Jess Williamson has announced that her first album for New West Records, A Mile South of Heaven, will arrive on October 9. Written between Los Angeles and Marfa, the songwriter’s sixth LP was produced by Shooter Jennings at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. Lead single “Goodbye to All That” was inspired by Williamson’s favorite Joan Didion essay of the same name. “Didion’s essay is about leaving New York after eight years and how ‘it’s distinctly possible to stay too long at the fair,’” Williamson explains. “In my eighth year of living in LA, I felt it was time to leave. I wrote this song as my farewell to LA, but songs are powerful in sneaky ways, and the song itself changed my mind. I realized I wasn’t finished with life in LA.”
Regarding the album, Williamson added: “Depending on your outlook, a mile south of heaven may sound sad, or it may sound hopeful. We’re always a mile south of the impossible goals we set for ourselves, and my point is, maybe that’s OK, because a mile is pretty close. It’s about appreciating where we are now, because there is no finish line. There is always more work to be done.”
Check out the video for “Goodbye to All That” below, and pre-order A Mile South of Heaven here.
