects I’ve heard explore grief were as brazen as the way Lily Seabird’s ‘Alas’ makes it feel. Listening to Seabird’s songwriting, and her confrontation of grief with palpable clarity on tracks that teeter the balance from delicate folk to blistering indie rock, serve as a proper introduction to an undeniable and idiosyncratic voice. 

Lily Seabird’s journey started in Pennsylvania when she picked up the saxophone at 9. By 14, she learned guitar and started performing as Lily Seabird—after a brief stint in New York City she moved to Vermont which has been her home since 2018. Seabird is now known as a solo artist and collaborator in Burlington’s vibrant music community. "When I first came to Burlington, I was playing solo a lot," says Seabird. "The music started to strengthen once I played in other people's bands, and I invited them to join mine."

‘Alas’ takes you through themes of self exploration, depression, and the feelings associated with losing someone you love and growing older. Seabird’s songwriting and clever lyricism invokes potent imagery bringing you back to your younger self, making you think of who you were and how you came to be who you are today. It takes a bold, fearless, and expertly talented songwriter and musician to slide seamlessly through elements of folk to straight up indie rock. 

“The songs of Alas, are about loss, coming of age, and sadness, but there are also all these moments where happiness takes over,” says Seabird. “It can be two things at once, just like the album title. Life isn't just pain and sadness, there’s also joy. They can all exist at the same time.” ‘Alas’ represents a remarkably assured statement from one of the most promising new songwriters.

‘Alas’ was produced by Lily Seabird and Benny Yurco, and it was tracked at Burlington’s Little Jamaica Recordings with Greg Freeman and Zack James. I couldn't get enough of how the record presents an expansive offering full of subdued, organic textures and moods. The way tracks creep in slowly, and draw you in with apt lyricism and then catch you off guard with some of the most tastefully refreshing indie rock you’ve ever heard was fantastic and a transition that’s not easy to pull off, especially so consistently throughout the record. 

Seabird has recently released the reissue of ‘Alas’ and ‘Alas (acoustic versions)’ via her new label home Lame-O Records, including previously unreleased highlights “Pretty Flowers” and “Fuckhead” 

“I intended for "Pretty Flowers" to be on Alas, but the album felt complete without it,” shares Seabird, “It's about feeling a really strong connection with someone who is basically a stranger, the beauty of connecting with people for only a short period of time and the lasting impression that can have on you. I'm glad to have this acoustic version.”

On “Fuckhead” Seabird says “I wrote this one when I was 16 and it felt great to sing on the day we recorded acoustic versions of Alas, it was for my friend Emmi who I was in my first band with when we were in high school. We used to think we were really cool and badass for calling each other fuckhead. I haven’t changed the song at all or the title since I wrote it.”

If you haven’t by now, I highly recommend you listen to the reissue of Seabird’s cleverly woven together ‘Alas’ now, as well as ‘Alas (Acoustic Versions)’ and keep up with what’s next for the remarkably talented Lily Seabird.